She has some web pages about the Nantucket stones.
https://www.savethemeridianstones.com/
https://www.change.org/p/save-nantucket-s-meridian-stones
Her longer paper (24 pgs double spaced w/ 4 pictures) is on the flash drive distributed at the SHS conference. I won't link it here, but will send a dropbox link to anyone via private message on this site.
Sounds like a fun project for you Math Teacher. Maybe a local can loan you an instrument to practice on.
As for me, I hope to never again grind out solar observations and calculations. I enjoyed it at the time, but there is a time to move on.
I'm hoping to play around with some celestial observations soon with my "still new to me" Wild T-2 theodolite. I've been playing around with it in the daylight to get familiar with its controls.
I'm hoping to play around with some celestial observations soon with my "still new to me" Wild T-2 theodolite. I've been playing around with it in the daylight to get familiar with its controls.
Heck, Moe, I don't even go out on the beach anymore. I observe the sun in the shade from the porch and don't see Polaris 'cause the porch faces South.
Now, in prior years, coming home from the beach on US 220 at night, I could observe Polaris for about 90 minutes from Rockingham to Greensboro.
Math Teacher, that's a decent drive Greensboro to the beach, do you go to Carolina Beach, or do you cut over to South Carolina?
We've gone to Holden Beach since about 1982 or so. No night life, just houses and families. My kids are in their 50s, and that's where they still want to go.
Jusr aun, sand and salt water, no distractions. A bit over 200 miles, but I've done it so often that it's nothing.
@john-hamilton That is neat. We just always went out and the sky became clearer as we had observing fluid. . I might have to find a good T-3 to have some fun with. But would have to invite old friends over to have a good night. I miss those nights some great times.
Been by Holden Beach, sweet spot
Stayed north and south of it at different times.
Brunswick County beaches, East to West: Oak Island, Holden Beach, Ocean Isle (home of The GPS Store), and Sunset Beach. You can't go wrong with any of them.
North Myrtle Beach is good as well, but Myrtle is too commercial for me.
Reviewing replies to the OP, I do not see reference to using intersection stations observed at known points as a means to verify astronomical observations.
Intersection stations are elevated objects (e.g. stacks, radio towers, water tanks, steeples and the like) observed during triangulation campaigns.
The plus side to their use is that they are visible over large areas. Looking at the box score section of the NGS data sheet, one can find what was observed from a station.
The down side is that they adjusted to NAD83 2007 not more recent nationwide adjustments. They may have had changes to lights, finials, etc.
Do a 2D inverse (there is no height associated with intersection stations), do your Astro observations and compare results (taking into account the Laplace correction).
I liked doing Polaris shots outside of developed areas. Remember the vertical angle to the star is high in high latitudes so you might need a right-angle adaptor. Good leveling of the instrument is essential when making these observations.
We did multiple sets. You should too.
Enjoy,
DMM
Yes, I've seen several intersection stations changed since being observed by C&GS, and looked for a lot more that are gone.
Of course, be sure to use the coordinates for your two stations at the same NAD realization date. You may need to look at superceded values for one to match the latest for the other.
I've found around here the intersection stations and tri stations that haven't been remeasured with GPS are about a foot off of GNSS results in latest datum realization. That could create a big discrepancy of you mix them.
In PLSS IA north used to be the section or subdivision line from which the parcel was cut out. Then GPS came along. But I digress.
I have used a lot of intersection stations in traverses. However, I do not constrain them to published coordinates, they are usually third order at best in my opinion. Depends on geometry, distance from triangulation stations, and stability. Some are much more stable than others.
We were doing ground control for mapping for a proposed highway from Pittsburgh to Morgantown in the late 1980's. Specs said each station had to have an azimuth mark. I did a bunch of polaris obs, but around Pittsburgh there was an intersection station that was visible from a lot of points. KX2072. It is an antenna protruding from the University of Pittsburgh Cathedral of Learning. I got permission to set a GPS point near the antenna on the roof above the 42nd floor. It wasn’t easy, this was in the early single frequency days, and there was a microwave link to the remote computer mainframe facilities about 15 miles away, and the GPS signals were getting interfered with. So, I set the antenna low below the wall around the roof, and it worked. Then I tied in the center of the antenna in the center of the roof using a T2 and steel tape.
As I recall, the position I calculated was within 0.5 feet. The antenna itself was about 1 foot in diameter. I wish I would have taken pictures up there. You can go to the 39th floor and look out the windows, great view. I should add that if you are ever in Pittsburgh, try to go to the building and tour the nationality rooms, or just walk around the first floor. Very impressive.
I had a classes in some of these rooms.
Welcome to The Club of the Forbiddens.
Wendell is aware that the spam filter on his newest version of things is wound a bit too tight. Surely he will fix this before jumping from SurveyorConnect to RPLS.com.
It has nabbed me close to a dozen times already.
Wouldn't be so bad if you didn't lose everything you typed...
Mmhm, a valuable learned. I've been posting on message boards long enough and have been burned that way enough times that I automatically highlight and copy my text before I hit the post button.... just in case.
