1 – Navigating The Seas Is Possible Using One’s Hand, Like The Ancient Polynesians Do In ‘Moana’

In the film, we see Moana calculating her boat’s position on the ocean by holding her hand up to the starry sky. She’s using a real navigational technique perfected by the Polynesians over 2,000 years ago. Before they had navigational equipment, sailors memorized the locations of stars in the sky. By measuring the angle and distance of a particular star relative to the Earth’s horizon, a sailor could calculate their ship’s latitude. In the movie, we see Moana use her hand to measure Orion’s Belt to determine if their ship is heading east.

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