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History

Celestial Navigation in Polynesian Voyaging

Quick fact

Polynesian navigators could detect the presence of a distant island by observing the way swells refract around it and by noticing the flight paths of birds returning to land at dusk.

Why this is interesting

Imagine sailing across thousands of miles of open ocean without a map, compass, or GPS—your only guides the stars above and the waves below. How did Polynesian voyagers find tiny islands in the vast Pacific?