Time and Navigation - Apollo Sextant and Scanning Telescope

Photo: Eric Long, Smithsonian
June 13, 2016
Media Photo/Video

Photos for News Media Use Only

Social Media Share Tools
Apollo Sextant and Scanning Telescope
Photo: Eric Long, Smithsonian

Navigating in space: to determine position in space, an Apollo astronaut located a specific star using a single-power, wide-field telescope and then took a fix using a sextant. While this instrument does not look like a traditional sextant, the basic procedure is descended from centuries-old methods used by navigators at sea and in the air. See this and more objects that tell the story of getting from here to there in the “Time and Navigation” exhibition, opening April, 2013.

Image Number: WEB12764-2013