From maps to apps to chartplotters, we all rely on GPS these days, sometimes whether we realize it or not. Ethan Siegel recently wrote in Forbes: Unbeknownst to most people, however, the science underlying this technology was primarily developed by … Continue reading
Tag Archives: GPS
Recently, the media has somewhat breathlessly reported that the usually slow drift of the magnetic north pole has sped up dramatically. My favorite headline is from NPR which reads, “As Magnetic North Pole Zooms Toward Siberia, Scientists Update World Magnetic Model.” … Continue reading
I will admit to being dependent on GPS. I rely on it for both maps and apps on my phone as well as the chartplotters on several tablets on my boat. Nevertheless, until recently I knew nothing of Gladys West, a … Continue reading
I first arrived in New York harbor forty years ago, as a freshly minted naval architect working for Moore McCormack. In those days, the Brooklyn docks were crowded with US flag shipping companies, many with their headquarters or sales offices in … Continue reading
Australia is, literally, on the move. A year ago, we posted about how the Prime Meridian, the arbitrary line in Greenwich, UK, marking 0 degrees of longitude, had to be adjusted by slightly over 100 meters after the discrepancy was … Continue reading
In 1998, the United States Naval Academy dropped celestial navigation from its curriculum. If a naval officer wished to know where he or she was, the officer simply had to read the display on a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver. … Continue reading
Recently, it was reported that the Prime Meridian, as marked at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, is off by 102 meters, over the length of an American football field. The Prime Meridian is the arbitrary line marking 0 degrees … Continue reading
Initial speculation included an explosion and then a collision with a larger vessel. Now an online GPS tracking system, SPOT, shows the yacht running onto the rocks on a far end of North Coronado Island at 1:36 a.m. Saturday. The Coronado Islands are about … Continue reading