NavList:

Chris Maness, you wrote:
"You just need to leave it in the container that you plan to use it in. One day in the hot car and all the bubbles will pop and it will be smooth as glass."

Ha! Good idea :) [see PS].

I suppose this is comparable to heating the molasses on a stove to a temperature where its viscosity is reduced --and before it starts to cook! I just wish we could find some compound that has similar viscosity and other molass-ish properties without sugar. Is there such a thing as artificial-sweetener molasses?? The ants will probably plot against me now...

You wrote:
"I frequently get .25nm shots from it with the Sun."

That matches my experience with the few times I've experimented with A.H. sights using something besides water, and it also matches my experience with lunars which are generally a similar visual experience (plus/minus a quarter of a minute of arc individually, yielding nearly a tenth of a minute of arc when four or more are averaged). In all of this, it's worth specifying the sextant type and the scope magnification... I'm guessing you don't get numbers like that with a Davis Mk 3. ;)

And:
"It seems that a mirror is much more work having to level it carefully if you want results that push you to the edge of accuracy possibilities with a sextant."

Yes. And if chasing that accuracy is the goal, then a leveled mirror is probably hopeless. On the other hand, for many navigators it's just an opportunity to experiment when away from the ocean (and lakes), and a minute of three of error is no big deal. The mirror solution has the advantage of semi-permanence if it can be mounted on a solid structure (a rock) and covered when not in use.

Frank Reed

PS: I left a can of Coca-Cola in my car last year, and it exploded. Blew the top right off the can. The result was lots of "molasses" scattered all over the interior. The can was probably in the worst possible place, right between the driver and passenger seats. I still find little molasses patches in strange places. :)