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A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Full moon sights and lifeboat sextant accuracy
From: Ron Jones
Date: 2017 Oct 5, 14:13 -0700
From: Ron Jones
Date: 2017 Oct 5, 14:13 -0700
See Bowditch 2002 Bicentennial Edition Section 1605 Sextant Moon Sights.
"When observing the Moon, follow the same procedure as for the Sun. Because of the phases of the Moon, the upper limb of the Moon is observed more often than that of the Sun. When the terminator (the line between light and dark areas) is nearly vertical, be careful in selecting the limb to shoot. Sights of the Moon are best made during either daylight hours or that part of twilight in which the Moon is least luminous. At night, false horizons may appear below the Moon because the Moon illuminates the water below it."
