I took Frank's 19th Century Celestial Navigation class in April 2013 and really enjoyed it. Not only was the class interesting but my fellow classmates were too; a retired skipper of a ballistic missile sub, the son of the fellow who invented GPS, a teacher, a captain of a Panamax container ship and a fellow who crossed the Atlantic solo - twice!
The class was also a great resource for my teaching and my own research interests such as the visibility of celestial objects in the daytime (Jupiter and Venus) and the effects of astronomical refraction near the horizon. I hope to take more workshops with Frank.
Dr. Russell D. Sampson
Wickware Planetarium
Eastern Connecticut State University
Chasing Miaplacidus
Where did this name for β Carinae (or β Argus) originate? An earlier spelling was "Maia Placidus" but that's not significant. Most sources, including Wikipedia and others, follow Allen's "Star Names" (c.1899) which attributes it to Elijah Burritt's popular 19th century "Geography of the Heavens". Allen also mentioned an entirely speculative etymology published by one W.H. Higgins in 1882 (the "placidus" part is clearly Latin; Higgins suggested "maia" might be from Arabic for "water" but that was just guesswork --the sort of thing all too common in Allen's "Star Names"). The name "Maia Placidus" appears in Burritt's "Geography of the Heavens" in a peculiar large chart in his atlas, which was also available as a large linen wall chart. It's his so-called "planisphere" which is a Mercator chart of a large portion of the celestial sphere. It's an oddity in Burritt since it's drawn in a different style from the main atlas and includes different choices for some modern constellations. And at the very bottom, there's "Maia Placidus" which is also mentioned briefly in the text.
Why this strange "planisphere" chart? How does "Maia Placidus" appear out of thin air?? The simple answer appears to be that Burritt stole it (*). I discovered a couple of months ago (August, 2022) that Burritt's planisphere chart seems to be a direct copy (with some high latitudes wisely trimmed off) of a nearly identical Mercator projection of the sky in a nautical astronomy/celestial navigation work, "The Young Navigator's Guide...", published in Britain by Thomas Kerigan in 1821. Kerigan's chart includes constellation boundaries identical to Burritt's as well as the (otherwise inexplicable in Burritt's copy) path of a comet from 1819, and it also includes "Maia Placidus". Kerigan even works some computations using that star in the main text of his book.
We still have no explanation for the name "Miaplacidus". There's little doubt it's a modern coinage. Its origin is pushed back to 1821 at least, in Kerigan's navigation textbook. And now maybe the mystery of Burritt's peculiar "planisphere" chart may be solved. Burritt stole/borrowed the primary constellation artwork in his "Geography of the Heavens" from Jameson. He stole/borrowed his planisphere chart from Kerigan. This intellectual property "violation" was quite normal in the USA in this period. Nathaniel Bowditch mostly copied his "New American Practical Navigator" from British sources. Charles Dickens a decade later was infamously astounded to discover he was a pop superstar in the US despite never having made a dime off any of his books here.
* Alternative theory: both Kerigan and Burritt may have copied their "planisphere" Mercator charts from a third source, which I haven't yet seen. There's a Mercator planisphere by W. Croswell from 1810, which is broadly similar, but nothing like the near-perfect match between Kerigan and Burritt.
Frank Reed
Clockwork Mapping / ReedNavigation.com
Conanicut Island USA
Comments:
Dr. Russell D. Sampson wrote: 31👍
Doug MacPherson wrote: 23👍
I recently took online versions of Frank Reed's "Celestial Navigation in the Age of Sail", and "Lunars - Finding Longitude by Lunar Distances". I couldn't have been more happy with them. Having originally learned post WWII celestial methods as an officer in the United States Navy, and taken it up as a hobby, I was quite familiar with that era's procedures. However, I was intrigued by how they managed prior to then. Frank's two classes filled that void. His vast knowledge of the subject, both the technical aspects of the work as well as the historical significance were perfectly balanced. These are classes that can be thoroughly enjoyed by both the novice as well as the well versed practitioner. Recipe's for doing the work, the science behind those recipes, and actual voyages by the sailors that practiced the art were all presented with wonderful clarity. If "time sights", "cleared lunar distances" or "apparent time" have ever roused an interest, you owe it to yourself to take one of Frank's classes.
Doug MacPherson
Lieutenant, USN sep.
Doug MacPherson
Lieutenant, USN sep.
Lucinda Fleeson wrote: 26👍
"Celestial Navigation in the Age of Sail" was exactly what I was looking for to familiarize myself with historical marine navigation. Frank is an engaging instructor who weaved the story of a 19th century whaling voyage into hands-on practical calculations. He started by unveiling an incomprehensible historical document filled with numbers and promised that by the end of the course we could decode the figures. He's developed a step-by-step teaching method that is a marvel to watch and experience.
I must admit I dreaded two, back-to-back, 5-hour days, but the time sailed by. (Sorry can't resist.) Thank you.
He also included some 17th century data that I needed. I'm neither a mathematician nor a sailer, but a journalist and author.
I must admit I dreaded two, back-to-back, 5-hour days, but the time sailed by. (Sorry can't resist.) Thank you.
He also included some 17th century data that I needed. I'm neither a mathematician nor a sailer, but a journalist and author.
