Sextant

A sextant

A sextant is an object used for navigation which measures angles. The user is able to measure the angle between the horizon and an object in the sky, such as the sun, a star, or a planet. It originally could measure angles up to 60°, which was one sixth of a circle.^[1] This is how it got its name from the Latin word sextus (six). It helps work out positions of latitude and longitude.

Sextant Media

Marine sextant.svg

diagram of a marine sextant used for observing heavenly bodies
Using sextant swing.gif

Using the sextant to measure the altitude of the Sun above the horizon
Käpt'n Jonny Arndt bei einer Horizontalwinkelmessung..jpg

Sextants can also be used by navigators to measure horizontal angles between objects.

References

↑ "Sextant from". McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. 2006. Retrieved 16 June 2011.

^+{{{1}}}_−{{{2}}}

This short article about technology can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it.

[1] "Sextant from". McGraw-Hill Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. 2006. Retrieved 16 June 2011.

[1]