Rude Star Finder (2102-C)
Rude Star Finder (2102-C)
- Description
- This star finder, designed for aeronautical use, was based on the Rude form as modified by Elmer Collins of the United States Hydrographic Office. It consists of a white plastic planisphere with the northern sky on one side and the southern on the other that shows all the stars in the American and the British Air Almanacs; nine clear plastic altitude-azimuth templates for use at different latitudes up to 85° north and south; an instruction card; and a leatherette container. It was published in March 1942 under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy, and cost $2.50. The Hydrographic Office transferred this example to the Smithsonian in 1957. The instrument bears the inscription "No. 2102-C / A-N TYPE 1 / STAR FINDER AND IDENTIFIER / PATENT Nos. 2304797 - 2337545 / U.S. NAVY HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE."
- Ref: E. B. Collins, "Star Finder," U.S. patent #2,304,797
- E. B. Collins, "Star Finder," U.S. patent #2,337,545
- Nathaniel Bowditch, American Practical Navigator (Washington, D.C.: Unted States Hydrographic Office, 1943), pp. 212-214.
- "Elmer B. Collins," Washington Post (2 October 1958), p. B2.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- star finder
- date made
- 1942
- Measurements
- overall: 8 1/2 in; 21.59 cm
- overall: 10 1/4 in x 10 1/2 in x 3/4 in; 26.035 cm x 26.67 cm x 1.905 cm
- ID Number
- PH.315071.3
- catalog number
- 315071.3
- accession number
- 214422
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Physical Sciences
- Navigation
- Measuring & Mapping
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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