The sextants development was a vital part in the evolution of navigation technology. Even in the modern day the sextant manages to cling to life as a navigational aid. In the very beginning the sextant was rather unrefined. The sextant was made to evolve slowly due to the many innovations that had to come before it. In spite of this, even the sextant would meet its match against modern day navigation technologies. While old-fashioned navigators may still cling to their sextants, the GPS is the commonplace navigational aid of the modern age.
Just like the GPS, the sextant wasn't always the leader of navigational technology. Way before the first sextant was invented, sailors learned how to use Polaris to travel back and from home port. In particular, the Arabs were very skilled users of this method. To aid them, the Arabs used what is known as a "Kamal". The Kamal used a short rope and an object that placed Polaris and the horizon on the top and bottom respectively. The navigator would then tie a knot in the rope to align the two (Polaris and the horizon) to get his bearings. The return home from a voyage prompted the navigators to adjust their sailing path to bring them back to the position in which they measured Polaris and the horizon.
By the 10th century, the Arabs gave the Europeans two critically important astronomical devices that would pave the road to the first working sextant. The two instruments in question were the astrolabe and the quadrant. The astrolabe could function accurately even with the unreliable conditions of the ocean. The astrolabe was used for more than 200 years because of its remarkable ingenuity. The astrolabe works by using a scale and alidade with sighting pinnules. The altitude of the celestial object is then gauged by viewing through the sighting pinnules and using the alidade.
The quadrant was the other instrument that the Arabs introduced. The quadrant was especially useful to the Portuguese. Explorers such as the renowned Christopher Columbus used the quadrant to mark off points of Polaris altitude similar to the Arab way of tying knots in the Kamal. The quadrant was used similar to the Kamal, by marking off Polaris and recording the alturas (latitude). Eventually, the alturas of many ports would become published, allowing other sailors to use them as a guide to navigate their way around the coasts of Europe and Africa.
As the needs of nautical exploration arose, so did the need for a navigational instrument that was accurate and reliable. There had to be a large amount of leg work done first before a sextant could be used properly. For one, an almanac that detailed the location of stars and other points had to be accounted for at every hour of every day for several years. Not to mention that there had to be something that could accurately measure time. The latter was called a chronometer. Cartographers were essential to plotting and charting maps so that longitude and latitude could be found and marked by the observer. A mathematical formula for relating a celestial body with the horizon and navigator's position was also necessary. With all of these key components filled, the sextant was the final piece in the navigational puzzle.
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