NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Small zenith distance: a "bubble" sextant vs a Newtonian type sextant?
From: Geoffrey Kolbe
Date: 2018 Feb 28, 23:10 -0800
From: Geoffrey Kolbe
Date: 2018 Feb 28, 23:10 -0800
The big problem with celestial bodies having a small zenith distance is determining what its azimuth is. No, really. There is a star right up there very near your zenith - what direction do you face with your sextant to take a sight? Having tried it myself, I would say this is especially difficult with a bubble sextant at night where there is no natural horizon. With a marine sextant, you can change your azimuth quite quickly and see where the body is at its lowest. Not so easy with a bubble where you have to keep still to let the bubble settle
