On 16 January at 1804 zone time, you take a sextant observation of Polaris. Your vessel's DR position is LAT 36°12' N, LONG 124°36' W, and your sextant reads (hs) 37°16.4'. Your chronometer reads 02h 02m 12s, and is 01m 36s slow. Your height of eye is 60 feet, and the index error is 1.5' on the arc. From your observation of Polaris, what is the latitude of your vessel?

Question

On 16 January at 1804 zone time, you take a sextant observation of Polaris. Your vessel's DR position is LAT 36&deg;12' N, LONG 124&deg;36' W, and your sextant reads (hs) 37&deg;16.4'. Your chronometer reads 02h 02m 12s, and is 01m 36s slow. Your height of eye is 60 feet, and the index error is 1.5' on the arc. From your observation of Polaris, what is the latitude of your vessel?

Accepted Answer

Option C: 36&deg;17.9'N. Correct the sextant altitude for index error, dip, and refraction to obtain Ho. Apply the Polaris correction (a0, a1, a2) from the Nautical Almanac based on LHA Aries. Adding these corrections to the Ho provides the precise latitude, confirming the vessel's position at 36°17.9'N per Bowditch procedures.