On 30 December in DR position LAT 28°24.0'S, LONG 32°15.0'W, you take an ex-meridian observation of the Sun's lower limb. The chronometer time of the sight is 02h 09m 16s, and the chronometer error is 00m 00s. The sextant altitude (hs) is 84°03.3'. The index error is 3.5' off the arc, and your height of eye is 62.0 feet. What is the latitude at meridian transit?

Question

On 30 December in DR position LAT 28&deg;24.0'S, LONG 32&deg;15.0'W, you take an ex-meridian observation of the Sun's lower limb. The chronometer time of the sight is 02h 09m 16s, and the chronometer error is 00m 00s. The sextant altitude (hs) is 84&deg;03.3'. The index error is 3.5' off the arc, and your height of eye is 62.0 feet. What is the latitude at meridian transit?

Accepted Answer

Option B: LAT 28&deg;51.9'S. Apply index error (off the arc) and dip to sextant altitude to find apparent and true altitude. Using GMT derived from chronometer time, retrieve solar ephemeris and solve the ex-meridian sight reduction as detailed in Bowditch, resulting in LAT 28°51.9'S.