Parts of the Marine Sextant

1. The frame.

This is made of rigid metal construction or molded plastic. It has three legs upon which the sextant
rests when in the horizontal position. The upper part of the frame refers to the plane of instrument,
and the lower part is the lower limb instrument.

2. The handle. is fitted with a button switch and has a compartment for batteries to power the
electric light on the index arm.

3. The telescope or prismatic monocle. This is used to enlarge the observed object and to
make accurate observations easier. The telescope usually has a magnification of 4 X and a field
of view of 5°.

4. The rising piece. rising piece which is fitted with a milled head quick release screw. By
adjusting the rising piece, the telescope is brought closer or further from the frame.

5. The arc. the arc will be constructed of a thin strip of metal which has a low co-efficient of
expansion. It is "let in" flush with the "lower limb" of the sextant and is graduated from 0° to 120°
"on" the arc and from 0° to -5° "off" the arc.

6. The index arm. The index arm is mounted on a circular base plate and is free to rotate on a
central axis underneath the index mirror. The arrow of the index arm is known as the index mark.

7. The clamp. the clamp disengages or unclamps the index arm from the gearing cut into the
lower limb of the sextant. The index arm can then be moved to the required angle.

8. The worm and rack. The worm is an endless tangent screw which engages with the rack or
gearing which is cut into the lower limb of the sextant.

9. The micrometer drum. While whole degrees are read directly from the arc, minutes of arc are
read from the micrometer drum.

10. The micrometer vernier. The micrometer vernier has five or six graduations which
correspond to 0.2' or 10" of arc respectively. Minutes of arc are read off the micrometer drum
opposite the vernier index mark.

11.The electric light. The light bulb is contained in a special holder so arranged that the light
illuminates the arc, micrometer drum and vernier.
12.Index mirror. The index mirror is a frame attached to the moveable index arm. Its purpose is
to reflect light to the horizon mirror:

13. The index mirror clips. These are spring clips that hold the mirror to its frame.

14. Index mirror adjustment screw (first). This is an adjustment screw situated on the center
line of the mirror. By adjusting the screw, the mirror moved to the perpendicular position.

15. The index mirror shades. These shades are made of high-quality optical glass. They are
used to reduce the intensity of the sun's reflected image and to protect the eyes.

16. The horizon mirror. This mirror receives the image from the index mirror and reflects it back
to the observer through the telescope. It can be either a. rectangular or circular mirror held in an
appropriate frame.

17. The horizon mirror clips. These are spring clips holding the horizon mirror in its frame.

18. The horizon mirror adjustment screw (second adjustment). This adjustment screw is
situated on the center line of the horizon mirror. It may be at the top or bottom of the mirror,
depending on its design.

19. The horizon mirror adjustment screw (third adjustment). The adjustment screw is located
on the edge of the mirror and is used to adjust the horizon (mirror parallel to the index mirror when
the index arm is set to zero.

20. The horizon mirror shades. These are used to reduce the intensity of a brightly lit horizon
and are similar to the index mirror shades. Two or three horizontal shades are normally fitted.
CORRECTABLE

PERPENDICULARITY ERROR- When the index mirror is not perpendicular to the plane of the instrument

SLIDE ERROR- When the horizon mirror is not perpendicular to the plane of the instrument

INDEX MIRROR- When the index and horizon mirror are not parallel to each other when the instrument is set at 0
degrees.

NON-CORRECTABLE

centering error - caused by the index arm not pivoting at the exact center of arc curvature.

prismatic error - caused by the mirrors not being mutually parallel.

graduation error - the result of inaccuracies in the machining of the arc, micrometer drum, and vernier of the
sextant

worm and rack error - This causes a backlash, leading to inconsistent errors.

collimation error - the telescope is not parallel to the frame.

instrument error – set up of all errors.