Development of a celestial-based global positioning mobile application

Abstract

Celestial navigation, otherwise known as astro-navigation, is one of the oldest practices in human history. It is the art of using stars, moon, sun and planet to locate the geographical location of a person. Celestial navigation uses the angular measurements between a celestial body and the visible horizon. This angular measurement is directly related to the celestial body's geographical location and the observer's position. The geographical location (latitude and longitude) of a known celestial body can be found in the tables from the nautical or air almanac for that year. The accuracy of the estimated position is dependent on the celestial parameters, the number of celestial bodies used and the natural environment.