Favored by Columbus, the quadrant is a metal plate in the shape of a quarter- circle, with a weight on a string that crossed the opposite
edges of the circle hung from its center. The navigator would sight the North
Star along one edge, and the point where the string crossed the edge would show
the star’s altitude or angle above the horizon.
Mariner’s brass quadrant. The quadrant shown above is a replica of the type Columbus might have used on his voyages to the New World. This one is marked off at the latitudes of Lisbon, Cabo Verde and Serra Leoa, down near the Equator where Columbus is known to have visited.
Mariner’s brass quadrant. The quadrant shown above is a replica of the type Columbus might have used on his voyages to the New World. This one is marked off at the latitudes of Lisbon, Cabo Verde and Serra Leoa, down near the Equator where Columbus is known to have visited.
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