🔍 Key Concepts

• Amplitude of the Sun (taken at rising/setting to find compass error) • Difference between visible horizon and the theoretical (rational) horizon • Effect of Sun’s declination vs latitude on where the Sun appears on the horizon at rising/setting

💭 Think About

• Think about when the apparent position of the Sun at the horizon most closely matches the position of its center on the true horizon, so that your amplitude will be most accurate. • Which situations (combinations of latitude and Sun’s declination) make the Sun rise/set very far north or south of east/west, and how might that affect where you aim your sextant (center vs limb)? • Look at which option directly refers to the relationship between declination and latitude, since this relationship controls where on the horizon the Sun rises and sets.

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify which choice mentions the relative sign (same name or different name) of latitude and declination and recall what that implies for Sun’s rising/setting point. • Ask yourself in which condition the Sun’s center at the visible horizon is the best practical approximation to its center on the celestial (true) horizon. • Eliminate any option that talks about a general situation (like ‘high latitudes’ or ‘near a solstice’) without clearly tying it to how you actually observe the Sun at the horizon.