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Sextant "side error" and star-star sights
From: Frank Reed CT
Date: 2004 Dec 5, 15:41 EST
From: Frank Reed CT
Date: 2004 Dec 5, 15:41 EST
Sextant users are advised to eliminate "side error". This the little
left-right gap that shows up between the direct and reflected image when the
sextant is set to zero. Side error is eliminated when the index mirror is
made exactly perpendicular to the sextant frame. Myself, I prefer to leave
a "side error" gap of a few tenths of a minute of arc. This is helpful with
star-star sights since it's easier to see small changes in alignment than it is
when the star images are completely superimposed. So is there a risk to this?
What harm does "side error" do to standard sextant sights? If I have a gap of
0.5 minutes of arc, for example, what will be the resulting errors?
Frank R
[ ] Mystic, Connecticut
[X] Chicago, Illinois
[ ] Mystic, Connecticut
[X] Chicago, Illinois
