Knowra Navigation Navigation Navigation is the practice of determining and following a route between locations. It combines position estimation, route planning, and guidance toward a destination.
Dead reckoning : A method of estimating position by advancing from a known starting point using measured direction and distance. It tracks position between known landmarks, but accumulated errors can distort the route.
Coordinate system : A framework that assigns numerical coordinates to locations relative to a chosen origin and axes. Navigation uses coordinates to describe positions and destinations precisely.
Maritime navigation : The practice of planning and conducting journeys by sea using charts, instruments, and positioning methods. At sea, route choices must account for currents, hazards, and limited landmarks.
Wayfinding : The process of orienting oneself and choosing paths through an environment using spatial information. It emphasizes human orientation and decision-making, while navigation also includes technical route guidance.
Age of Discovery : The period of European overseas exploration and expansion from the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries. Improved ocean navigation enabled longer voyages and intensified global contact and conquest.
Triangulation : A method of locating a point by measuring angles from two or more known positions. It turns observations of landmarks into an estimated position.
Cartography : The practice and study of making maps that represent geographic information. Maps encode terrain, routes, and landmarks used to plan and follow journeys.
Air navigation : The planning and guidance of aircraft along routes while maintaining safe position and separation. Aircraft navigation combines precise position fixes with airways, procedures, and altitude constraints.
Surveying : The measurement and mapping of land boundaries, features, and elevations. Surveying establishes mapped positions; navigation uses position information to travel between places.
Mercator projection : A cylindrical map projection that represents constant compass bearings as straight lines, while enlarging areas near the poles. Its straight-line rhumb routes made it useful for marine charting despite severe area distortion.
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