Navigation on Earth Using Stars

Celestial navigation involves the locating your place on Earth by using the North Star, Polaris, in the Northern Hemisphere. Reading through the article one learns how to determine latitude... See More

Celestial navigation involves the locating your place on Earth by using the North Star, Polaris, in the Northern Hemisphere. Reading through the article one learns how to determine latitude and time. Students can build an astronomic device called a quadrant and use it to measure altitude of Polaris. The activities, described in this article, help students understand celestial measurements and at the culmination they can then track the movements of Captain Cook through one of his voyages in a simulation. This is a great interdisciplinary activity that encompasses math and social studies with science and gives students a better understanding of how stars can be used for navigation.