Sextant: Parts of The Sextant

SEXTANT
Sextant instrument for determining the angle between the horizon and a celestial body
such as the Sun, the Moon, or a star, used in celestial navigation to determine latitude and
longitude. The device consists of an arc of a circle, marked off in degrees, and a movable radial
arm pivoted at the centre of the circle. A telescope, mounted rigidly to the framework, is lined up
with the horizon. The radial arm, on which a mirror is mounted, is moved until the star is
reflected into a half-silvered mirror in line with the telescope and appears, through the
telescope, to coincide with the horizon. The angular distance of the star above the horizon is
then read from the graduated arc of the sextant. From this angle and the exact time of day as
registered by a chronometer, the latitude can be determined (within a few hundred metres) by
means of published tables.
The name comes from the Latin sextus, or “one-sixth,” for the sextant’s arc spans 60°, or
one-sixth of a circle. Octants, with 45° arcs, were first used to calculate latitude. Sextants were
first developed with wider arcs for calculating longitude from lunar observations, and they
replaced octants by the second half of the 18th century.
Parts of the sextant

The sextant basically consists of a telescope, a half silvered horizontal mirror which
the telescope "looks" through and a moving arm on which the index mirror is fixed. By
manipulating this arm a star or other celestial body can be made to appear on the
horizon. Accurate adjustments are made by means of a micrometer knob. The angle
can then be read off the arc and micrometer. The shades are to use when the object
being looked at is bright - such as the sun.
Principles of sextant
The sextant relies on the optical principle that if a ray of light is reflected from two
mirrors in succession then the angle between the first and last direction of the ray is
twice the angle between the mirrors. And this angle can then be read off the arc.
To use the sextant the telescope must be focused on the horizon. The celestial body
to be shot, found and the sextant aimed at it. Bring the body down to the horizon by
moving the arm along the arc and then clamp the arm. Using the micrometer knob
make small adjustments while gently swaying the instrument slightly from side to side
until the heavenly body just brushes the horizon.
When this is achieved instantly make a note of the time, seconds first, then minutes
and hours, then the name of the body and its observed altitude. Every second of time
counts - an error of 4 seconds equates to an error of a nautical mile in the position.
Errors and adjustments of the sextant
The sextant is subject to a number of errors and adjustments.

To find the true altitude of a celestial body from the observed
these must be allowed and adjusted for.
Briefly these are:
 Index Error
 Dip
 Refraction
 Parallax
 Semi-diameter
Index error is an instrumental error. When looking through a
sextant at the horizon the exact level horizon will seldom be
seen to be at 0°.
Sextant set at 0° - horizon split.
Before every sextant session the Index error should be

determined.
Index error corrected for - horizon level.

If the error is less than 0° it should be added to whatever
reading is obtained - if more subtracted. Hint: remember Noah,
if off the Ark - add, if on the Ark - take off.
Dip is an adjustment made for the height of the eye above sea
level. In practice this is usually taken as 0.98 times the square
root of the height of the eye in metres above sea level
multiplied by 3.28.
Refraction is extracted from the Nautical Almanac. It allows

for the "bending" of light rays as they travel through successive
layers of varying density air.
Parallax corrections are needed if the observed body is a

planet, the sun or the moon. From the Almanac.
Semi-diameter correction is needed if the observed body is the

sun or the moon. In this case either the top or bottom of the
celestial object (known as upper or lower limb) is made to
touch the horizon. To obtain the centre of the body this
correction is applied - from the Almanac.
Once all the corrections are applied we have the true altitude.
And this subtracted from 90 gives us the zenithal distance to
the sub-stellar point. Which means we know exactly how far
we are from that elusive point on the earth which is at right
angles to our observed celestial body!

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SEXTANT

Parts of the sextant

Errors and adjustments of the sextant

The sextant is subject to a number of errors and adjustments.

Briefly these are:

Sextant set at 0° - horizon split.

Before every sextant session the Index error should be

Index error corrected for - horizon level.

Refraction is extracted from the Nautical Almanac. It allows

Parallax corrections are needed if the observed body is a

Semi-diameter correction is needed if the observed body is the

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