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Paul Hirose writes:
 > While looking at the quarter moon last night, I began thinking about
 > lunars. The part I was specifically wondering about is measuring the
 > angular separation between star and Moon with a sextant. I assume you
 > use the illuminated limb of the Moon as your "horizon". Problem is,
 > you are trying to bring a bright star into coicidence with a bright
 > limb. I imagine a normal sight is easier, because you see a bright
 > body against a dark horizon. However, I don't own a marine sextant.
 > Anyone ever tried this? Do the horizon shade glasses cut the glare of
 > the Moon enough to align the star accurately with the limb?

In a word, certainly.  Different sextants have different filter sets
but a good sextant should offer a range of filters from "dim the
glare" to "look straight at the sun".  When I did the Moon shots
mention in my "A Small Puzzle" note. I used the lightest filter to
take off some of the glare and I occasionally use a filter to dampen
glare on the horizon when shooting the Sun, too.

Rick
S/V One With The Wind, Baba 35

   

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