Meridian Passage

th
1- At Z.T. 0730 ; April 20 ;1990 , the ship was in D.R. position ( 34º 25`.0 N ; 170º 15`.0 E )
Ch. Error 5m 41 s fast
I.E 2`.1 on the arc
Ht. of eye 12.1 meters
C.Co.to steer 027º.0
Var. (1984 ) 5°.3 E ( decreasing 6` Annually )
Dev. 1°.3 W
Speed 15.5 knots
Calculate the following :
a. Ch.time of meridian passage of the true sun to the nearest second.
b. The true latitude of the observer ; if the sextant meridian altitude of
the lower limb of the sun was observed 66º 06`.8 due South.

2- At Z.T. 0750 ; Nov. 17th ;1990 , the ship was in D.R. position ( 33º 40.0’ N ; 178º 30.0` E )
Ch. Error 1m 50 s slow
I.E 1.8` on the arc
Ht. of eye 11.8 meters
C.Co 055º
Var. (1975 ) 00° 40’ w ( decreasing 6` Annually )
Dev. 3.5° E
Speed 12.5 knots
Calculate the following :
a. Ch.time of meridian passage of the true sun to the nearest second.
b. The true latitude of the observer ; if the sextant meridian altitude of
the lower limb of the sun was observed 36º 51.2` due South.

3- At Z.T. 0800 ; April 9th ;1990 , the ship was in D.R. position ( 28º 20`.0 S ; 171º 20`.0 W )
I.E 3.2’ off the arc
Ht. of eye 14.6 meters
C.Co. 113º
Var. (1976 ) 7.4° E ( decreasing 5` Annually )
Dev. 2.6° W
Speed 17.3 knots
Calculate the following :
a. L.M.T of meridian passage of the true sun to the nearest second.
b. The true latitude of the observer ; if the sextant meridian altitude of
the lower limb of the sun was observed 53º 15.0`.

4- At Z.T. 0900 ; June 27th ;1990 , the ship was in D.R. position ( 32º 15`.0 N ; 030º 30`.0 E )
Ch. Error 2m 10 s Slow
I.E 2`.5 off the arc
Ht. of eye 13 meters
C.Co. 310º
Var (1982 ) 3° 25’ W ( Increasing 8` Annually )
Dev. 3.5° W
Speed 13.5 knots
Calculate the following :
a. Ch.time of meridian passage of the true sun to the nearest second.
b. The true latitude of the observer ; if the sextant meridian altitude of
the lower limb of the sun was observed 80º 20.5`.
 Meridian Passage
Example :
At Z.T. 0730 ; April 20th ;1990 , the ship was in D.R. position ( 34º 25`.0 N ; 170º 15`.0 E )
Ch. Error 5m 41 s fast
I.E 2`.1 on the arc
Ht. of eye 12.1 meters
C.Co.to steer 027º.0
Var. (1984 ) 5°.3 E ( decreasing 6` Annually )
Dev. 1°.3 W
Speed 15.5 knots
Calculate the following :
a. Ch.time of meridian passage of the true sun to the nearest second.
b. The true latitude of the observer ; if the sextant meridian altitude of
the lower limb of the sun was observed 66º 06`.8 due South.

Calculate the Variation

1990 – 1984= 6 years x6’ =36’ = 0.6 ̊
Var.(1984) 5.3 E Var. 4.7 E
Cor. 0.6 Dev. 1.3 W
c Var. 4.7 E C.Err 3.4 E

C.Co 027
C.Err 3.4 E
T.Co. 030.4

Z.T 07 30 20 April
Z.N E 11
G.D 1 2030 19 April

1st approximation
L.M.T mp 11 59 00 20 April
Long/ T 11 21 00
G.M.T 2 00 38 00
G.M.T 1 20 30 00 19 April
Interval 04 08 00 x 15.5 = 64.1 Miles

Co. Dis. d.Lat. dep.

dis x cos Co. dis. x sin Co.
30.4 64.1 55.3 N 32.4 E

Lat. 34 25.0 N
½ d.Lat 27.7 N d.Long =dep ÷ cos M.Lat.
M.Lat 34 52.7 N d.Long/ 39.5’ E

DR 1 Lat. 34 25.0 N Long 170 15.0 E

d.Lat 55.3 N d.Long 39.5 E
DR 2 Lat 35 20.3 N Long 170 54.5 E

2nd Approximation
L.M.T mp 11 59 00 20 April
Long/ T 11 23 38
G.M.T 3 00 35 22
G.M.T 2 00 38 00 20 April
Interval (-) 00 02 38 x 15.5 = 0.7 Miles
 Co. Dis. d.Lat. dep.
dis x cos Co. dis. x sin Co.
30.4(reverse) 0.7 0.6 S 0.4 W
d.Long 0.5 W

DR 2 Lat. 35 20.3 N Long 170 54.5 E

d.Lat 00.6 S d.Long 00.5 W
DR 3 Lat 35 19.7N Long 170 54.0 E

LHA 360 00.0 Sext. mer.alt. 66̊ 06.8

± Long.w/ E ( - ) 170 54.0 IE (+) 2.1
GHA 189 06.0 Obs. mer. alt. 66 04.7
N. GHA 180 14.5 Dip (-) 6.1
Inc. 8 51.5 App. mer .alt. 65 58.8
GMT 00h 35m 26s Apr 20 th Corrn ( + ) 15.5
Ch.Err. ( + ) 5m 41s True mer. alt. 66 14.1
Ch.Time 00h 41m 07s 90 (~)
TMZD 23 45.9
Dec. 11 21.2 N C.Dec. ( ~ ) 11 21.7 N
d.Corrn ( + ) 0.5 T. Lat 35 07.6 N
C.Dec. 11 21.7 N