It’s not uncommon for people to venture into the wilderness for a day of recreation, only to lose their way as they wander off a designated trail to explore. A quick detour to check out some interesting features of the landscape can quickly turn into a survival situation if you lack the navigational skills to find your way back.
When you are doing any sort of outdoor exploring, it’s good practice to always have a compass with you. But should you find yourself without this most basic technology, all is not lost (except for you, of course). Mother Nature has provided us with celestial navigation tools such as the sun, the moon, and the stars to help us on our way.
To most people, navigating by the heavenly bodies appears to be a mystical art that only initiates can make use of. The truth is that anyone with a little bit of navigational knowledge and bit of common sense can use the art of celestial navigation to find their way.
Navigating by the Sun
In fact, navigating using the Sun, Moon, and Stars is actually a pretty simple process if you understand some basic principles. For the sun, they are:
- The sun always rises in the east, and it always sets in the west.
- If you are located in the northern hemisphere, the sun is always south of you.
- If you are located in the southern hemisphere, it is always north of you.
So, if you are in the northern hemisphere, simply by facing the sun, you are also facing south.
If you turn your back to the sun, you are facing north.
The opposite is true if you are located in the southern hemisphere.
By simply noting the direction that the sun is traveling in, you can easily determine the cardinal directions of north, south, east, and west.
Navigating by the Moon
For nights on which you can see the moon, you can use it to navigate just as you would the sun. Because moonlight is the reflection of sunlight on the moon’s surface, the moon’s shadow is in direct relationship with the sun’s position.
During a crescent moon, draw an imaginary line across the moon, pointing to the horizon, so that the line touches the two tips (or horns) of the crescent moon.
Gauging direction when in the northern hemisphere
If you are in the northern hemisphere, this line would point south. If you live in the southern hemisphere, it would be the opposite and point to the north. Your best bet for using this technique is when the moon is high overhead, not close to the horizon.
Navigating by the Stars
However, because there are nights when the moon is not visible, you can also use easily recognizable constellations (such as Orion’s belt, which consists of three stars in close proximity to each other all in a row) to find the cardinal directions because the stars follow the same path as the sun and the moon. In addition, you can also use the constellations of the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper to determine true north.
For instance, because the northern axis of the Earth just happens to point to the brightest star in our night skies which is called Polaris, or the North Star, whenever you are facing Polaris, you are also facing north. The constellations of both the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper can thus easily be used to find true north.
To find Polaris, you first need to locate the Big Dipper constellation. Then, locate the two stars that form the outer edge of the cup (the two stars located farthest from the handle). Next, you need to draw an imaginary line through these two stars which points to the last star in the handle of the Little Dipper. This is the North Star. You may also notice that it is noticeably brighter than all of the other stars in the night sky.
Of course, once you are certain that you are facing true north, south will be located behind you, west will be on your left, and east will be on your right.
Additional Tips
Because traveling in the wilderness often forces you to navigate around many different types of obstacles and because the sun, moon, and stars continuously change position in the sky during the course of the day and night, using them as navigational tools can be somewhat misleading. However, there are a few tricks that you can use to make using them as navigational tools considerably easier.
Shadow Direction
For instance, when using either the sun or the moon as a navigational tool, it is important to note the position of your shadow. The reason that the position of your shadow is of importance is because, if you are you are located in the northern hemisphere and you are traveling east, your shadow will always be on your left hand side, but if you are located in the northern hemisphere and are traveling west, then your shadow will always be located on your right hand side regardless of whether it is in front of, or behind you. (In other words, within the 180 degrees to the right or left of you.)
However, you should also be aware that the position of your shadow will change somewhat as the sun and moon progress through their paths. Thus, if you are traveling east, your shadow will be behind you in the morning or early evening and in front of you in the afternoon or late night, but if you are traveling west, then it will appear in front of you in the morning or early evening and behind you in the afternoon or late night (The opposite is true if you are located in the southern hemisphere.)
Shadow Length
Furthermore, it is also helpful to be aware that regardless of which direction you are traveling in, your shadow will always be longer in the morning and afternoon hours than it is at high noon because the Sun’s position is higher in the sky at noon. Consequently, by noting both the position and the length of your shadow, you can not only determine which direction you are traveling, in, you can also gauge the time of day.
Final Thoughts
So, if you ever find yourself lost in the wilderness, then by being aware of these simple navigational rules, you can easily use the Sun, Moon, and stars to determine the Cardinal Directions of North, South, East, and West and thus use them to find your way.
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