A celebrity star

Screenshot2015 01 16at4.58.22pm

When David Burch, founder and director of Starpath school of navigation developed his new electronic barograph (see story in the next issue), he and his design partner, Jerry Barber had to choose a name. They picked Mintaka and the barograph is known as the Mintaka Duo. 

What is the significance of Mintaka? Hard core celestial navigators know that Mintaka is one of the stars in Orion's belt. As Burch puts it, "…the star Mintaka is very special, having declination near zero (0º 19') so it rises and sets due E and W whenever it is seen on the horizon, from any place on earth, any time of year."

By Ocean Navigator