Patent ID: 7526381

Claim:
A system, comprising: (a) an apparatus that is deployed in a generally known geographical region, the deployed apparatus including, (i) an imaging component configured to capture an earthbound image of the sky from a terrestrial location, (ii) a chronometric component that measures time synchronously with standard time, (iii) a communication component configured to wirelessly transmit data representative of a captured earthbound image of the sky, and (iv) a controller that is, (A) arranged in electronic communication with said imaging component, said chronometric component, and said communication component, and (B) configured to cause, (I) an earthbound image of the sky to be captured using the imaging component at a time identified by the chronometric component, and (II) data representative of the captured earthbound image to be wirelessly transmitted; and (b) an apparatus for determining a terrestrial location of the deployed apparatus within the generally known geographical region comprising, (i) a computer, and (ii) a computer readable medium accessible by said computer and including, (A) data representative of a master mapping of the sky relative to the surface of the Earth, and (B) computer-executable instructions for determining a terrestrial location based on, (I) the data wirelessly transmitted from the deployed apparatus, and (II) the identified time at which the earthbound image was captured.