LESSON 19:

The Marine Sextant, and

Determination of Observed Altitude
Learning Objectives
Know the purpose of a marine sextant.
Apply proper procedures to determine
the observed altitude (Ho) of a celestial
body.

The Marine Sextant

A marine sextant is nothing more than a
device designed to measure, with a
great deal of precision, the angle
between two objects.
In celestial navigation, these objects are
a celestial body (star, sun, moon, or planet)
the visible horizon.

Use of the Sextant

A sextant is used to determine the
sextant altitude (hs) of a celestial body.
First, we have to decide which stars to
observe; this is done using a Rude
Starfinder or other methods.
When making an observation, the star
should look as shown in the next slide...

Determination of Observed
Altitude (Ho)
We must make some corrections to
hs to come up with the Ho, which we
need to use the altitude-intercept
method.

Determination of Observed
Altitude (Ho)
These corrections account for the
following:
index error (error in the sextant itself)
difference between visible and celestial
horizon, due to the observers height of eye
adjustment to the equivalent reading at the
center of the earth and the center of the body
refractive effects of the earths atmosphere

Determination of Ho

The corrections needed to convert

from the sextant altitude (hs) to
observed altitude (Ho) are
1. Index Correction (IC) - sextant error
2. Dip (D) - height of eye (fm Nautical
Almanac)
3. Altitude Correction (Alt Corr)
-refractive effects of the atmosphere

1. Index Correction (IC)

Error present in the sextant itself is
known as index error (IC).
This error is easily determined by
setting the sextant to zero and
observing the horizon; if there is no
error, the view looks like that of the
following slide...

Index Correction
Often, however, the sextant has a
slight error. In this case, the view is
as follows:

Index Correction
To account for this sextant error, we
apply an index correction (IC).
This correction number is a function
of the individual sextant itself.

2. Dip Correction (D)

Next, we must account for the difference
between the celestial horizon and the
visible horizon, due to our height of eye.
This is known as the dip correction (D).
Values of the dip correction are
tabulated inside the front cover of the
Nautical Almanac.

Apparent Altitude
Now, by applying the index correction (IC)
and the dip correction (D), we can
determine the apparent altitude (ha).

ha = hs + IC + D
Note that this is not yet the observed
altitude (Ho) required for our calculations.

3. Altitude Correction
The third correction accounts for the
refractive effects of the earths
atmosphere.
Known as the altitude correction, it is
tabulated inside the front cover of the
Nautical Almanac.

Ho = ha + Alt Corr

Altitude Correction

Determination of Ho

Again, the corrections needed to

convert from the sextant altitude (hs)
to observed altitude (Ho) were
IC (index correction, from sextant error)
D (dip, from height of eye)
Alt Corr (altitude correction, from
refractive effects)

Additional Corrections
These corrections are all that are
needed under normal circumstances
to determine Ho of a star.
An additional correction is required if
the observation is made under nonstandard conditions of temperature
or pressure.

Additional Corrections
If we are using the sun, moon, or planets,
the problem becomes a bit more
complicated.
In addition to the corrections we already
mentioned, we must also accout for
horizontal parallax (sun, moon, Venus, Mars)
semidiameter of the body (sun and moon)
augmentation (moon)

Additional Corrections
These additional corrections make
determination of Ho for the sun,
moon, and planets generally more
difficult than those for a star.
For simplicitys sake, well stick to
determination of Ho for a star.

Use of a Strip Chart

To aid in making any calculations in

celestial navigation, we normally use
a form called a strip chart.
An example of a strip chart used for
calculating Ho of Dubhe is shown on
the next slide...