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Sailors used a compass or an astrolabe. a compass points North so you know your direction. an astrolabe can tell your location by using the sun as a reference point but you might need a star chart to use it. If you were traveling at night you would use the star char5t and the North Star to tell direction.

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The Navigational aids that explorers would have used included:

  • Astrolabes - calculating latitudes

  • Telescope - Hans Lippershey (c1570-c1619) credited with the invention. The telescope was introduced to astronomy in 1609 by Galileo Galilei

  • Charts and Maps - Cartography or map making was an important Renaissance skill

  • Compasses - Enabled Renaissance sea men to find their bearing in the fog

  • Cross-staffs - Used to measure the angle of the Sun or a star above the horizon

  • Nocturnals - Measuring and timekeeping instrument

  • Quadrants - Measuring and timekeeping instrument

  • Traverse boards - Navigation instrument - older version of Astrolabe

  • The Hour-glass, Minute-glass and Sun-dial - timekeeping instruments

  • Almanacs - which forecast precisely where the the sun, moon, planets and selected navigational stars, are going to be, hour by hour, years into the future

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13y ago
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A compass

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13y ago
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Q: Which instruments helped sailors to navigate while at sea during the Age of Exploration?
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