🔍 Key Concepts

• Star selection for a 3‑body fix: favor bodies with intercept altitudes roughly between 20° and 70°, and with good azimuth spread (ideally 90°–120° apart). • Date, latitude, and time: on 17 July near 24°N, 51°W at evening star time, some stars/planets will be very high, very low, or possibly not above the horizon. • Planets vs stars: bright planets are useful only if they are actually above the horizon at that date, time, and location, and not too close in azimuth to each other.

💭 Think About

• For each answer choice, imagine where each body would be in the sky on a July evening at about 24°N: would any of them be near the zenith, near the horizon, or even below it? • Compare the azimuth spread within each group: do any choices cluster bodies in the same general direction, or do they give you a wide spread around the horizon? • Among the stars listed, which are well‑known navigation stars that tend to give good altitudes at mid‑low northern latitudes in summer evenings?

✅ Before You Answer

• For each group, check whether all three bodies are likely above the horizon at that date, latitude, and local evening time. • Verify that the chosen group gives reasonable altitudes (not too low, not near zenith) for all three bodies at that position. • Confirm that the three bodies in the best group have good azimuth separation (not all in nearly the same direction).