LATITUDE BY MERIDIAN ALTITUDE

1. On 21st Jan 2008, in DR 24° 36s 110° 20’ W, The Sextant Altitude of the Sun’s L.L
on the meridian was 85° 03.5’. If IE was 1.6 off the arc and HE was 10 m, find the
latitude and state the direction of the LOP
2. On 23rd September 1992 in DR 23° 40’ N 161º 56’ E, Compute the sextant altitude
of the Sun’s LL in the meridian if IE 2.3 on the arc, HE 25 m 21
3. On 10 October 1992 in DR Long 150 10E the Sextant altitude of the Moon’s UL was
57 51. The Moon was bearing North HE 13 M IE 1 On the arc Find the Latitude.
(LAT 26 2.4’S)
4. On 23 September 1992, in DR 23 40 N 161 56 E Compute the sextant altitude of
Sun’s LL in the meridian. IE 2.3 On the arc, HE 25
5. Compute the sextant altitude and find LMT on 1 Sep 1992 of star Aldebaran when it
is on the observer’s meridian at 55º 18 N 142° 10 W HE 13.3 m IE 0.6 off the arc
(LMT 5HR 51M 22S, SEXT AT 51 18.4’)
6. On 30 Nov 1992 a vessel in DR Longitude 170 20 E observed the sextant meridian
altitude of star Canopus below the pole as 13 06. If IE of the sextant was 3’ on the
arc and HE 12 m find the latitude of the observer and lower MP of the star
(LMT 13H 46M 59S LAT 20 11.5S)
7. At 0915 Hrs ship’s time on 1 Sep 1992, a morning sight of the sun gave an observed
longitude of 164° 46 E. The sight was calculated using DR latitude 26° 16 S. The
vessel then steamed a course of 145° T with a speed of 22 knots. Calculate the sun’s
Meridian passage time as per ship’s clock and b) altitude to be set on the sextant (IE
1.7 ON the arc) for Meridian passage observation of Sun’s Upper Limb. The ship’s
clocks are 11 hours ahead of GMT HE is 37 M
(GMT 0H58M22S SEXT 55 8.6)
8. Given latitude as 32° 11 N and Declination as 69° 36 N draw an appropriate sketch
and compute the Meridian altitude above and below the pole
(BLW 11 47 , ABV 52 35)
9. If the true altitude of a star when bearing North was 70 04 and the same star gave a
true altitude 30 24 when bearing South. Find the star’s declination and Latitude of
the observer
(LAT 70 10S, DEC 50 14S)
10. A morning sight of the sun taken at 0900 hrs ship’s time on 16 June 1992 using DR
of 26° 16 N gave an observed longitude of 074° 46 W using estimated speed of 15
knots on a course of 258 find a) ship’s time of Sun’s Meridian passage b) The
computed sextant altitude of sun’s lower limb HE 12M IE 3’ On the arc. Ship’s
time GMT -5 hrs
11. A morning sight of the sun was taken at 0901 (Zone 07) on 11 Oct 1992. Gave a
position through which the P L passed 17° 15 N 109° 17 E. Using an estimated 13
kts on a course of 330° T. Find the altitude to be set on the sextant for the meridian
altitude of sun’s LL IE 1’ On the arc HE 41M
 12. On 15 June 1992 a sun sight gave an observed longitude 30 E when using DR Lat 30
N When the same sight was worked by DR Lat 30 10 N it gave observed Longitude
30 20 E.
Vessel sailed on course 125 for 50 miles when the Meridian altitude of the sun gave
position Lat 29 35 N. Find the position of the vessel at the time of MP
(29 35’N 030 54.7’E)

LONG BY CHRON

1. On 1st May 92 PM at ship in DR 19 54 S 179 58 W the sextant altitude of Jupiter

was 52 38.5 at GMT 02D 06H 20M 42S. if IE was 0.2 off the arc HE 17M find
the direction of position line and the position to draw
2. On 25 Feb 1992 AM at ship in DR 35° 03 S 087 11 E the observed altitude of
moon’s UL was 46° 29.5 at GMT 03 h 11 m 20 s. HE was 18M find the
direction of position line and the position through which it passes.

3. Two Ships one in position 20° 10 N 12° 15 E and the other in position 20° 16 N
12° 07 E observed the sun simultaneously and obtained the same true altitude. The
sun bore 047 C from the first ship and 042° C from the second ship. Find the
compass error of both the ships (C/E-8.3W , 3.3W)

4. Using D R Lat 00 02 N an observed Longitude of 000 03 E was obtained. When

the same sight was worked using DR Lat 00 03 S the observed Longitude 000
02 W was obtained. Find the azimuth of the body if it was East of the observer’s
meridian (135 DEG T)

5. In DR Position 30 06 S 038 45 W on 21 July 1992 sextant altitude of moon’s

Upper limb was found to be 39 30 when GMT was 09h 20m 49s, IE 3.5’ on the
arc. HE 15 M Using longitude by chronometer method find the direction of
position line and the position through which it passes. (38 41.9’W AZ 316.2)
Without calculating the sight find out what would be the intercept if the sight was worked
by Intercept method (INTERCEPT 2.04’A ,,,, AFTER CORRTN INTERCEPT3.04’A)
If the IE was 2.5 On the arc instead of 3.5 on the arc, what would be the correct
intercept.
On 22 September 1992 AM in DR Lat 46° 17 S the sextant attitude of the sun’s L
L was 29° 25 at GMT 22d 19h 33m 51s. IE 3 Off the arc HE 11 m The ship
seamed 300° T for 45 miles when the sextant meridian altitude of sun’s LL was
43° 57.9 North of the observer. Find the ship’s position at the time of Meridian
altitude(DR AFTR RUN 45 54.5S 160 40.1’W FINAL ANS 045 53.8’S 160
40.7’W)
6. On 6 March 1992 PM at a ship in DR Long 070° 45W the following simultaneous
observations were made
First Observation : Sextant Meridian altitude of star Vega North of observer was found to be
51° 11.2 HE 15M IE 0.4 Off the arc
Second Observation: Sextant altitude of moon LL using same sextant was 17° 48 at GMT 06
d 23 h 10 m 30 s. Find the position of the vessel
(00 9.7’S 070 38.6’W )
7. On a vessel the true altitude of the sun East of the meridian was observed to be
12° 21.2 at GMT 22 July 1992 16 h 15 m 26 s. At the same time the sextant
Meridian altitude of the moon’s UL was 54° 47.4 South of the observer. Calculate
the position of the vessel at that instant if the Index Error was 2.3 On the arc and
Height of Eye 25M (49 56.1’N 156 57’W)

Geographical Position
8. An observer on an anchored vessel obtained the true altitude of the sun as 89 46
when the sun’s GHA was 23 12.5 and declination was 1 56 S. The true altitude
of the sun obtained exactly 1 minute later was 89 52. If during this interval the sun
crossed the observer’s meridian to his north. Find the ship’s position by plotting
(2 2.9’S 023 24.5’W)
9. A Star GHA 253 12 Dec 02 04 N was observed to have a true altitude of 89 52.
At the same instant, a light house with a maximum range of 12 M situated in Lat 2
12 N Long 016 54 E bore 012 T Find by plotting the ship’s position.
(2 9.6’N 106 53.6’E)

INTERCEPT

1. A vessel in DR 24 20 n 040 30 W obtains intercept of 10 miles Away from a

celestial body bearing 030 T. Find what longitude would have been obtained if the
sight had been worked by longitude by chronometer method
2. Using DR 44 36 N a celestial observation gave an intercept of 1.7’ Towards AZ
130 T . You subsequently discovered that IE 2.4 ON the arc had been applied as
OFF the arc. Find the new intercept.(5.2’AWAY)
3. A morning Sight of the Sun taken at 0901 (Zone Time -7) on 11th October 1992
gave a position through which the P.L passed 17 15 N 109 17 E using an
estimated speed of 13 knots on a course of 330 T find the altitude to set on the
sextant for meridian altitude of Sun’s LL given IE 1’ on the arc HE 41M
4. In DR 20° S 175° E on 19 Jan 1992, on a ship the sextant altitude of the sun’s
upper limb west of the meridian was 57° 10 when the GMT was 19 Jan 02h 52m
24s, IE 1.5 Off the arc. HE 12 m, Calculate the intercept and the direction of the
PL (2.7’A , AZ 262.8)
Without working out the sight find what longitude will an observer get if the above sight was
calculated by long by chron method
 5. In DR Position 30° 06 S 038° 45 W 21 July 1992, Sextant altitude of Moon’s UL
was found to be 39° 30 when GMT was 09h 20m49s, IE 3.5’on the arc. HE 15 M
using longitude by chronometer method find the direction of position line and the
position through which it passes.

POLARIS

1. On 31 Aug 92 at ship DR 179º 30 W Sextant Altitude of Pole star at GMT

31d 17 h 22 m 26 s was 22° 40 IE 1.6 on the arc HE 12.5 M Find the
direction of PL and the Latitude to draw it.
2. On 13 Dec 1992 LHA γ 323 00.4’ Sextant altitude of the Pole star was 41 26
IE 2’ on the arc. HE 10M Find the direction of the PL and latitude where DR
Longitude cuts PL
3. From the following information compute the sextant altitude to be set for an
observation of Polaris DR 37 58 N 052 30 E LHA γ 71 53.9 Month
January HE 11.5 m I E 1 On the arc (37 30.8 )
4. On 10 Oct 1992 in DR 142° 10 E the sextant altitude of Polaris was 41° 10 at
GMT 19 h 41 m 28 s. At the same time the true altitude of star Denebola was
17° 25. Find the position of the vessel at the second observation HE 12M IE
1’ On the arc (41 39.7’N 143 46’E)

EX MERIDIAN

1. On 6th March 1992 in Estimated Position 52 12 N 170 40 E, the sextant altitude of the
sun’s UL near the meridian was 31 59.8 when the chronometer (error 1m 50s fast)
01h 29m 20s. If IE was 2.3 on the arc, and HE was 40m find the direction of PL and
the Latitude where it crosses the DR long
2. On 1 Dec 1992 in DR 46 12 S 090 20 E sextant altitude of Moon’s UL near the
meridian was 49 46.8 when the chronometer showed 11h 03m 58s Chron error 5m
9s fast. IE 0.6 On the arc HE 10 M Find the direction of the PL and the position
through which it passes. (46 36.6’N AZ 8.6DEG)
3. Question appeared in 10 Jan 2020
On 1 May 1992 DR 25 N 117 Wat 06 15 00 LMT the sextant altitude of star
Fomalhaut near the meridian was 35 22.
Calculate the latitude through which the position line passes and the direction of the
position line. IE 1.5 On the arc HE 15 m
This can not be solved by ex mer

PLOTTING
 1. At 1800 hrs in DR 34° 26 N 143° 38 W a sight gave PL 040 / 220 . After running
for one hour another DR was obtained by applying a course of 125° T at 12
knots. This DR was used to calculate another sight at 1900 hrs which gave T AZ
060° and intercept 5’ towards. Calculate the position of the ship at 1900 hours
(34 23.2N 143 22.2’W)
2. At 0803 an observer on a vessel steering 336° T at 14 knots found the true altitude
of the sun to be 89° 29.2 bearing South Easterly. Declination of the Sun 13° 26 S.
GHA 304° 51.2. At 1012 hrs a light house in position 12° 18 S 55° 45 E was
detected by radar at a range of 23 miles. Find the vessel’s position at the time of
second observation at 1012
3. In DR Position 39 39 N 130 47 E an observation of the sun gave an intercept 4’
towards bearing 160 T. A second observation using latitude 30 09 N gave a
longitude 130 47 E bearing 200 T. Find the ship’s position at the second
observation, if during the interval ship ran 196 T 20 miles and 186 T x 18 miles
4. On 15 June 1992, GMT 12h 05m true altitude of the sun was found to be 89° 55.
At the same time a point of land in position 23° 26.5 N 001° 15 W bore 320° T.
Find the position of the vessel, sun passes North of the observer
(23 15.8’N; 001 4.9’W)
5. In DR Position 20 46 N 002 55 W on a course of 318 T at 16 kts following results
were obtained from stellar observation using the same DR for all observations.
Star A 0820 Intercept 1.7 Away Az 250 T
Star B 0830 Intercept 1.9 towards Azimuth 350 T
Find the ship’s position
(20 48’N 002 55.2’W)
6. In DR 17° 41 S 179° 50 E an intercept of 12.2 Towards. True Azimuth 081° T
was obtained by stellar observation. Vessel steered a course of 124° T for a
distance of 80 miles through a current setting 221° T drift 12 miles when the
Meridian altitude of the sun gave observed latitude of 18° 40 S . Find the position
of the vessel at the time of second observation (178 54.3’W)
7. Following simultaneous stellar observation was calculated using DR 25° 40 N
140° 10 E
Star X Observed Long 140° 15 E Az 115°
Stay Y Intercept 2’ Towards Az 240°
Polaris Obs Lat 25° 38 N
8. On 22 Sep 1992 at ship in DR 46° 17 S the sextant altitude of Sun’s LL was 29°
25 at 22d 19h 33m IE 3’ Off the arc, HE 11m . The ship then steamed 300° for 45
0.miles when the meridian altitude of sun’s LL was 43° 57.9 North of the
observer. Find the ship’s position at the time of Mer altitude
9. At about noon on 16 June 1992 a sight of the Sun south of the observer gave true
altitude 89° 48.8 at GMT 16d 13h 14m 48s. The vessel steered 342° for 34
miles, when the point of land in position 24° 34 N 018° 27 W was sighted
bearing 034° T Find the position of the vessel at the time of second observation
(23 54.4’N 018 42.8’W)
 10. On 15 June 1992, GMT 12h 05m true altitude of sun was found to be 89° 55.
At the same time a point of land in position 23° 26.5 N 001° 15 W bore 320° T
Find the position of the vessel sun passes North of the observer
11. On 29 November 1992, at GMT 06h 16m 00s the true altitude of the sun was 89°
26. The vessel was on a course of 270° T at a speed of 22.5 knots. Exactly four
minutes later the true altitude of the sun was again 89° 26. Find the position of
the vessel at the time of second observation. The sun passed south of the observer
at the time of meridian passage
12. Using DR 00° 04 N 179° 57 E two simultaneous observations of stars gave
following results
Star X Azimuth 120° T Obs Long 179° 58 W
Star Y Azimuth 200° T Intercept 2’ away
Find the position of the vessel

On a vessel using DR 1026 N 059 50 E, simultaneous celestial observations of different stars

gave following results:
Polaris Obs Lat 10 27 N Az 001T
X Obs Long 059 46 E Az 069T
Y Intercept 1.2 A Az 150 T

Find the position of the vessel at the time of observation and also calculate Index
error which was not applied in the original calculation. (Assume there are no other
errors)