Talk:Bearing (navigation)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

	This article is part of WikiProject Maritime Trades, a group of editors working to improve Merchant Shipping topics. To learn more or join the project, please visit the project page.
Stub	This article has been rated as stub-Class on the assessment scale.
Mid	This article has been rated as mid-importance on the assessment scale.

[edit] how do you use a bearing

I'm not expert, but the bearing tells you the direction to another point. If you get the bearing to another location and start in that direction and keep going straight, that will be the closest way to that point, traveling over the surface of the Earth (on a great circle). Bubba73 23:11, July 30, 2005 (UTC)

I've added an external link to a free program to calculate the distance and bearing of two points on the Earth. Bubba73 00:42, August 2, 2005 (UTC)

ACK, w.

[edit] Serious errors in article

There is confusioin about three different kinds of reference directions, which are true north (reference of charts! and Gyros, magnetic north which depends on local (temporary changing) Magnetic variation, and compass north, which furthermore may be influenced by ship's own magnetic field. In a chart, only true bearings or true courses can be used, therefore, any compass reading has to be corrected first for Magnetic deviation (the error added by ship's magnetism), and second for variation, before being of use for navigation.

Give me c. one week to have a diagram explaining those relations. w. any IP. 07:25, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

oops - being late;) on "reference directions," see course (navigation) meanwhile. any IP. 13:24, 20 March 2007 (UTC)