CATEGORY:
Orbital Mechanics
Sextant Use in Space
Course Access: 365 days access
Course Overview
Keywords: sextant, astronomy, navigation, celestial sphere, declination, right ascension, topodetic coordinates, limb, star atlas, sightings
Appropriate for: 9-12 grades
Prerequisites required: None
Prerequisites helpful: algebra I, geometry
Intended lesson duration: 1 week
Student expectation: Learn to use a sextant, and how sextants are used in navigation. Learn coordinate systems describing positions on Earth and in space.
Index:
- Introduction
Announcements - Title Page
- Introduction
- History of Sextant Navigation
- Sextant use in Gemini, Skylab, Apollo and the International Space Station
- A Sextant for this Lesson
- Hands-on Making Observations
- Latitude and Longitude
- Using a sextant for navigation on the Moon or Mars
- Understanding coordinates in Space
- Student Debate
- Conclusion
- Glossary
- References
- Send a Postcard to Space!
