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The Bris sextant / ˈ b r iː s /, or Bris Mini-Sextant, is not a sextant proper, but is a small angle-measuring device that can be used for navigation. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The Bris is, however, a true reflecting instrument which derives its high accuracy from the same principle of double reflection which is fundamental to the octant, the true sextant ...
The frame of a sextant is in the shape of a sector which is approximately 1 ⁄ 6 of a circle (60°), [2] hence its name (sextāns, sextantis is the Latin word for "one sixth"). "). Both smaller and larger instruments are (or were) in use: the octant, quintant (or pentant) and the (doubly reflecting) quadrant [3] span sectors of approximately 1 ⁄ 8 of a circle (45°), 1 ⁄ 5 of a circle (72 ...
Voilà, the new version of the sextant is ready. The animation is now smoother and a bit simplified. I decided to include the light rays only at the begining and at the end, otherwise the image would be too cluttered. But the sextant is a working replica, i.e., the angles and reflections are all correct. - Alvesgaspar 21:34, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
The first known mural sextant was constructed in Ray, Iran, by Abu-Mahmud al-Khujandi in 994. [1] To measure the obliquity of the ecliptic, al-Khujandī invented a device that he called al-Fakhri sextant (al-suds al Fakhrī), a reference to his patron, Buwayhid ruler, Fakhr al Dawla (976–997).
Original - Diagram of a marine sextant, an instrument used at sea for measuring the altitude of a heavenly body above the horizon. The value of that angle, together with the knowledge of the time at the exact moment of the observation can be used to calculate a line of position.
Weems was born in Tennessee, the son of Joseph Burch and May Elizabeth Rye Weems. [2] When he was a child, he and his six brothers and one sister were orphaned.
John Bird (1709– 31 March 1776) was a British mathematical instrument maker who was notable for inventing the sextant. [citation needed] He came to London in 1740 where he worked for Jonathan Sisson and George Graham. [1] By 1745, he had his own business in the Strand.
Sextans is a medium sized constellation bordering Leo to the north, touching on Hydra to the southwest, and Crater to the southeast. The recommended three-letter abbreviation for the constellation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, is "Sex". [2]