Meridian altitude is a method of celestial navigation to calculate an observer's

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

. It notes the

altitude angle The horizontal coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system that uses the observer's local horizon as the fundamental plane to define two angles: altitude and azimuth. Therefore, the horizontal coordinate system is sometimes called as the ...

of an

astronomical object An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ''body'' are often us ...

above the

horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...

at culmination.

Principle

Meridian altitude is the simplest calculation of celestial navigation, in which an observer determines his

by measuring the altitude of an

at the time of its

meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

contact. A meridian contact is the moment when the object contacts the observer's meridian, i.e. the imaginary line running north–south and through the

zenith The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction (plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The zenith is the "highest" ...

nadir The nadir (, ; ar, نظير, naẓīr, counterpart) is the direction pointing directly ''below'' a particular location; that is, it is one of two vertical directions at a specified location, orthogonal to a horizontal flat surface. The direc ...

, and

celestial pole The north and south celestial poles are the two points in the sky where Earth's axis of rotation, indefinitely extended, intersects the celestial sphere. The north and south celestial poles appear permanently directly overhead to observers a ...

s. This is usually done with the equinox

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

at solar

noon Noon (or midday) is 12 o'clock in the daytime. It is written as 12 noon, 12:00 m. (for meridiem, literally 12:00 noon), 12 p.m. (for post meridiem, literally "after noon"), 12 pm, or 12:00 (using a 24-hour clock) or 1200 ( military time). Sola ...

to determine the observer's latitude, but can be done with any celestial object. Solar noon is the time when the Sun contacts the meridian. Imagine that the

equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" and se ...

Sun is overhead (at the

) at a point on the

Equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...

(latitude 0°), and Observer A is standing at this point – the subsolar point. If he were to measure the height of the Sun above the

with a sextant, he would find that the altitude of the Sun was 90°. By subtracting this figure from 90°, he would find that the

zenith distance The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction (plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The zenith is the "highest" ...

of the Sun is 0°, which is the same as his latitude. If Observer B is standing at one of the

geographical pole A geographical pole or geographic pole is either of the two points on Earth where its axis of rotation intersects its surface. The North Pole lies in the Arctic Ocean while the South Pole is in Antarctica. North and South poles are also define ...

s (latitude 90°N or 90°S), he would see the Sun on the horizon at an altitude of 0°. By subtracting this from 90°, he would find that the zenith distance is 90°, which is ''his'' latitude. Observer C at the same time is at latitude 20°N on the same meridian, i.e. on the same longitude as Observer A. His measured altitude would be 70°, and subtracting this from 90° gives a 20° zenith distance, which in turn is ''his'' latitude. In short, the zenith distance of a celestial object at meridian altitude is the difference in latitude between it and the observer.

Methodology

The estimated time of meridian altitude of the heavenly object is extracted from the

nautical almanac A nautical almanac is a publication describing the positions of a selection of celestial bodies for the purpose of enabling navigators to use celestial navigation to determine the position of their ship while at sea. The Almanac specifies for eac ...

. A few minutes before this time the observer starts observing the altitude of the object with a sextant. The altitude of the object will be increasing and the observer will continually adjust the sextant to keep the reflected image of the object on the horizon. As the object passes the meridian a maximum altitude will be observed. The time in UTC of this is observed. The altitude obtained is corrected for dip (the error caused by the observers height above the sea) and refraction to obtain the true altitude of the object above the horizon. This is then subtracted from 90° to obtain the angular distance from the position directly above to obtain the zenith distance. A further correction must then be taken into account to counter the "wobble" of the earth's spin and rotation relative to the sun and planets. This is given in the declination for the body on a particular day in the year (also taken from the

). If the declination of the body is in the opposite hemisphere (ie if you are in the northern hemisphere and the declination is in the southern hemisphere) then the declination must be subtracted from your true zenith distance, otherwise the declination is added.

References

*''Nicholls's Concise Guide, Volume 1'', by Charles H. Brown F.R.S.G.S. Extra Master *''Norie's Nautical Tables'', edited by Capt. A.G. Blance *''The Nautical Almanac 2005'', published by Her Majesty's Nautical Almanac Office *''Navigation for School and College'', by A.C Gardner and W.G. Creelman Navigation

Principle

Methodology

See also

References