Editing Navigation (section)

{{short description|Process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Navigation system on a merchant ship.jpg|thumb|A navigation system on an [[oil tanker]]]]
'''Navigation''' is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the [[motion|movement]] of a craft or [[vehicle]] from one place to another.<ref name="hofman" /><ref name="bow799">Bowditch, 2003:799.</ref> The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation,<ref>The Handbook Of The SAS And Elite Forces. How The Professionals Fight And Win. Edited by Jon E. Lewis. p.363-Tactics And Techniques, Personal Skills And Techniques. Robinson Publishing Ltd 1997. ISBN 1-85487-675-9</ref> [[marine navigation]], [[air navigation|aeronautic navigation]], and space navigation.<ref name="hofman">{{cite book|last=Rell Pros-Wellenhof|first=Bernhard|title=Navigation: Principles of Positioning and Guidances|year=2007|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-211-00828-7|pages=5–6}}</ref> It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by [[navigator]]s to perform navigation tasks.<ref name="SafeNaviii"/> All navigational techniques involve locating the navigator's [[Position (geometry)|position]] compared to known locations or patterns. Navigation, in a broader sense, can refer to any skill or study that involves the determination of position and [[Relative direction|direction]].<ref name="hofman"/> In this sense, navigation includes [[orienteering]] and [[pedestrian]] navigation.<ref name="hofman"/>

For marine navigation, this involves the safe movement of ships, boats and other nautical craft either on or underneath the water using positions from navigation equipment with appropriate nautical charts (electronic and paper).<ref name="SafeNaviii">{{cite book | title=Safe Nav Watch | publisher=[[Witherby Publishing Group]] | publication-place=Livingston, Scotland | date=2023 | isbn=978-1-914993-46-6 | page=iii}}</ref> Navigation equipment for ships is mandated under the requirements of the [[SOLAS Convention]], depending on ship size.<ref name="SafeNav4">{{cite book | title=Safe Nav Watch | publisher=[[Witherby Publishing Group]] | publication-place=Livingston, Scotland | date=2023 | isbn=978-1-914993-46-6 | page=4}}</ref> For land navigation, this involves the movement of persons, animals and vehicles from one place to another by means of navigation equipment (such as a compass or GNSS receivers), maps and visual navigation marks across urban or rural environments.<ref name="d440">{{cite journal | title=Land-vehicle navigation using GPS | journal=Proceedings of the IEEE | date=1999-01-31 | doi=10.1109/5.736347 | url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/736347 | access-date=2025-02-24 | last1=Abbott | first1=E. | last2=Powell | first2=D. | volume=87 | pages=145–162 | url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="r925">{{cite book | last=Hawkins | first=Pete | title=Navigation | publisher=Cicerone Press Limited | date=2024-05-13 | isbn=978-1-78362-788-2}}</ref> Aeronautic (air) navigation involves piloting an aircraft from one geographic position to another position while monitoring the position as the flight progresses.<ref name="n027">{{cite web | title=Navigation | url=https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/18_phak_ch16.pdf | publisher=Federal Aviation Administration | access-date=2025-02-24}}</ref>