NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Is Sextant a generic word?
From: Stan K
Date: 2016 Dec 8, 17:16 -0500
From: Stan K
Date: 2016 Dec 8, 17:16 -0500
Tough to say. The 45º degree instrument, which reads 90º, is called both a octant and a quadrant, but I never seen it called a sextant. And I have seen the Navy Mark II, which is typically called a sextant, referred to as a quintant. So maybe instruments reading from 120º through 145º (or so) are generically called sextants.
The Navy Mark II is actually usable at 145º, with a little bit of index mirror still visible, so it is the best sextant around for artificial horizon sights. Interesting that the Navy Mark III, improved with much larger mirrors, only reads to 125º.
Stan
-----Original Message-----
From: John D. Howard <NoReply_Howard@fer3.com>
To: slk1000 <slk1000@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Dec 8, 2016 2:29 pm
Subject: [NavList] Is Sextant a generic word?
From: John D. Howard <NoReply_Howard@fer3.com>
To: slk1000 <slk1000@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Dec 8, 2016 2:29 pm
Subject: [NavList] Is Sextant a generic word?
This may sound like a silly question but do we use the word Sextant in a generic sense or as the name of a specific device - a double reflecting instriment with an arc of 60 degrees but reading to 120 degrees?
The reason I ask is I have noticed many times on Navlist and in books that some people use the word Octant when talking about an aircraft instrement ( A-12 ) and sometimes Quardint. (and sometimes sextant )
The Navy Mark II has an arc of 72 degrees and reads to 144 degrees but no one hesitates to call it a Sextant when it really is not. Do we call a marine instrement a sextant and an aircraft device a quadrant? Is there any agreement in the use of the different words?
John H.
