Sextants are mostly used by sailors for navigation relying on celestial bodies.

Nautical Instrument

A sextant allows for high precision in measurement, critical for accuracy in location.

Precision Tool

Although GPS has largely replaced sextants, they are still useful as a fail-safe navigation method.

Modern Relevance

Sextants relate to geometry, specifically the division of a circle's 360 degrees into parts.

Geometry Term

A sextant angle is always 60 degrees; this exact measurement distinguishes it.

Exact Angle

Knowing that a sextant is one-sixth of a circle helps in understanding angles and trigonometry.

Measurement Basis

 out exactly where the spacecraft is with respect to those so that's what we're doing right now up on the spacecraft they're getting new horizons to beam back pictures of Pluto against the surrounding stars which they use to build a roadmap in space just like the old sailors did back in the day that the sextant they knew where certain stars

The Mission to Pluto...

 made the first device that could measure the angle between the sun and the horizon during the day, called a sextant. Knowing this angle was important, because it could be compared to the angle back in England at the exact same time. Comparing these two angles was necessary to determine the longitude of the ship.

How does math guide our...

 updates for the timing signal which is how GPS works GPS works by a very accurate clock and they would start falling out to synchronicity with each other so get out your sextant right thank you so much