Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T08:48:34.402Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Astronomical Observations of the 1869 Powell Expedition Through the Grand Canyon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 September 2020

Lars Bergman  and
Robin G. Stuart
Lars Bergman
Affiliation:
(Saltsjöbaden, Sweden)
Robin G. Stuart*
Affiliation:
(Valhalla, New York, USA)
*
(E-mail: robinstuart@earthlink.net)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

During his 1869 expedition down the Green River and through the Grand Canyon, Major John Powell made astronomical observations using a sextant and artificial horizon to fix the locations of key points along the rivers that were only poorly known at the time. Latitude was obtained from the altitude of Polaris or meridian transits of stars or Saturn. Local mean time was determined from equal altitude observations of the Sun. The swamping of one of the expedition's small boats ruined the chronometers, meaning that they could not be used to keep Greenwich mean time and hence find longitude. As a substitute a series of lunar distance observations were undertaken. In this paper observations recorded in Powell's journal are reduced and analysed.

Keywords

SextantClock CorrectionsLogNavigation
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Navigation , Volume 74 , Issue 1 , January 2021 , pp. 212 - 233
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Navigation 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Admiralty Manual of Navigation. (1922). Admiralty Manual of Navigation, Vol. 2. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office. Available at: https://books.google.com/books?id=rAYl5EbijToCGoogle Scholar
American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac. (1869). United States Naval Observatory. Nautical Almanac Office. The Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/njp.32101045715719Google Scholar
Chauvenet, W. (1863). A Manual of Spherical and Practical Astronomy, Vol. 1. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co. Available at: https://books.google.com/books?id=-jIAAAAAQAAJGoogle Scholar
Chauvenet, W. (1864). A New Method of Correcting Lunar Distances. Washington, DC: Bureau of Navigation. Available at: https://books.google.com/books?id=CQAoAAAAYAAJGoogle Scholar
Folkner, W. M., Williams, J. G., Boggs, D. H., Park, R. S. and Kuchynka, P. (2014). The Planetary and Lunar Ephemerides DE430 and DE431. IPN Progress Report, 42–196, 15 February 2014. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. Available at: https://ipnpr.jpl.nasa.gov/progress_report/42-196/196C.pdfGoogle Scholar
Ghiglieri, M. P. (2015). First Through Grand Canyon, 3rd ed, Flagstaff, AZ: Puma Press.Google Scholar
Jackson, B. (1847). A Treatise on Military Surveying, 3rd ed, London: W.H. Allen & Co. Available at: https://books.google.com/books?id=zSg7AAAAMAAJGoogle Scholar
Mendoza y Rios, J de (1801). Tables for Facilitating the Calculations of Nautical Astronomy: and Particularly of the Latitude of a Ship at Sea from Two Altitudes of the Sun, and that of the Longitude from the Distances of the Moon from the Sun or A Star; Containing the Natural Versed-Sines to Every 10 Seconds, and the Logarithmic-Sines, Double-Sines, Versed-Sines, &C. to Every Minute from 0 To 180 Degrees; and Several Other Tables, Useful in Astronomy and Navigation. London: R. Faulder. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2027/nyp.33433010755183Google Scholar
Nautical Almanac. (2020). United Kingdom Hydrographic Office. Arcata: Paradise Cay Publications, Inc.Google Scholar
NOAA. (1976). U.S. Standard Atmosphere. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. Available at: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19770009539.pdfGoogle Scholar
Powell, J. W. (1869). Geological Notes and Sections, and Astronomical Record of 1869. Smithsonian Institution, National Anthropological Archives MS 1795a, Volume 2, Journals 1869–1872. https://sova.si.edu/record/NAA.MS1795ABGoogle Scholar
Quartaroli, R. D. (2002). GPS in 1869: The Geographical Powell Survey. In: Anderson, M.F. (ed.). A Gathering of Grand Canyon Historians. Ideas, Arguments, and First-Person Accounts. Proceedings of the Inaugural Grand Canyon History Symposium, Grand Canyon Association, Grand Canyon, AZ, 129–136. Available at: http://www.riverguides.org/History/GrandCanyonHistoriansSymposium2005.pdfGoogle Scholar
Rhodes, B. (2016). Skyfield, http://rhodesmill.org/skyfield/Google Scholar
Shadwell, C. F. A. (1861). Notes on the Management of Chronometers and the Measurement of Meridian Distances. J. D. Potter, London. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.hn2vz5Google Scholar
US Naval Observatory. (2005). Multiyear Interactive Computer Almanac 1800–2050. Richmond: Willmann-Bell, Inc.Google Scholar
Wilberforce Clarke, H. (1885). Longitude by Lunar Distances. London: W.H. Allen & Co. Available at: https://books.google.com/books?id=rQgHAAAAQAAJGoogle Scholar
Wrangel, H. (1897). Lärobok i teoretisk och praktisk navigation. Wald. Zachrisson, Göteborg. Available at: https://books.google.com/books?id=Xj1DAAAAYAAJGoogle Scholar