Before the invention of the magnetic compass, navigating with a sundial would have been difficult, particularly on overcast days. Ancient Viking lore suggests that they had a magical tool to find the ...

New research shows that that it's possible Vikings might have used crystals as a backup guidance system when they made their long voyages across the North Atlantic. Dénes Száz and Gábor Horváth, ...

Ancient tales of Norse mariners using mysterious sunstones to navigate the ocean when clouds obscured the Sun and stars are more than just legend, according to a new study. Over 1,000 years ago, ...

Many seafaring cultures crossed the sea by observing the sky. The sun and the stars can be used to find the actual position as to set the ship's course. Using the height above the horizon of certain ...

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY—Science Magazine reports that Gábor Horváth and Dénes Száz of Eötvös Loránd University created computer simulations of 3,600 Viking sea voyages from Bergen, Norway, westward to Hvarf ...