Dellortoman
Hero member
- Location
- Tasmania, Australia
Haha. I've yet to see anyone carrying an artificial horizon on a motorcycle.
Although you can use a dish of oil as an artificial horizon. Shoot the angle between the sun and its reflection in the oil and divide by 2 to get the Sun's elevation. Neat trick but it only works when the sun is low enough in the sky so the double angle is within the range of the sextant (celestial altitude <60°). So more useful in high latitudes like Canada. That's how people used to navigate in Antarctica (and the Arctic) in the old days. Oil was used because it's less likely to freeze (can turn to wax if it's cold enough).
Maybe that's what Ron does whenever he's lost on some back road in the frozen Canadian wilderness. A quick oil change on the bike and take a sun sight in the oil tray while he's at it. Although if he's in the middle of nowhere he might need to wait a few hours to take a second sight so he can get intersecting lines for a position fix. He wouldn't want a moose to wander along and kick over his oil tray between sextant shots.
Although you can use a dish of oil as an artificial horizon. Shoot the angle between the sun and its reflection in the oil and divide by 2 to get the Sun's elevation. Neat trick but it only works when the sun is low enough in the sky so the double angle is within the range of the sextant (celestial altitude <60°). So more useful in high latitudes like Canada. That's how people used to navigate in Antarctica (and the Arctic) in the old days. Oil was used because it's less likely to freeze (can turn to wax if it's cold enough).
Maybe that's what Ron does whenever he's lost on some back road in the frozen Canadian wilderness. A quick oil change on the bike and take a sun sight in the oil tray while he's at it. Although if he's in the middle of nowhere he might need to wait a few hours to take a second sight so he can get intersecting lines for a position fix. He wouldn't want a moose to wander along and kick over his oil tray between sextant shots.