Description
- A sextant is designed to determine the altitude or angular distance of a celestial body above the horizon. This information is essential for calculating one's position on Earth, especially when out of sight of landmarks or GPS signals.
- A typical sextant consists of a frame or body made of metal or plastic, which houses a series of optical components and a calibrated arc.
- The telescope is mounted on the sextant and is used for sighting celestial objects. It often has adjustable magnification to improve accuracy.
- This is a half-silvered mirror positioned at a 45-degree angle to the line of sight through the telescope
A sextant is a precision navigational instrument used for measuring the angle between a celestial object, typically the sun, moon, or a star, and the horizon. It has been a crucial tool for celestial navigation at sea and in aviation for centuries. Here's a detailed description of a sextant:While GPS has largely replaced celestial navigation for most practical purposes, sextants still play a role in marine and aviation navigation as a backup or emergency tool and are also used in celestial navigation training.