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Two Naval Officers Shooting the Sun

Two naval officers using a sextant
Description: Painting, Oil on Canvas; by McClelland Barclay; 1941; Framed Dimensions 26H X 26W
Accession #: 48-031-D
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The junior officer on the right is using a sextant to take a navigational reading, a task referred to aboard ship as "shooting the sun." Before the days of global positioning, sailors used a sextant to measure the angle between the horizon and the noontime sun and thereby help determine latitude.

Topic
Document Type
  • Art
Wars & Conflicts
  • World War II 1939-1945
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  • Image (gif, jpg, tiff)
Location of Archival Materials