Principles of Celestial Navigation


Basics » Measuring Angles and Altitude » Exercise

schematic of angles that relate to a sextant being used for a sighting on a celestial object

From the list below, select the correct values for each object shown in the figure.

1. Star A altitude
2 Star A zenith distance
3. Star B altitude
4. Star B zenith distance

Recall that zenith distance = 90 degrees minus altitude. Star A has an altitude of 60 degrees and zenith distance of 30 degrees. Star B has an altitude of 75 degrees and zenith distance of 15 degrees.