What is the best celestial navigation freeware on iOS?

[Raymond Spruance III]

Do you know anything about land-based celestial navigation on iOS?

Other than sighting Polaris' angle from the horizon, and noting that the sun
rises in the east and sets in the west, and realizing that the sun at high
noon is a certain timing off from that of GMT, I have never had a need for
celestial navigation software on a mobile device.

However, I want to test out celestial navigation, on a lark mostly, but more
to learn how it's done (in case I ever need it in an emergency) and to show
a high school math teacher how its done so she can use it to make trig more
interesting to her students (where they are intended to download the
software to try it out).

Looking up iOS celestial navigation software, I find plenty of payware:

$50 Star Pilot http://www.starpilotllc.com/products/spip.htm
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/starpilot/id359071446

$33 iMariner Celestial Navigation
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/imariner-celestial-navigation/id510326933

$25 ezSights By EZ Celestial LLC
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ezsights/id514186268

$20 Celestial By Navimatics
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/celestial-by-navimatics/id392560235
etc.

But it's standard policy to never make school kids buy the payware until
you've exhausted all the good freeware, if for no other reason than you
*know* exactly what you need the payware to do if/when the freeware fails.
(More often than not, freeware does what you need so there's no need for the
payware most of the time; but it takes much more thinking and effort to find
the best freeware out there.)

Looking up iOS freeware celestial navigation software, there is not much.
What I find isn't really generally useful, but I found:

AstroNav Lite By Sascha Troscheit
https://www.appdecide.com/app/ios/astronav-lite/440513517/

Sight Calc By Nuvocom Incorporated
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sight-calc/id497809138

SEAiq Open By Sakhalin
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/seaiq-open/id529514298

MaritimeCalculator By Trelleborg Marine Systems Denmark A/S
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/maritimecalculator/id387954063
etc.

All I ask in this thread are the basic questions anyone new to celestial
navigation would ask:
a. What iOS freeware is the best one to try out first for land fixes?
b. What are the minimum required features of that freeware

[Alan Browne]

On 2016-11-27 18:27, Raymond Spruance III wrote:

> All I ask in this thread are the basic questions anyone new to celestial
> navigation would ask:
> a. What iOS freeware is the best one to try out first for land fixes?
> b. What are the minimum required features of that freeware

I look forward to your results. I have Sky Guide as an astro viewer. I
think it's free - but of course it's not for navigation.

If GPS was good enough for me 10 years ago I don't need no stinkin'
astro navigation. IAC, a good sextant and a tome of tables should be
enough for anyone. (Beware the "econo" sextants from India, etc.)

--
She hummed to herself because she was an unrivaled botcher of lyrics.
-Nick (Gone Girl), Gillian Flynn.

[Raymond Spruance III]

On Sun, 27 Nov 2016 19:07:04 -0500, Alan Browne wrote:

> I look forward to your results. I have Sky Guide as an astro viewer. I
> think it's free - but of course it's not for navigation.
>
> If GPS was good enough for me 10 years ago I don't need no stinkin'
> astro navigation. IAC, a good sextant and a tome of tables should be
> enough for anyone. (Beware the "econo" sextants from India, etc.)

Thanks for the encouragement.

I asked the exact same question on the Android and Windows newsgroups, and
we already have great software to test, so I saved the hardest problem for
last, which is iOS freeware to do anything.

Just so I'm clear, the main goal is to make math more interesting to the
local high school kids, so that's why the math teacher asked me for what
freeware the kids can use.

Most of the kids are in iPhones unfortunately, while only a minority are on
Android, so, it's very important to find iPhone freeware (we can't expect
kids to be paying fifty bucks for an app just to do a class project).

Given that the Android freeware celestial navigation problem is simpler, my
plan is the following:

1. Figure out how to do the task with Windows freeware (since the Windows
monitor is huge compared to my puny Android phone so it's easier to learn).
For example:
a. TeaCup http://www.teacupnavigation.net/CN.html
b. StarCalc http://www.relex.ru/~zalex/main.htm
c. SeaClear http://www.sping.com/seaclear/

2. Figure out how to do the task with Android freeware (mainly because
everything is easier on Android because so much freeware abounds).

For example:
a. *Android Sextant App by Talltree Software*
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sharpitor.nightsky20
b. *Aircraft Horizon Free by Sensorworks*
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sensorworks.aircrafthorizon_free
c. *Google Sky Map freeware*
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.stardroid

3. Figure out how to do the task with iOS freeware (if it's even possible,
mainly because at least 2/3rds of the kids are on iOS).

For example:
a. ?
b. ?
c. ?

4. Then explain it all to the teacher and help her create an interesting and
practical project for the kids to work in teams on (where she separates the
class into Android and iOS groups due to the software differences).

We will also make use of Internet resources which she will display on either
her iPad or Windows laptop to display on the whiteboards:
a. Celnav spreadsheets & sun sight reduction spreadsheets:
http://www.navigation-spreadsheets.com/navigation_triangles.html
http://backbearing.com/excel.html
b. Nautical Almanacs:
http://www.siranah.de/
https://www.celestaire.com/pubs/category/3-pub-249.html

The project lesson will be after the Christmas break, as it will be the
first project the kids do when they get back to school in January; so I have
time to test out all the freeware and to learn how to do celestial
navigation on a mobile device and to teach the math teacher what I've
learned from all of you.

All I need, right now anyway, are good suggestions for iOS freeware for
celestial navigation from someone who knows how to do it (which I don't know
how to do yet).

[Fred McKenzie]

In article <o1g1p0$ph3$1...@news.mixmin.net>,

Raymond Spruance III <spruanc...@example.com> wrote:

> For example:
> a. *Android Sextant App by Talltree Software*
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sharpitor.nightsky20
> b. *Aircraft Horizon Free by Sensorworks*
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sensorworks.aircrafthorizon_
> free
> c. *Google Sky Map freeware*
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.stardroid

Raymond-

I assume you have searched the Apple Store for those same Apps. You
would not likely find an "Android Sextant" App, but there might be
equivalent iOS Apps by Talltree Software, Sensorworks and Google.

Fred

[Raymond Spruance III]

On Mon, 28 Nov 2016 13:11:56 -0500, Fred McKenzie wrote:

> I assume you have searched the Apple Store for those same Apps. You
> would not likely find an "Android Sextant" App, but there might be
> equivalent iOS Apps by Talltree Software, Sensorworks and Google.

Yes. I have thoroughly searched the app store for these apps.
They don't seem to exist in freeware versions, like they do on Android.

This is highly unfortunately because more than half the teacher's students
are on the iOS platform.

I always knew that there would be far (far far far) more utilities on
Android that would be usable, so, the hardest part is (always) finding
someone on iOS who knows what they're doing (and doesn't just make it all
up).

If this were a photo question, I'd expect Savageduck, for example, to help.
If it were an operating system question, David Empson, for example, would
know the answer.

But this is a question where iOS freeware is actually used to obtain a
position, sans GPS.

Most Apple users won't know how so I always knew iOS would be difficult
(compared to doing the same thing on the other platforms).

Still, I'm hoping (against hope?) that someone has experience on iOS with
freeware celestial navigation techniques.

[Alan Browne]

On 2016-11-28 14:10, Raymond Spruance III wrote:

>
> Most Apple users won't know how so I always knew iOS would be difficult
> (compared to doing the same thing on the other platforms).

<sniff><sniff> aye, there be a troll about.

<plonk>

[FPP]

On 2016-11-27 23:27:04 +0000, Raymond Spruance III

<spruanc...@example.com> said:

> Do you know anything about land-based celestial navigation on iOS?

Nope. Next question.
--
Remember, Remember the Eighth of November, the Trumpism, Treason and Rot;
I know of no Reason why Trumpism and Treason, should ever be Forgot!

[Raymond Spruance III]

On Tue, 29 Nov 2016 07:12:52 -0500, FPP wrote:

>> Do you know anything about land-based celestial navigation on iOS?
>
> Nope.

Why do you prove to the world that you're an utter moron, incapable of
adding any on-topic value, to *any* thread, in *every* one of your posts?

[FPP]

On 2016-11-29 10:19:41 -0500, Raymond Spruance III

You don't want a question answered. You want to send people out to run
around the block while you sit back and watch.

It's the hallmark of a diseased mind.
--
A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the
advice. -Cosby

[Rod Speed]

"FPP" <fred...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:o2a5oj$muu$1...@dont-email.me...

> On 2016-11-29 10:19:41 -0500, Raymond Spruance III
> <spruanc...@example.com> said:
>
>> On Tue, 29 Nov 2016 07:12:52 -0500, FPP wrote:
>>
>>>> Do you know anything about land-based celestial navigation on iOS?
>>>
>>> Nope.
>>
>> Why do you prove to the world that you're an utter moron, incapable of
>> adding any on-topic value, to *any* thread, in *every* one of your posts?
>
> You don't want a question answered. You want to send people out to run
> around the block while you sit back and watch.

I'm not convinced that he is JUST a troll.

He has some quite remarkably silly ideas, like never using
anything that can ever identify him when buying anything,
and insisting on using stuff that is free when paying peanuts
gets a much better app etc and wastes a lot more than the
tiny cost in his own time looking for a free one.

> It's the hallmark of a diseased mind.

Yep, real problem between the ears.

Not diseased so much as just fucked between the ears.