Your vessel is at the equator at midnight on 1 January, and a star is observed rising. At what time will this same star rise on 1 February, assuming your vessel's location is still at the equator?

Correct Answer: Option C — 2158

A star rises approximately 3 minutes and 56 seconds earlier each day due to the Earth's orbital motion. Over 30 days, this shift totals roughly 118 minutes, or 1 hour and 58 minutes. Subtracting this from the original midnight time yields a new rising time of 2158.