US Patent 7526381 Network aided terrestrial triangulation using stars (NATTS)

A first apparatus includes an imaging component configured to capture an earthbound image of the sky from a terrestrial location, a chronometric component, a communication component configured to transmit data representative of a captured earthbound image of the sky, and a controller. The controller is configured to cause an earthbound image of the sky to be captured using the imaging component at a time identified by the chronometric component and data representative of the captured earthbound image to be transmitted. A second apparatus includes a computer and a computer readable medium accessible by the computer and including data representative of a master mapping of the sky relative to the Earth and computer-executable instructions for determining a terrestrial location based on data representative of a captured earthbound image of the sky and an identified time at which the earthbound image was captured. A system includes the first and second apparatus.