1.

1 Basic Theory
Astro navigation is a simple process which has been in use for hundreds of years. The following
is a description of what happens when you take a sight.

A Normal Sight
• You measure the vertical angle from the horizon to the
celestial body you choose: sun, moon, planets or stars. (You
have to be able to see the horizon when using a normal sextant
- i.e. it needs to be daylight, dusk or very bright moonlight. Also,
do not try to measure a body that is almost overhead - it is too
difficult to get an accurate result.)

• note as accurately as possible the time when that

measurement is made

• make some small corrections to the measured angle - the

index error of the sextant (which you can measure), and
adjustments for height of the observation above sea level and
for refraction of the atmosphere (you look these up in tables)

• for a position close to where you are (called the assumed

position), you work out the predicted angle of the body above
the horizon at that time, and the body’s predicted bearing from the assumed position. This is the
complicated bit, requiring quite a lot of looking up in tables etc.

• you then compare the measured angle to the predicted angle for the assumed position, which
tells you how far you are from the assumed position, and therefore enables you to draw a position
line

• one position line does not give your position: you can get another one, and hence your position
where they cross, by simultaneously taking a sight on another body. Alternatively take the sun
(say) a few hours later when it has moved. In this case (known as the Sun-Run-Sun procedure)
you have to transfer the first position line by the distance run between the sights, as you do with a
running fix.

A Noon Sight
Wherever you are in the world, there will be a time when the sun is exactly north or south of you,
and at its highest point in the sky that day. This is your local noon: also known as the sun’s
meridian passage. At this time you can:

• measure the angle of the sun above the horizon and correct the measurement as above

• look up the declination of the sun at that time

• perform a simple calculation to determine your latitude.

The same method can be used at the meridian passage of any other body - moon, planets, stars
- but the sun is generally most convenient because its meridian passage occurs during daylight
and is fairly straightforward to predict when it will occur.
The Basic Theory
You can skip this section.

You don’t need to know any of this in order to follow the “recipe” for sight reduction in section 3.
However some people will want to know more about what is going on, and this bit is for them.

Movement of the Earth, Moon and Planets

The earth follows a nearly-circular path around the sun, taking a year to complete a full rotation.
Simultaneously the earth spins on an axis going through the north and south poles.

You can think of the earth’s path around the sun as drawn on a flat plate with the sun in the
middle. The earth’s axis of spinning is almost at right-angles to that plate, but not quite. It is, in
fact, angled off at about 23°, and this is why the sun is higher in the sky in the summer (when the
pole of the hemisphere you are in is angled towards the sun) and lower in the winter (when the
pole is angled away from the sun).

The moon goes round the earth taking 28 days to complete the trip. The moon stays close to the
same flat plate that the earth moves on, and occasionally the sun, moon and earth line up (which
is when you get an eclipse as the moon throws a shadow on the earth or vice versa).

The planets are circulating round the sun like the earth is, so it is more complex (but still possible)
to predict where they are going to be in our sky.

Meanwhile the stars are so far away that we can hardly detect any change in their position, even
though they are rushing away from us at phenomenal speeds. They are in the same place all the
time, but we can only see them when we are facing away from the sun on our spin. That’s why
we see different stars in the winter to the ones we see in the summer - we’re at opposite sides of
the sun and it’s blanking out a different part of the sky for us.

The View from the Earth

If you are sitting on the earth, it’s a lot easier to imagine that the earth is stationary and everything
else is moving around you.

This is exactly how the Nautical Almanac is arranged. It gives us the positions of the sun, moon,
planets and stars for every hour of every day of the year - and from that we can work out their
positions for every second of every minute of every hour of every day of the year.
It gives these positions in terms of two angles. These are declination and Greenwich hour angle.
It’s easiest to explain each of these using the sun as the example. The moon, planets and stars
work in exactly the same way.

Declination

As I have explained, the spin axis of the earth is at an angle to the plate on which the earth
moves round the sun.

Twice in the year the sun is directly overhead at the equator; this is around 21st March and 22nd
September - the equinoxes. At this time the declination is zero.

Moving into October/November, the southerly declination of the sun increases, until it reaches its
furthest
southerly point
at the winter
solstice, 21st /
22nd
December. The
southerly
declination then
reduces, the
sun crosses the
equator in
March and then
the northerly
declination
increases until
20th / 21st
June, which is
the summer
solstice.

The figure
shows how
declination is
measured - it is
in fact the
latitude of the
place on the
earth where the
sun is directly
overhead.

Declination
changes continuously, and it is tabulated for every hour of every day in the Nautical Almanac.
You then apply a small correction to get it for the nearest minute of time.

Greenwich Hour Angle - GHA

The other angle, GHA, changes much more quickly. The Greenwich hour angle is the angle that
changes due to the earth’s spin.

When the GHA is zero, it is noon at the Greenwich meridian. Every hour after that it increases by
15°, so that it goes full circle in 24 hours.
Like the declination the exact angle is tabulated in the Nautical Almanac for every hour of every
day, and you then have to apply quite a large correction to get the GHA for a particular second in
that hour.

The figure above shows how GHA is measured. It is measured in a similar way to longitude,
except that it goes from 0° to 360° in a westerly direction (whereas longitude is measured from 0°
to 180° East or West).

Sight Reduction

For any position on the earth at a particular time, it is possible to calculate the angle of the sun (or
other celestial body) above the horizon, which is called the altitude, and its bearing from that
position, which is called the azimuth.

All you need to know is:

• the latitude and longitude of the position

• the body’s declination and GHA at that time.

I have no intention of explaining how the mathematics works except to say it can either be done
by calculation using trigonometry (sin, cosine etc) or by looking up in special tables. The “recipe”
in section 3 uses tables.

The Position Line

It is helpful to understand how taking a sight - i.e. measuring the sun’s angle above the horizon -
can give a position line.

Imagine the earth as a simple large sphere - not spinning or moving or anything, i.e. a snapshot
at a particular time with the sun in one place.

At this time there will be one point on the earth where the sun is vertically overhead. It is at 90° to
the horizon whichever way you measure it.
If you walk away from that point in any direction, you will get to a point where you have gone 1°
round the earth.
Now measure
the angle of the
sun to the
horizon, and it
will be 89° in the
direction you
have walked
from.

Carry on for a
further 1° round
the earth and
the sun will be at
88° to the
horizon.

If you walked off

in a different
direction, the
same thing
would happen -
you would get to
the same
distance away
(2° round the
earth) and the
sun would be at
88° to the
horizon in the
direction you
had come from.

So you can
imagine a series
of circles
centred on the
point on the
earth where the
sun is vertically
overhead.

At any point on each of these circles the sun will be at the same angle to the horizon (altitude) -
say 88° for a particular circle. So a measurement of 88° means you are somewhere on that
position circle.

Now when the altitude is smaller, say 45°, the position circle you are standing on is very large -
several thousand miles in diameter - so the part of it you are interested in will be pretty much like
a straight line.

So, how do you draw the position line for where you are?
As mentioned in
the section above,
you can work out
the altitude of the
sun at an
assumed position
close to where
you are.

Suppose that the

angle you work
out is 44°, and
suppose that you
have measured
the sun, and its
angle was 44° 30'.
Well that means
that you are
exactly 30' closer
to the point on the
earth where the
sun is directly
overhead.

30 minutes on this
great circle is 30
nautical miles. So
you can draw a
position line
exactly 30
nautical miles from the assumed position, towards the sun. The position line is part of a huge
circle with the sun directly above the centre, so it is drawn at right-angles to the direction of the
sun.

Your sight reduction procedure will also give you the direction of the sun at that point (its azimuth)
and this is all the information you need to draw the position line.

The Noon Sight

The noon (or meridian passage) sight is the simplest form of sight, by which you can work out
your latitude with a very simple formula. This section explains how that works - although you don’t
need to know how it works in order to use the formula.

Quite simply, at midday (not necessarily 1200 on your watch, though) the sun is at its highest
point in the sky, and is due south if you are in northern latitudes.

Suppose the sun’s declination at that moment is 10° North. If you were on the equator, the sun
would not be exactly overhead - it would in fact be north of you, and would be 10° away from
vertically overhead, so in other words it would be (90-10)=80° above the horizon.

If you stood at 10° North it would be exactly overhead, or 90° to the horizon, and if you were at
20° north it would now be south of you, at 80° to the horizon again.
At 30° North it would be 70° to the horizon and so on. So it is fairly simple to see the formula. 90°
minus the altitude of the
sun is your angular
distance from the point
where the sun is directly
overhead.

The figure shows how

you derive the formula,
in the case where both
latitude and declination
are North.

So, if latitude and declination are the samedirection, i.e. both North (as in the example) or both
South, then:

latitude = 90 - altitude + declination

If latitude and declination are contrary, i.e. one is North and the other South, then:

latitude = 90 - altitude - declination

This only works for local meridian passage, requiring two adjustments from 12.00 on your watch:

a) the sun’s meridian passage to Greenwich isn’t precisely at 12.00 GMT. The Nautical Almanac
gives you the difference (called the Equation of Time) for each day of the year.

b) allow for your longitude: if you are at 4° west, local noon happens about 16 minutes later than
at Greenwich.

Alternatively, take a series of sights and select the greatest altitude.

The altitude needs to be corrected in the same way as a normal sight (see 5.2), and the
declination is looked up in the Nautical Almanac for the day and hour of the observation (see 5.3).

Example

Your yacht strikes a submerged container and sinks, on your first Atlantic crossing, 18 days out
from Gran Canaria bound for St Lucia. You evacuate into the liferaft and the trade wind is blowing
you steadily west. In the grab bag is a sextant and The Nautical Almanac, and you want to know
whether to paddle north or south.
Just before your local noon on 3rd December (you reckon you are about 57° west, so that’s at
just under 4 hours after Greenwich noon) you take a series of altitude sights, and the greatest is
53° 18´. The sextant’s index error is zero.

• Applying the corrections for Dip and Altitude Correction (see 5.2) gives 53° 18´ - 1.8´ + 15.3´ =
53° 31.5´

• Looking up the sun’s declination for 1600 on 3rd December 1999 gives South 22° 05.7´

• So your latitude is 90° - altitude - declination = 90° - 53° 31.5´ - 22° 05.7´ = 14° 22.8´ North. So
you paddle south to make it to the ARC celebrations - your latitude is currently about 17 miles
north of the northern most tip of St Lucia.

Latitude by Meridian Transit, Ex-meridians, and the USCG Cel Nav

Exam
A meridian is a longitude line. Your meridian is the longitude you are on.
Meridian transit—also called meridian passage (mer pass)—is the time a
celestial body crosses your meridian. The sextant height of the body above the
horizon at that moment provides your latitude with a just a few steps of
paperwork, and thus this has been a popular exercise in cel nav since earliest
days.

When it is the sun crossing your meridian, it is called Local Apparent Noon
(LAN), with the sun at its peak height in the sky, bearing either due south or
due north. Latitude from LAN is part of every text on cel nav since the mid
1700s, but it has clung to prominence in modern times far beyond its practical
value.

We tend to think most often of stars and other bodies moving east to west
across the sky. The motion is left to right looking south, or right to left looking
north. These paths are called the upper transit of a body across the horizon,
because in both cases the bodies are moving over the top of their nearest
poles. Upper transits reach their highest angle above the horizon as they cross
the meridian bearing due north or south.

But if we look toward the elevated pole in either hemisphere, we also see
circumpolar bodies moving the other direction, west to east, as they pass
under their nearest pole. These bodies, in contrast, reach their lowest
elevation as they cross the meridian. These are called lower transits. We can
find our latitude from either transit.

To get an accurate latitude this way we need to measure the peak sextant
height (upper transit) or minimum sextant height (lower transit), which
defines the transit. This is usually accomplished by estimating the time of the
transit from our DR position and the Nautical Almanac—a process that takes
just minutes—and then we start the sights somewhat before that time, and
take a series of sights until we see that the maximum or minimum has indeed
been captured.

It can happen, however, that our best plans don’t work out. Just as we
approach the peak height in a noon sight, the sun might get covered by clouds.
We end up with a sight near the transit, but not exactly at the transit. Likewise
we might notice at twilight that we have time to take a lower transit star or
planet near the meridian, but discover that it is already going back up. We
missed the lowest point at the true transit. Or we might catch one going down,
but it gets too light out to see it start back up. Again, we have a sight near the
meridian transit, but not right at the transit.

A near miss on the transit, however, does not have to be a miss on a latitude
determination. The paths of the bodies are well predicted, so if we have
accurate time and a reasonable DR accuracy we can figure out what the height
of the body would have been had we actually seen it cross the meridian, and
from this we can figure a latitude in the normal meridian transit method. This
type of near miss sight solved for latitude is called an ex-meridian sight.

And that is the process we will discuss here, but I must say up front that the
only reason we do this is because the USCG asks ex-meridian questions on
their cel nav exams. We do not cover these in our regular cel nav course. In
fact, it seems that the latest publication of the USCG database of questions
(August, 2015) has more ex-meridian questions than it used to, and they are
asking lower levels of licenses to solve them. [Need note here to prove this.]

If it were not for the USCG tests, and like-minded thinking elsewhere, these
methods would have disappeared 50 years ago. I like to think of this as the
way the USCG supports navigation schools, so we remain grateful to them.

The reason these particular cel nav questions should have disappeared is they
are not needed—meaning they do not add to the navigation—and they risk
presenting a false sense of accuracy in latitude. The sextant sight alone
(regardless of what time it was taken) provides a line of position (LOP) on the
chart that we know we are on. If the time happened to be at mer pass, the LOP
is parallel to the bottom of the chart (i.e. it is a latitude line), but if the sight is a
bit earlier or later, the line is tilted some degrees, depending on how far the
time was from mer pass, as shown in Figure 1. The navigation information is
no different. We are somewhere on the line.  

The ex-meridian sights originated at a time when it was not easy to do what
we now called a sight reduction to find an LOP—in fact, the methodology had
not yet been discovered at the time, so this was a way to get something from a
sight that would not otherwise be useful.  This has long not been the case, so
these should be thrown out.

Figure 1. LOPs near meridian passage. Each LOP is perpendicular to the azimuth line
pointed to the GP of the sun.

Indeed, the prominence of even the simple meridian transit sights—forgetting

about ex-meridians—is likewise overrated, for exactly the same reason.
Meridian sights take much longer than regular sights, because we need a
longer sequence of sights to identify the peak or minimum value, and these
sights must be done at a specific time of day. In contrast, we do just as good
navigation taking the sights whenever we need them in the most efficient
manner. 

The popularity of taking the noon sight is largely tradition; we could just as
well find our position at a comfortable time near midday, then DR to the time
of LAN we did (or will) experience, and record that LAN position in the
logbook for the sake of tradition. 

At this point we show a few graphics to illustrate meridian and ex-meridian

sights, then jump straight into shop talk (ie we are going to assume the reader
is familiar with standard sight reduction) to show a trick way to solve ex-
meridians that is faster and less prone to error than the conventional solution
using Bowditch Tables 24 and 25.

The key concept is the zenith distance, z = 90º - Ho, is equal to the distance on
the globe between the observer’s position (Lat, Lon) and the geographical
position (GP) of the body. As a body circles the earth, z decreases as it gets
closer, while its height in the sky (Ho) increases, as shown in Figure 2. At mer
pass, z is minimum and Ho is maximum for an upper transit. If the GP is close
enough to us (meaning for practical purposes, Lat and Dec are not more than
about 80º apart) then we see the body in the sky throughout its path around
the earth. Viewed in the sky, it is called circumpolar. For these bodies seen
crossing our meridian on the other side of the earth, the situation is reversed
—at lower transit, z is maximum, and Ho is minimum.
 Figure 2. Relationship between observed height, Ho, and zenith distance, z. Adapted from 
Celestial Navigation: A Complete Home Study Course.

A lower transit sight must be of a circumpolar body, which means Lat and Dec
are Same Name and the Dec > (90-Lat). Figure 3 below shows the simple way
we can determine Lat from a true meridian transit.
 Figure 3. Computing Lat from meridian sights of circumpolar stars. Only addition and
subtraction of Ho and the Dec is needed for upper or lower transits.  The height of the
elevated pole is always equal to our latitude.  To be circumpolar, a star must be Same Name
with Dec > (90 - Lat).

When we miss the true transit, we have the situation shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Body heights at upper and lower transits and the height differences between them.
The correction is not precisely the same for upper and lower transits even if they miss the
meridian by the same time difference, because the peak height of the path affects its shape,
but for either one, the correction is the same on each side of the transit at the same time
offset. Since the problems can involve any latitude looking either direction, we recommend
plotting a sketch of the LOP before choosing an answer.

Sample USCG Upper-Transit Ex-meridian Question

253. (5.1.2.1D-11) On 15 August [1981] an ex-meridian altitude of the Sun’s

lower limb at upper transit was observed at 1130 ZT. Your DR position is LAT
26°24.0’S, LONG 155°02.0’E, and your sextant altitude (Hs) is 48° 45.9’. The
index error is 2.6’ on the arc, and your height of eye is 51.5 feet. The
chronometer time of the observation is 01h 27m 38s, and the chronometer
error is 02m 14s slow. Find the latitude at meridian transit from the ex-
meridian observation.
o (A) LAT 26°32.6’S
• (B) LAT 26°51.6’S
o (C) LAT 26°57.0’S
o (D) LAT 27°09.9’S

Solution
Step 1. Figure UTC from CT and look up Dec and GHA at UTC of sight time. DR-
Lon is 155º 02’ E; so zone description (ZD) = 155/15 = 10.33, or ZD = -10h.
Sight at ZT 1130, so UTC is about 0130, so UTC = 01h 27m 38s + 02m 14s =
01h 29m 52s. [Note on USCG time keeping]

From Nautical Almanac, converted to decimals for later computations.

Dec = N 14º 07.9’ = N 14.132º

GHA = 201º 20.4’ = 201.340º
DR Lat = 26º 24.0’ S = 26.400º S
DR Lon = 155º 2.0’ E = 155.03º E
LHA = GHA + LonE = 356.370º

Step 2. Do a sight reduction by computation from the DR position, just as if we

were going to do normal navigation and plot an LOP… which we are in fact
going to do. We can use computation here (as opposed to Pub 229) because to
be prepared for the full range of USCG great circle sailings questions we must
know the same formula.  

Hc = arcsin [ sin Lat * sin Dec + cos Lat * cos Dec * cos LHA ] Z = arccos [ ( sin
Dec - sin Lat * sin Hc ) / cos Lat * cos Hc ]

Sign Rules: enter all angles as positive, but if contrary name, enter Dec as a
negative number… which is the case at hand.

Hc = arcsin [sin (26.400) sin (-14.132) + cos (26.400) cos (-14.132) cos
(356.370) ]
Hc = arcsin (0.75830) = 49.315º = 49º 18.9’ [ See key strokes ]

Now find the azimuth angle Z.

Z = arccos { [ sin (-14.132) - sin (26.400) x sin(49.316)] / [cos(26.400) x cos

(49.316)] }

Z = arccos (-0.995596) = 174.6

(Had Z ended up negative, we would change it to Z+180, but this example does
not call for that.)
Step 3. Convert Z to Zn and Hs to Ho and figure a-value to plot the LOP. (This is
all standard procedure if we were just plotting an LOP from this sun sight.) S
Lat with LHA > 180, so

The standard rules for converting Z to Zn:

N Lat, LHA > 180, Zn = Z, else Zn = 360 - Z
S Lat, LHA > 180, Zn = 180 - Z, else Zn = 180 + Z

We have S Lat, with LHA > 180, so

Zn = 180 - z = 180 - 174.6 = 005.4
(The sun was indeed just to the right of our meridian, looking north.)

Ha = Hs ± IC - dip = 48° 45.9’ -2.6’ - 7.0’ = 48º 36.3’

Ho = Ha ± alt corr = 48º 36.3’ + 15.1 = 48º 51.4’
a = Hc - Ho = 49º 18.9’ - 48º 51.4’ = 27.5’ A 005.4

Step 4. Make a sketch of the LOP plot to figure the ex-meridian Lat, i.e. to find
what our latitude would be if we assume the DR-Lon is correct, which is part of
the rash assumptions made in all ex-meridian sights. We could plot this and
read it from the scales, but for ex-meridian only we can compute the offset; the
sketch just keeps the situation in perspective, ie does the correction make our
ex-meridian Lat larger or smaller than the DR-Lat, as shown in Figure 5.
 Figure 5. A plot sketch to check the computation of dLat. The scale does not matter, we just
want to show that for S Lat with Zn to the N, an a-value Away makes the Lat a larger number
to the south. Note that in this fictitious problem made up by the USCG for the exam, we find a
latitude that is near 30' off the DR-Lat with a method that must assume the corresponding
DR-Lon is correct. We know the LOP is correct, and we should in practice just leave it at
that.

The offset can be computed from dLat = a / cos Zn, which means the ex-
meridian Lat = DR-Lat + dLat . In this example, dLat = 27.5 / cos 5.4 = 27.6’ and
the final answer is 26º 24.0’ + 27.6’ = 26º 51.6’ S, which is answer B.

Sample USCG Lower Transit Ex-meridian Question

164. (5.1.2.1C-1) On 16 June [1981] in DR position LAT 50°57.0’S, LONG

53°03.9’W (ZD+4), you take an ex-meridian observation of Acrux at lower
transit. The chronometer time of the sight is 10h 08m 18s, and the
chronometer error is 02m 12s fast. The sextant altitude (hs) is 23°49.0’. The
index error is 1.1’ off the arc, and your height of eye is 26 feet. What is the
latitude at meridian transit?

• (A) 50°41.2’S
o (B) 51°02.2’S
o (C) 51°33.0’S
o (D) 51°41.2’S

Solution

Step 1. Figure UTC. (It is a pity we have to do this, but we do.)

In contrast to the first example, the ZT of the sight was not given, but with ZD =
+4h we can check CT. That is, CT = 1008, means either UTC = 1008 or 2208.
The first gives sight time = 0608 ZT; the latter gives 1808ZT.  Under some
circumstances we might be able to judge from this alone, but not in this case, ie
either one could be twilight without further knowledge. So we need to check
which one of these happens to be in twilight when stars and horizon can both
be seen.  

Checking the 1981 Nautical Almanac, and noting that DR-Lon 53º 3.9’ = 3h
32m (Arc to Time table), we find that sight time in the morning (ie nautical to
civil twilight) = 0646 to 0812 LMT = 1018 to 1144 UTC, and in the evening,
1630 to 1715 LMT = 2002 to 2047 UTC.  So CT 1008 is a morning sight
corresponding to 1008 UTC.

UTC = 10h 08m 18s -02m 12s = 10h 06m 06s.  

[Note this was about 10m before nautical twilight, but still within reason as
they could have had (in the virtual circumstance of this fictitious problem)
very clear skies that let them see the horizon early.]

Look up Nautical Almanac data and convert to decimals. 

Dec = S63º 00.0’ = S63.000º
GHA = 229° 43.4’ = 229.723º
DR Lat = 50° 57.0’S = 50.950º S
DR Lon = 53°03.9’ W= 53.075º W
LHA = GHA - LonW = 176.658º

[Acrux is a bright star at the base of the Southern Cross, and now we know that
at sight time it was 176.6º west of us. This is confusing information as we
know we were looking south and would expect—from upper transit
experience—a Zn within a few degrees of 180, which for upper transits would
in turn call for LHA of a few degrees or (360 minus a few degrees). 

But this is a lower transit sight, which frankly confuses the reasoning. But it
does not matter. We are just going to do a sight reduction and plot the LOP. We
do not care if it is upper or lower, or even if it is not anywhere near transit.
This note is just to say, do not be confused by the LHA value.]

Step 2. Do a sight reduction from the DR position.

Hc = arcsin [sin (50.950) sin (63.000) + cos (50.950) cos (63.000) cos
(176.658) ]
Hc = arcsin (0.406426) =  23.980º =  23º 58.8’ 

and find Z from: 

Z = arccos { [ sin (63.000) - sin (50.959) x sin(23.980)] / [cos(50.950) x cos
(23.980)] }
Z = arccos (-0.99958) = 1.6 and Zn = 181.6

Step 3. Convert Hs to Ho and figure a-value to plot the LOP. (This is all
standard procedure if we were just plotting an LOP from this sun sight.)

Ha =  Hs ± IC - dip = 23° 49.0’ +1.1’ - 4.9’ = 23º 45.2’

Ho =  Ha ± alt corr = 23º 45.2’ -2.2 = 23º 43.0’
a = Hc - Ho = 23º 58.8’ - 23º 43.0’ = 15.8’ A 181.6

Step 4. We could make the sketch, but at Zn = 181.6 the angle off the meridian
is just 1.6º, which will not change the a-value, so dLat = a-value. We are S Lat
looking S, so an Away a-value makes the Lat a smaller number. 
The offset can be computed from dLat = a / cos Zn, which means the ex-
meridian Lat = DR-Lat + dLat . In this example, dLat = 15.8 / cos 181.6 = -15.8’
and the final answer is 50° 57.0’ - 15.8’ = 50º 41.2’ S, which is answer A.

__________________

Final note: We have used a shortcut method to find a logical value of the Lat,
namely if your DR Lon is right, then this is the right Lat. But this is not the Lat at
meridian transit. It is the Lat at the time of the sight.  These USCG exam questions
inevitably ask for the "Latitude at meridian transit," and then proceed to find the
result using two tables in Bowditch, which are specifically annotated as
"...remember that the value obtained [using Tables 24 and 25] is the latitude at the
time of observation, not at the time of meridian transit."  And since course and
speed are never given with these problems, this is all we can do. 

So I maintain that these problems, along with the ones they have for finding
compass error by amplitude, should be removed from the tests.  The latter should
be removed for the same generic reason, namely there is an easier and more
accurate way to get the result... maybe not 80 years ago (before sight reduction
tables) but certainly today.

How to Navigate Using Noonsites

Here are the basics for finding your position using only the noonsite and how to to use the
tables you can print from our on-line site.

Basics
This page assumes you have some basic understanding of calibrating a sextant and taking sites. 
If not, try reading this short primer about sextants then come back to this page to learn how to
do quick noon sites without the Nautical Almanac. 

Tools

⊗A watch that is accurate to the seconds of the universal GMT clock or a radio capable of
picking up the time signal.
⊗A way to measure the angle between the horizon and the sun.  A sextant is ideal, but there
are other improvised ways.  See the"Emergency Navigation" on the previous page.
⊗Also you'll need a set of tables which you can generate using our Java application, or you
can buy a Nautical Almanac or some other tool.  The tables you need have the following
information:
⊗Observation Corrections:  Refraction, Dip, and Parallax
Correction tables (they can be ignored in an emergency, but 
Refraction can not be ignored if the observed angle is 
less than 10°).  To print out your own correction tables click here.
  
⊗Celestial Information:  Sun's time of meridian passage (MP), the 
semi-diameter (SD) size (can be set to 16.0' in an emergency), 
Declination of the Sun (DEC) at the time of meridian passage.
To make your own tables click here.  Click here for 2006 data, or 
2007 data, or 2008 data.
Shooting the Noonsite

Using your sextant at about 11:30am local time, start measuring the angle between the bottom
edge of the sun (called the lower limb) and the horizon.  Note the time in minutes and the
angle of observation.  Keep repeating this step until the angle reaches its biggest value and
starts to decrease for about 30 more minutes.

Using your information, you can make a plot of the sun's altitude versus time as shown in the
following figure from American Practical Navigator.

To find the time of your local apparent noon (LAN), you can average the times where the sun is
at the same height on the ascending and descending sides.  Thus the first average is
Ta=(t1+t7)/2, then Tb=(t2+t5)/2 and Tc=(t3+t4)/2.  The total average becomes LAN =
(Ta+Tb+Tc)/3.  After you've done a bunch of noonsites, you'll get pretty good at gauging the
time of noonsite without all this extra work.  You can also cheat a little by looking at the time
of meridian passage at GMT and start taking sights about 15 minutes before your estimated
LAN.
 

Do the Math

Now the fun part!  Using the time of your noonsite (LAN), we can calculate your longitude and
using the angle you measured at noon (Hs or Sextant Altitude), we can find the latitude.

Longitude Procedure:

1. From the tables, look up the time of the Meridian Passage (MP or Mer. Pass.).
2. Take the difference in time of your local time in GMT (Local Hour Angle) LHA minus
MP.
 3. Next, convert the time difference into arc by remembering Hours*15 = degrees,
Minutes/4 = degrees (convert reminder to seconds), Seconds/4= minutes.
4. The result is your Longitude.
5. For additional accuracy, add the Equation of Time (EoT) correction.

Latitude Procedure:

1. Take your observed altitude, Hs, and correct for dip, refraction, parallax, and any
sextant errors.  This yields H, which we need to correct for the sun.
2. Look up the sun's semi-diameter (SD) correction (for Lower Limb) for your date and
add that correction as well.  This is Ho, the corrected altitude.
3. Take 90° - Ho to compute the zenith distance (Zd).  If the sun is to your North, call
your zenith distance South.  If the sun is to your South, call the zenith distance
North.
4. Look up the sun's declination (DEC).
5. If the DEC and the Zd (from Step 3) have the same N or S direction, add the two
angles.  If they are the opposite, subtract the smaller angle from the larger, and
take the N or S label from the larger angle.
6. This result is your latitude!

Example

After careful observation on November 27, 2004 the LAN was measured 33°28.7' to the South
and occurred at 14h 11m 30s GMT.  Eye height 10 ft, Sextant errors = 0.

Longitude:

1. According to the tables (see excerpt below), MP is 1147.45 GMT.

2. Finding the difference is 14:11.30 - 11:47.45
13:71.30 - 11:47.45 (manipulate the hours to minutes for subtraction)
13:70.90 - 11:47.45 (manipulate the minutes to seconds for subtraction)
13:70.90 - 11:47.45 = 2h 23m 45s (resulting difference)
3. Convert 2 hours to degrees  2*15 = 30°
Convert 23 minutes  23/4 = 5.75 (take the whole part of 5.75 as 5°)
Convert 0.75 *4 = 3 (this is the remainder degrees changed to minutes)
3 * 60 = 180 (changed to seconds)
4. Now add this 180s remainder to the 45s from the difference in Step 2
180+45 = 225 seconds (next divide by 4 to get back to minutes of arc).
225/4 = 56.25 (converted back to minutes for the solution)
Now put it all together 
30° + 5° + 56.25' =  W 35°56.25'

This result is your Longitude.  Note that it is West because your local apparent noon
(LAN) is later than noon at MP.  Also keep in mind if you are on the other side of the
International Date line to make sure you look up the correct day for GMT noon. 

Latitude:

1. Take Hs = 33°28.7', (from the tables) correct for dip (eye height) = -3.1', refraction
= -1.4' and parallax = 0.12, sextant errors =0.  H = Hs - 3.1' - 1.4' + 0.12 = 33°24.3'
(note we are working in degrees, minutes and fraction of minutes only).
2. The sun's SD on Nov. 27, 2004 is 16.2 (see table below).  To get the full corrected
altitude:
Ho = H + SD or Ho = 33°24.3' + 16.2 = 33°39.5'
 3. Now compute zenith distance, Zd=90° - Ho = 90° - 33.39.5' = N 56°20.5'.  (Note
change 90° to 89°60.0' then subtract and it's North based on the given information
of the sun being to the South.)
4. The sun's DEC from the tables is S 21°14.15' as given from the tables, so 
DEC=S 21°14.2'.
5. DEC and Zd have the same direction, so subtract them. 56°20.5' - 21°14.2' = 
35°06.3'.
6. Since the North measurement is the larger number, the latitude is N 35°06.3'.

Data for this example generated by our on-line java script:

Date             M.P.           GHA Sun        DEC Sun         SD      RA Sun            EoT (min)

11/25/2004   11:47:07   000° 00.00'   S 20° 51.93'  16.2'   16h 06m 08.9s  12.88
11/26/2004   11:47:26   000° 00.03'   S 21° 03.23'  16.2'   16h 10m 24.4s  12.57
11/27/2004   11:47:45   359° 59.88'   S 21° 14.15'  16.2'   16h 14m 40.6s  12.24
11/28/2004   11:48:06   000° 00.07'   S 21° 24.67'  16.2'   16h 18m 57.5s  11.90
11/29/2004   11:48:27   000° 00.07'   S 21° 34.78'  16.2'   16h 23m 15.1s  11.55
11/30/2004   11:48:48   359° 59.90'   S 21° 44.48'  16.2'   16h 27m 33.5s  11.19