I started hearing about this on the news already,
now the scientist say that by 2010 or 2011 that when the solar winds hit the earth in the next cycle that loss of satellite communication and navigation plus compass readings will be off the wall. So that means the only way to navigate is by the stars or landmarks with paper maps. No ATM machine communication or SAT TV. I love it, I need to open me a Y2010K store and sell sexton nav tools, waterproof paper maps, food, water the whole gig since I missed out on any money making with the Y2K scare,

http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Scientists_Predict_Big_Sunspot_Cycle_Coming.html

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/21dec_cycle24.htm

Scientists Predict Big Solar Cycle
Solar cycle 24, due to peak in 2010 or 2011 "looks like its going to be one of the most intense cycles since record-keeping began almost 400 years ago,"

The peak of the cycle, called the Solar Maximum, generates more frequent magnetic storms and ejections of energetic particles that can slow satellite orbits - thereby interfering with global navigation – as well as disrupt communications and bring down power systems.

Sounds as if the Aurora Borealis will be even more spectacular in 2010/2011.

Celestial navigation using a sextant is really now a dying art, so it might be an idea to get hold of a sextant and learn how to navigate using one. Of course the computation part of the fix is now easily computed using a Palm computer and the appropriate software. Of course the accuracy of the fix is only as good as the observations. Ebay might be a good place to start to pick up a good quality second hand sextant and begin practicing.

http://www.mobilegeographics.com/celestnav/

It should prove to be a interesting skill to practice for, in terms of accuracy to obtain a positional fix and of course this method of positional fixing doesn't rely on a broadcast signal such as GPS.

But those articles are datelined 2006. Cycle 24 is late and the latest predictions are that it will be normal.

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/12/12/10503/?nc=1

I wouldn't put too much faith in those predictions. Those articles were written in 2006. At least one of the articles has proven itself wrong over the intervening 2+ years. It said, "... expect the cycle to begin in late 2007 or early 2008."

It's almost 2009 and the new cycle has not started yet. There is currently no sunspot activity. Zero sunspots. Lowest it can be. (There was a sunspot visible in October IIRC.) Other models seem to now predict a cycle peak in 2011 or 2012. So you have an extra year to start your new venture.

See: http://www.spaceweather.com/ for current sun conditions.

Too bad I am retired, I made a lot of overtime sitting around the office drinking coffee when nothing happened at midnight of 1999-2000...

I didn't even notice the dates, yea you are right. I had saw a brief bit on CNN a few nights ago from one of the Japanese scientist and did a brief Google search to find those articles. I wonder why this guy was on the news last night ranting and raving about it. Oh well there goes another money making scheme down the tubes. Y2K, Dot Com melt down, housing melt down, gas price hike, gun ammo scare, bailout disaster, and this. I can't wait for the meteorite scare next.

You'd be better off trying to make a buck off the 2012 panic. The end of the 5000 year Mayan calendar, a massive solar eclipse, a Near Earth Object fly-by . . . it's going to be interesting.

If your could only use your hindsight knowledge to invest before you had the hindsight! We would all be rich!

Though I can't remember what web-site I saw it on, I recall reading that solar scientists are pretty confused by the delay in the start of the new solar cycle. IIRC, some scientists were saying the days of the 11-year cycle are over. Others were saying this could mean an onset of a Maunder Minimum and associated global cooling like the Little Ice Age. Even others were saying it meant the Cubs would certainly win the World Series in 2009.

So the opportunity is still there to start stocking up on cold weather gear and Cubs memorabilia.

Before everyone rushes out to buy a sextant on EBAY and Bowditches Practical Navigator, take a deep breath.
IF you get one that isn't a cheap brass indian knockoff ( hint, not that many sextants survived from the Titanic)odds are it hasn't been maintained or, and a big or, calibrated and cerified as accurate.
If you want to learn sextant use there are very modest plastic starter units, much like basic compasses for new users.
No, you won't look like Captains Courageous striking a Captain Morgan pose.You also won't loook like a fool with a $600 paperwieght.
And as for it being a dying art, thats like saying a wheelgun is no good in a gunfight. Lots of people still use tested methodologies, not just those making fire with flint and steel.

I've always wanted to learn how to use a sextant. That would be pretty cool!!

I wonder how accurate they are?

Ken

Depends on the sextant itself, the person using it and the conditions under which it is being used. A good sextant, used by someone with skills and familiar with that sextant and under good conditions (flat seas, with a clear horizon and a clear sky) can result in some good fixes.

The actual use of the sextant is only a small part of getting a fix. You need to be able to do that math, which means, IIRC, you need at least two publications: an almanac to tell you which celestial bodies you are looking it and how to correct your height observed for the bodies observed (http://celestaire.com/catalog/products/2009.html), and a table like H.O. 229 (http://celestaire.com/catalog/products/5902CE.html) or H.O. 249 (http://celestaire.com/catalog/products/5907CE.html). It's been more than 20 years since I actually did the math or obtained a fix, so my memory might be a little off.

If you are on land, using landmarks is almost always more natural and effective. Also, it can be pretty tough to get the right horizon on land. You would either need a sextant with an artificial horizon built in, and I recall hearing that such things are made, or guess at the level at which the horizon might be, which is probably going to reduce your accuracy.

I have my dad's WWII sextant, manuals, etc. from his air force navigator days...he tried to teach me several times when I was a young sprout but I wasn't interested. Now that I am interested and want to learn, he is gone. We never appreciate something or someone so much as when we no longer have it/him.
I have purchased a book and video of Wm F Buckley's Celestial Navigation Made Simple (yeah, right) along with several other guides and hope to learn a little something.

we can talk about CelNav, Jackie. I used CelNav in the 80's.

Folks, there are myriad ways to do navigation. For those living close enough to a US coastline, Loran C is available and can be used in the greater Puget Sound Region, New York Metro, DC, New Orleans, Miami, Houston, LA, San Francisco, just to name a few. Orienting the Loran output to a land map is no longer an issue. Then there are all sorts of terrestrial beaconing systems at our disposal. You just need the tech to tap into them. Back in the 80s we put together an entire network that we could find any metro bus anywhere in King or Pierce County using nothing more than an array of terrestrial beacons we put up ourselves. It wouldn't be that hard to tap into that sort of technology these days. It wouldn't be too hard or expensive to do the same with a set of community repeaters and a df kit for that matter.

As far as celestial nav goes, isn't number crunching what we got these wonderful machines for? I am sure there are already optical input devices that make celestial nav using a laptop pretty much an exact science. I just bet with the right video input a good program could compensate for all sorts of variables enough to give you a true fix.

We set up a laser nav system one time using two different colored lasers set parallel from two known fixed locations overlooking a city. From anywhere in town you could see both beams, you could fairly easily calculate your location relative to the points of origin. We figured that was good for at least 100 square miles.

I guess I can't just use the North Star, right?

Sue

It is a good place to start. If you live anywhere urban, the North Star is a dim star and nearly impossible to see due to all the ground lights.

You kind of have to guess where it is by sighting a line between the more easily observed Big Dipper and Cassiopeia constellations.

It is also really difficult to see if you are somewhere in the southern hemisphere.

Here are some good references for learning navigation without GPS, or even map and compass. It is also fun to practice.

Emergency Navigation, 2nd Edition (Paperback)
by David Burch (Author)
International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; 2 edition (June 20, 2008)
# ISBN-10: 0071481842
# ISBN-13: 978-0071481847


Emergency Navigation Card (Cards)
by David Burch (Author)
Paradise Cay Publications (June 2000)
# ISBN-10: 0939837587
# ISBN-13: 978-0939837588


The Lo-Tech Navigator (Paperback)
by Tony Crowley (Author)
Sheridan House (July 31, 2004)
# ISBN-10: 1574091913
# ISBN-13: 978-1574091915


Finding Your Way Without Map or Compass (Paperback)
by Harold Gatty (Author)
Dover Publications (March 19, 1999)
# ISBN-10: 048640613X
# ISBN-13: 978-0486406138