2. Navigation Problems In navigation there are two problems. One is how to tell which direction, or way, you are going. The other is how to tell where you are. In the open ocean, out of sight of land, these are very real problems. ‘The European sailors used a compass to tell which Way they were going. The needle in a compass always Pints north, But this does not tell where you are. European sailors used a sextant to tell where they were. A sextant is an instrument that measures the distance between the horizon and the sun or another star. Look at a map. There are lines that go up and down. These are called longitude lines. They show how far east or west you are. There are also lines that run across the map. These are called latitude lines. They show how far north or south you are. If you can measure longitude and latitude, you can know where you are on a map. Latitude is easier to find than longitude. The North Star never moves. It is always right above the North Pole. The farther north you go, the higher the North Star looks. South of the equator, you cannot see the Longitude is much more difficult. You must use the sextant. You look at the sun right at noon. Then you need good charts and a clock. Early European navigators were very poor at finding their longitude. Today there are many electronic navigation aids. Ships and planes use radar to find land. Loran stations are large radios that are on certain islands. They send out steady signals to help ships and planes find where they are. They are not used much anymore, though. The main method of navigation is the Global Positioning System (GPS). This is a network of satellites. It can show a ship or a plane’s location to within a few feet.