Trigonometric calculation of geographic latitude and longitude using the parallactic angle. The methods of González Aveño (1883), Dozier (1949), and Rueda (1998)

Throughout the history of astronomy, many researchers tried to solve the problem of the geographical location of a point on the Earth's surface, by observing two or more stars, through analytical procedures. In 1883 González Aveño devised a mathematical algorithm that solved what he called the “Douwes problems” through the resolution of three spherical triangles. Starting from the same principle, other authors have developed astronomical positioning models with the same characteristics. For this reason, we analyze the selected methods, to know their evolution, originality and if these are included in Nautical Education in Spanish Universities. Finally, we detected that, despite the time elapsed between the appearance of each algorithm, this has not influenced its development, that the most efficient and advanced method is that of Rueda and that none of them appear in the study plans.

Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2025-07-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15803549
Primary Topic
Historical Geography and Cartography
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Trigonometric calculation of geographic latitude and longitude using the parallactic angle. The methods of González Aveño (1883), Dozier (1949), and Rueda (1998)

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Historical Geography and Cartography
article

Trigonometric calculation of geographic latitude and longitude using the parallactic angle. The methods of González Aveño (1883), Dozier (1949), and Rueda (1998)

article en

Abstract

Throughout the history of astronomy, many researchers tried to solve the problem of the geographical location of a point on the Earth's surface, by observing two or more stars, through analytical procedures. In 1883 González Aveño devised a mathematical algorithm that solved what he called the “Douwes problems” through the resolution of three spherical triangles. Starting from the same principle, other authors have developed astronomical positioning models with the same characteristics. For this reason, we analyze the selected methods, to know their evolution, originality and if these are included in Nautical Education in Spanish Universities. Finally, we detected that, despite the time elapsed between the appearance of each algorithm, this has not influenced its development, that the most efficient and advanced method is that of Rueda and that none of them appear in the study plans.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Openalex Percentile: Top 47%
Historical Geography and Cartography
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