The marine sextant is one of those instruments that stood the test of time. It is a very reliable tool for seafarers and navigators crossing the seven oceans even before the introduction of electronic navigation. Even with today’s global positioning system or GPS, many navigators still practice...
Marine sextant
[Answer] What is a Marine Sextant?
An article in Marine Insight helps us understand the working principle, readings and maintenance of a Marine Sextant.
What is Sextant?The sextant is an instrument used to measure angles. Mainly used at sea, the tool is so named because its arc is one-sixth of a circle – 60 degrees. It adheres to the principle of double reflection hence it can measure angles up to 120 degrees.
Practically speaking, the arc of the sextant is a little over 60 degrees and therefore the total angle measurable is about...