(SR-52) Celestial Fix by Calculator - K-12 Method

[SlideRule]

An extract from Celestial Fix By Calculator for all bodies & all positioning problems without or with intercepts & azimuths, Dr. Stjepo KOTLARIĆ, Hydrographic Institute of the Yugoslav Navy, International Hydrographic Review, Monaco, LVII (2), July 1980 (pgs. 125- 137)

"The method described is a single program method developed for a Texas Instruments SR-52 programmable hand-held calculator, but it can also be easily used on any other programmable calculator of the same or higher capacity. It provides a direct solution for latitude and longitude of the observer’s position from simultaneous or non-simultaneous observations of two celestial bodies (either the sun, moon, planets or stars) as well as from a double observation of one body (usually the sun, which until now has been practiced by advancing the earlier position line to the time of the last observation) even for cases where the second observation is close to or exactly on the observer’s meridian. The coordinates of the fix are obtained directly on the sphere as the intersection of circles of position, thus obviating the need to determine position lines (intercepts and azimuths) by the Marcq St. Hilaire method or to draw a diagram of the situation in the sky in order to decide what to do with calculated parameters.
The method - named the K-12 method - has been devised by the author and is a modified version of his K-11 method … It takes the form of a single program of 666 steps with 19 addressable memory registers, requiring three magnetic cards for Texas Instruments calculator SR-52… and it may be used for any latitudes or with any celestial body. Normally it provides a direct solution for latitude and longitude from non-simultaneous observations of two celestial bodies at the time of the second sight (which is common in actual navigational practice) solving parameters of the second body’s navigational triangle."

Excellent documentation w example calculation(s) & illustration(s) sans program.

BEST!
SlideRule