Sextant Activity

Sextant Activity
CLASS COPY (Do not write)
Marine Science
Now that you have constructed your sextants, its time to put them to use!
Back in the days before satellite navigation, seafarers used sextants to
determine the angle of elevation of a celestial object in order to determine
their position at sea. This was done by using the sextant to find the
elevation angle of a celestial object (the north star, sun, or constellation)
above the horizon.
In this lab you will practice this skill by determining the height of several
objects on campus using your sextants and a measuring tape. And over
the next couple of evenings at home you will use these sextants to site the North Star or the
pole star to determine the latitude of your location.
Part I Using a sextant to determine the heights of objects
STOP
Before heading out to measure the heights of various objects you will need to describe how you
are going to do this. Label a section called Methods on your lab and describe the method you
will be using. There are at least three methods that will work to get these measurements and I
want you to think about and describe which of these methods you will be using. You will be
able to use the following tools:
Sextant for measuring angles of elevation
Tape measure to measure distance from building
Graph paper
calculator
Determine the heights of the following objects (show all calculations and attach graph paper
if used)
For each object you will need to take at least 3 angle measurements from different people in
your group. On your data sheet you should include the measured angle, distance from the
object, and height of the observer. If you are using a plastic protractor you will need to subtract
the measured angle from 90 degrees in order to get the correct elevation angle.
North side of the science building
North side of the gymnasium
The height of the radio tower on Vinyard Mountain. (The

tower is 2.77 km from the parking lot behind the science
wing.)
QUESTIONS:
1. Describe an alternate method of calculating the height of
your objects using your sextant.
2. Find out from your teacher the actual measurements of the gymnasium and calculate
your percentage of error (how far off were your measurements)
3. Do you think the height measurement for each of your objects would change if the base
distance (the distance from the object when elevation was taken) were changed? Why
or why not?
4. List four factors that could account for the error you saw in these measurements.
Part II Using a Sextant to Determine Latitude

For the first objective in the second part, you will need to share the sextant with your lab partner
or create another one at home. Although actual sextants are designed to be used with the sun,
our in class models do not have the shade protectors to keep the sun from burning our eyes, so
we can only use ours to sight the north star or the pole star.
Questions:
1. Using a sextant sight the north star or pole star from your house and write down the
elevation angle. This angle is the same angle as the latitude measurement of your
location.
Group member 1
address: ________________________________
Latitude measurement from sextant ____________
Actual latitude from Google Earth ____________
Group Member 2
address: ________________________________
Latitude measurement from sextant ____________
Actual latitude from Google Earth ____________
2. Draw a circle diagram of the earth and the angles used to show why the North Star elevation
measurement is equal to your latitude. Indicate the following on your diagram:
zenith
light rays from the star
north pole
the equator
observers horizon
elevation angle
latitude angle from center of the earth
3. Diagram another view of the Earth, however this time show how you would measure your
latitude using the sun. You can use the equinox (suns position is directly above the equator)
position of the sun for this diagram. Once again indicate everything listed above but change the
light from the sun instead of the north star. Explain why you cant simply use the elevation angle
as your latitude.
4. Now draw two more diagrams for taking a latitude measurement during the summer and
winter solstice. In your diagram be sure to indicate the 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth and
explain why you need to either add or subtract 23.5 degrees from your latitude
measurement for both of these times.
5. It is noon on the summer solstice June 21st. Your sextant reading of the sun indicates
that it is 32 degrees above the southern horizon. What is your latitude to the nearest
half degree? Be sure to indicate N,S,W, E designation.
6. What is your latitude if you get a reading of 46 degrees elevation by sighting the North
star with a sextant. Be sure to include N,S,W,E designation.
7. It is noon on the winter solstice December 21st. Your sextant reading of the sun indicates
that it is 44 degrees above the northern horizon. What is your latitude to the nearest
half degree? Be sure to indicate N,S,W.E.

Sextant Activity

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Sextant Activity

Uploaded by

Sextant Activity

CLASS COPY (Do not write)

North side of the science building

North side of the gymnasium

The height of the radio tower on Vinyard Mountain. (The

Part II Using a Sextant to Determine Latitude

latitude angle from center of the earth

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