On 16 July at 2000 zone time, you take a sextant observation of Polaris. Your vessel's DR position is LAT 27°22.0' N, LONG 148°35.0' W, and your sextant reads 26°57.5'. Your chronometer reads 05h 59m 16s, and your chronometer error is 01m 28s slow. Your height of eye is 48 feet, and the index error for your sextant is 1.3' off the arc. What is the latitude of your vessel from your observation of Polaris?

Question

Accepted Answer

Option A: 27°36.1'N. Polaris latitude determination requires correcting the sextant altitude for index error, dip, and refraction, then applying the three corrections (a0, a1, a2) based on the Local Hour Angle of Aries. Following these standard procedures, the resulting latitude is 27°36.1'N, providing a reliable position fix for the vessel.