Re: Celestron SkyScout- Use GPS to locate the stars

David L. Wilson wrote:
"Phil Wheeler" <w6tuh-ng7@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:2Xdyf.521$Z3.210@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gil Baron wrote:

Pieter Litchfield wrote:


automatically alligned. If you know your altitude, lat and long and
which way north is, I think you have enough info to solve


No GPS and compass, electronic or not will be accurae enough to give
more than a gross idea of what you are pointed at. It would take a
fixed tool that you align on a known star and then you are set. This
handheld device is a dream for any price a consumer could pay at any
rate,


lt's be clear here that it is not knowing the position accurage enough (from the GPS) but knowing the orientation of the platform that is the hard part. Even state of the art compasses would be unable to deal with magnetic anomalies. The system being marketed must use readily found stars and that is easy to do by first using the rough northing info to point in the general direction and then letting the user adjust. 

For those who are interested, here is a link to the patent:

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6844822.pdf?s_id=7315572ff0309f7da1805539caefcace

Phil
.

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