How do you know you have reached North or South Pole without GPS?
Having read about the resent foot traverse of Antarctica by Colin O'Brady I was wondering which means the polar explorers of former, pre-GPS times did use to determine that they hat reached North or South Pole. Obviously, you cannot use a compass since it would guide you to magnetic north or south and not to the pole itself.
So what means have they been using or (to make it a bit more open) could they have used?
navigation history
edited 8 hours ago
Charlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
asked 9 hours ago
Benedikt BauerBenedikt Bauer
6,39312553
add a comment |
Having read about the resent foot traverse of Antarctica by Colin O'Brady I was wondering which means the polar explorers of former, pre-GPS times did use to determine that they hat reached North or South Pole. Obviously, you cannot use a compass since it would guide you to magnetic north or south and not to the pole itself.
So what means have they been using or (to make it a bit more open) could they have used?
navigation history
edited 8 hours ago
Charlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
asked 9 hours ago
Benedikt BauerBenedikt Bauer
6,39312553
Related How much distance is there between True North and Magnetic North Poles? & When is the best time of year to find the North Pole? & Calculate true north with a compass and map
– James Jenkins
4 hours ago
add a comment |
Having read about the resent foot traverse of Antarctica by Colin O'Brady I was wondering which means the polar explorers of former, pre-GPS times did use to determine that they hat reached North or South Pole. Obviously, you cannot use a compass since it would guide you to magnetic north or south and not to the pole itself.
So what means have they been using or (to make it a bit more open) could they have used?
navigation history
edited 8 hours ago
Charlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
asked 9 hours ago
Benedikt BauerBenedikt Bauer
6,39312553
Having read about the resent foot traverse of Antarctica by Colin O'Brady I was wondering which means the polar explorers of former, pre-GPS times did use to determine that they hat reached North or South Pole. Obviously, you cannot use a compass since it would guide you to magnetic north or south and not to the pole itself.
So what means have they been using or (to make it a bit more open) could they have used?
navigation history
navigation history
edited 8 hours ago
Charlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
asked 9 hours ago
Benedikt BauerBenedikt Bauer
6,39312553
edited 8 hours ago
Charlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
asked 9 hours ago
Benedikt BauerBenedikt Bauer
6,39312553
edited 8 hours ago
Charlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
edited 8 hours ago
Charlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
edited 8 hours ago
Charlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
46.1k15128258
asked 9 hours ago
Benedikt BauerBenedikt Bauer
6,39312553
asked 9 hours ago
Benedikt BauerBenedikt Bauer
6,39312553
asked 9 hours ago
Benedikt BauerBenedikt Bauer
6,39312553
6,39312553
Related How much distance is there between True North and Magnetic North Poles? & When is the best time of year to find the North Pole? & Calculate true north with a compass and map
– James Jenkins
4 hours ago
add a comment |
Related How much distance is there between True North and Magnetic North Poles? & When is the best time of year to find the North Pole? & Calculate true north with a compass and map
– James Jenkins
4 hours ago
Related How much distance is there between True North and Magnetic North Poles? & When is the best time of year to find the North Pole? & Calculate true north with a compass and map
– James Jenkins
4 hours ago
Related How much distance is there between True North and Magnetic North Poles? & When is the best time of year to find the North Pole? & Calculate true north with a compass and map
– James Jenkins
4 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
Amundsen's team used a meter on their sledges to get close (dead reckoning) and then sextants to confirm the position.
Using Amundsen's diary, Roland Huntford (in The Amundsen Photographs) describes the photo as "Shooting the sun at the South Geographical Pole. Amundsen (left) is holding a sextant. Helmer Hanssen (right) is bending over the artificial horizon, which is a tray of mercury. Amundsen is lining up the direct image of the sun with its reflection in the surface of the mercury."
Amundsen's original South Pole Station
When their sledge meters indicated they should be at the right place, they stopped at the location marked "Sledge" on the map at right (from The South Pole) to determine their position more accurately from sun shots. Amundsen then sent three men out on sledges at 90° intervals. Each went about 10 statute miles; in this way he assured that his party had encircled the Pole.
...
At Polheim the team took a series of hourly observations for a 24-hour period to confirm their location
Amundsen's original South Pole Station
For the next three days the men worked to fix the exact position of the pole; after the conflicting and disputed claims of Cook and Peary in the north, Amundsen wanted to leave unmistakable markers for Scott.[139] After taking several sextant readings at different times of day, Bjaaland, Wisting and Hassel skied out in different directions to "box" the pole; Amundsen reasoned that between them they would bracket the exact point.[140] Finally the party pitched a tent, which they called Polheim, as near as possible to the actual pole as they could calculate by their observations. In the tent Amundsen left equipment for Scott, and a letter addressed to King Haakon which he requested Scott to deliver
Wikipedia
People still use sextants today, and they are still the best way to find latitude/longitude without GPS so it seems like is what one would use.
answered 8 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "395"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2foutdoors.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f21454%2fhow-do-you-know-you-have-reached-north-or-south-pole-without-gps%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Amundsen's team used a meter on their sledges to get close (dead reckoning) and then sextants to confirm the position.
Using Amundsen's diary, Roland Huntford (in The Amundsen Photographs) describes the photo as "Shooting the sun at the South Geographical Pole. Amundsen (left) is holding a sextant. Helmer Hanssen (right) is bending over the artificial horizon, which is a tray of mercury. Amundsen is lining up the direct image of the sun with its reflection in the surface of the mercury."
Amundsen's original South Pole Station
When their sledge meters indicated they should be at the right place, they stopped at the location marked "Sledge" on the map at right (from The South Pole) to determine their position more accurately from sun shots. Amundsen then sent three men out on sledges at 90° intervals. Each went about 10 statute miles; in this way he assured that his party had encircled the Pole.
...
At Polheim the team took a series of hourly observations for a 24-hour period to confirm their location
Amundsen's original South Pole Station
For the next three days the men worked to fix the exact position of the pole; after the conflicting and disputed claims of Cook and Peary in the north, Amundsen wanted to leave unmistakable markers for Scott.[139] After taking several sextant readings at different times of day, Bjaaland, Wisting and Hassel skied out in different directions to "box" the pole; Amundsen reasoned that between them they would bracket the exact point.[140] Finally the party pitched a tent, which they called Polheim, as near as possible to the actual pole as they could calculate by their observations. In the tent Amundsen left equipment for Scott, and a letter addressed to King Haakon which he requested Scott to deliver
Wikipedia
People still use sextants today, and they are still the best way to find latitude/longitude without GPS so it seems like is what one would use.
answered 8 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
add a comment |
Amundsen's team used a meter on their sledges to get close (dead reckoning) and then sextants to confirm the position.
Using Amundsen's diary, Roland Huntford (in The Amundsen Photographs) describes the photo as "Shooting the sun at the South Geographical Pole. Amundsen (left) is holding a sextant. Helmer Hanssen (right) is bending over the artificial horizon, which is a tray of mercury. Amundsen is lining up the direct image of the sun with its reflection in the surface of the mercury."
Amundsen's original South Pole Station
When their sledge meters indicated they should be at the right place, they stopped at the location marked "Sledge" on the map at right (from The South Pole) to determine their position more accurately from sun shots. Amundsen then sent three men out on sledges at 90° intervals. Each went about 10 statute miles; in this way he assured that his party had encircled the Pole.
...
At Polheim the team took a series of hourly observations for a 24-hour period to confirm their location
Amundsen's original South Pole Station
For the next three days the men worked to fix the exact position of the pole; after the conflicting and disputed claims of Cook and Peary in the north, Amundsen wanted to leave unmistakable markers for Scott.[139] After taking several sextant readings at different times of day, Bjaaland, Wisting and Hassel skied out in different directions to "box" the pole; Amundsen reasoned that between them they would bracket the exact point.[140] Finally the party pitched a tent, which they called Polheim, as near as possible to the actual pole as they could calculate by their observations. In the tent Amundsen left equipment for Scott, and a letter addressed to King Haakon which he requested Scott to deliver
Wikipedia
People still use sextants today, and they are still the best way to find latitude/longitude without GPS so it seems like is what one would use.
answered 8 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
add a comment |
Amundsen's team used a meter on their sledges to get close (dead reckoning) and then sextants to confirm the position.
Using Amundsen's diary, Roland Huntford (in The Amundsen Photographs) describes the photo as "Shooting the sun at the South Geographical Pole. Amundsen (left) is holding a sextant. Helmer Hanssen (right) is bending over the artificial horizon, which is a tray of mercury. Amundsen is lining up the direct image of the sun with its reflection in the surface of the mercury."
Amundsen's original South Pole Station
When their sledge meters indicated they should be at the right place, they stopped at the location marked "Sledge" on the map at right (from The South Pole) to determine their position more accurately from sun shots. Amundsen then sent three men out on sledges at 90° intervals. Each went about 10 statute miles; in this way he assured that his party had encircled the Pole.
...
At Polheim the team took a series of hourly observations for a 24-hour period to confirm their location
Amundsen's original South Pole Station
For the next three days the men worked to fix the exact position of the pole; after the conflicting and disputed claims of Cook and Peary in the north, Amundsen wanted to leave unmistakable markers for Scott.[139] After taking several sextant readings at different times of day, Bjaaland, Wisting and Hassel skied out in different directions to "box" the pole; Amundsen reasoned that between them they would bracket the exact point.[140] Finally the party pitched a tent, which they called Polheim, as near as possible to the actual pole as they could calculate by their observations. In the tent Amundsen left equipment for Scott, and a letter addressed to King Haakon which he requested Scott to deliver
Wikipedia
People still use sextants today, and they are still the best way to find latitude/longitude without GPS so it seems like is what one would use.
answered 8 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
Amundsen's team used a meter on their sledges to get close (dead reckoning) and then sextants to confirm the position.
Using Amundsen's diary, Roland Huntford (in The Amundsen Photographs) describes the photo as "Shooting the sun at the South Geographical Pole. Amundsen (left) is holding a sextant. Helmer Hanssen (right) is bending over the artificial horizon, which is a tray of mercury. Amundsen is lining up the direct image of the sun with its reflection in the surface of the mercury."
Amundsen's original South Pole Station
When their sledge meters indicated they should be at the right place, they stopped at the location marked "Sledge" on the map at right (from The South Pole) to determine their position more accurately from sun shots. Amundsen then sent three men out on sledges at 90° intervals. Each went about 10 statute miles; in this way he assured that his party had encircled the Pole.
...
At Polheim the team took a series of hourly observations for a 24-hour period to confirm their location
Amundsen's original South Pole Station
For the next three days the men worked to fix the exact position of the pole; after the conflicting and disputed claims of Cook and Peary in the north, Amundsen wanted to leave unmistakable markers for Scott.[139] After taking several sextant readings at different times of day, Bjaaland, Wisting and Hassel skied out in different directions to "box" the pole; Amundsen reasoned that between them they would bracket the exact point.[140] Finally the party pitched a tent, which they called Polheim, as near as possible to the actual pole as they could calculate by their observations. In the tent Amundsen left equipment for Scott, and a letter addressed to King Haakon which he requested Scott to deliver
Wikipedia
People still use sextants today, and they are still the best way to find latitude/longitude without GPS so it seems like is what one would use.
answered 8 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
edited 3 hours ago
answered 8 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
answered 8 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
answered 8 hours ago
Charlie BrumbaughCharlie Brumbaugh
46.1k15128258
46.1k15128258
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to The Great Outdoors Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2foutdoors.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f21454%2fhow-do-you-know-you-have-reached-north-or-south-pole-without-gps%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Related How much distance is there between True North and Magnetic North Poles? & When is the best time of year to find the North Pole? & Calculate true north with a compass and map
– James Jenkins
4 hours ago