]
Although the Nautical Almanacs of the world, at the present time,
are of comparatively recent origin, they have grown from small
beginnings, the tracing of which is not unlike that of the origin
of species by the naturalist of the present day. Notwithstanding
its familiar name, it has always been designed rather for
astronomical than for nautical purposes. Such a publication would
have been of no use to the navigator before he had instruments
with which to measure the altitudes of the heavenly bodies. The
earlier navigators seldom ventured out of sight of land, and
during the night they are said to have steered by the "Cynosure"
or constellation of the Great Bear, a practice which has brought
the name of the constellation into our language of the present day
to designate an object on which all eyes are intently fixed. This
constellation was a little nearer the pole in former ages than at
the present time; still its distance was always so great that its
use as a mark of the northern point of the horizon does not
inspire us with great respect for the accuracy with which the
ancient navigators sought to shape their course.
The Nautical Almanac of the present day had its origin in the
Astronomical Ephemerides called forth by the needs of predictions
of celestial motions both on the part of the astronomer and the
citizen.
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