"Sekstant"
Sekstant, Sekstant (Latin sextans (genus sextantis) - sixth, sixth part) - a navigational measuring instrument used to determine the height of the Sun and other cosmic objects above the horizon. The length of a sextant measure is 1/6 of a full circle, or 60°. In this case, the horizon, as a rule, means the sea horizon, and the measurement point means the ship. For example, by measuring the height of the Sun at noon, you can calculate the latitude of the place where the instrument is located, knowing the date of the measurement. Strictly speaking, a sextant allows you to accurately measure the angle between two directions. Knowing the height of the lighthouse (from the map), you can find out the distance to it by measuring the angle between the base of the lighthouse and the direction of the top and doing a simple calculation. You can also measure the horizontal angle (that is, in the horizon plane) between directions to different objects.
