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A lighthouse is an easily recognized aid to navigation.
A lighthouse is an easily recognized aid to navigation.

A navigational aid (also known as aid to navigation, ATON, or navaid) is any sort of marker which aids the traveler in navigation; the term is most commonly used to refer to nautical or aviation travel. Common types of such aids include lighthouses, buoys, fog signals, and day beacons. A lighthouse is a Tower, building or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or in older times from a fire and used as an For other meanings see Foghorn (disambiguation. A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of hazards (or of the A day beacon is an unlighted nautical Sea mark. Typically day beacons supplement channels whose key points are marked by lighted Buoys Day beacons may

According to the glossary of terms in the United States Coast Guard Light list, an Aid to Navigation is any device external to a vessel or aircraft specifically intended to assist navigators in determining their position or safe course, or to warn them of dangers or obstructions to navigation. Source The text of this article originated from section 409 of The American Practical Navigator, a document produced by the government of the United States of America

Contents

Lateral Markers

Red ATONs always have even numbers, and green ATONs have odd numbers. Under the IALA B standard used in North and South America, when you are going to sea, the red ATON is on your left, and the green on your right. The International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (or IALA for short is a non-profit organization founded in 1957 to collect and Under the IALA A standard used in Europe, Africa and most of Asia, the colors are reversed. The International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (or IALA for short is a non-profit organization founded in 1957 to collect and

In the IALA B system, the red ATONs are on your right when you return from sea (Red Right Returning) and the green on your left. Red daybeacons are triangles and green daybeacons are squares. All of these ATONs are Lateral Markers that mark traffic channels and where it is safe to travel.

Non-Lateral Markers

Diagram showing lateral, non-lateral, and special purpose markers as seen on a nautical chart.
Diagram showing lateral, non-lateral, and special purpose markers as seen on a nautical chart. A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a maritime area and adjacent Coastal regions

There are also Non-Lateral Markers that give information other than the edges of safe waters. Most are white with orange markings and black lettering. They are used to give direction and information, warn of hazards and destructions, mark controlled areas, and mark off-limits areas. These ATONs do not mark traffic channels.

On Non-Lateral Markers, there are some shapes that show certain things:

Junction Buoys

There are some special colored ATONs. When there are red and green horizontal stripes, you are at the junction of two channels. The ATONs indicate the primary channel. If the green is on the top, the preferred channel is to the right. If the red is on top, the preferred channel is to the left. The light matches the top stripe color. These ATONs are sometimes called "junction buoys. "

See also

A sea mark, also seamark and Navigation mark, is a Pilotage aid which identifies the approximate position of a maritime channel hazard Originally a landmark literally meant a Geographic Feature used by explorers and A lighthouse is a Tower, building or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or in older times from a fire and used as an Radio navigation or radionavigation is the application of Radio frequencies to determining a position on the Earth. The Instrument Landing System (ILS is a ground-based Instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an Aircraft approaching a Runway This article is about the radio navigation aid see VOR for other uses Distance Measuring Equipment (DME is a transponder-based radio navigation technology that measures distance by timing the propagation delay of VHF or UHF radio signals A Non-directional beacon ( NDB) is a Radio transmitter at a known location used as an aviation or marine Navigational aid TACtical Air Navigation, or TACAN, is a Navigation system used by military aircraft Basic concept of GPS operation A GPS receiver calculates its position by carefully timing the signals sent by the constellation of GPS Satellites high above the Earth
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