When people first started venturing out into the water they stayed close to land. That way they would not get lost. Sailors would rely on nature to tell them where they were. They would look at how the sun rose in the east and rises in the west in order to decipher what direction they were traveling. Sailors also looked toward the North Star. The North Star did not change position, and so they could look at the north star to determine how far north they were.

Later the quadrant was introduced. A quadrant was an instrument that was used to determine the altitude of the heavenly bodies. Measuring the altitude was the same degree as the latitude above the equator.

Another way of determining latitude was with an astrolabe. This brass disc would determine the position of the ship by use of the sun.

The Chinese invented the compass and so did the Vikings. After trade started with the Chinese the magnetic compass was introduced which made many voyages possible.

Now people use radar and satellites to navigate. Radar is used in many cases other than navigation, for example radar is used on automatic doors and police men and women use radar to check and see if people are speeding in their cars.