Vikings May Have Navigated Using Polarized Skylight
1st February 2011
The Vikings may have used the ancient equivalent of polarized glass to navigate in cloudy weather, suggest new reports on a long-hypothesized but never-tested “sunstone compass.”
Archaeologists know Vikings used sundials to steer between Norway and Greenland, but this method could only have worked in sunshine. How Vikings found their way in clouds or fog remains a mystery.