time sight

noun

An observation by sextant of the altitude of a celestial body in order to determine the time and hence the longitude.

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Meanings

nountime sight (countable and uncountable, plural time sights)

plural time sights

  1. countableuncountableAn observation by sextant of the altitude of a celestial body in order to determine the time and hence the longitude.
  2. countableuncountableA set of observations in order to determine the time that is usually conducted with a transit instrument.

    The GHA of the sun at the time of your LAN is your longitude. (Of course, GHAs greater than 180° mean the longitude is east and it would be written as 360° - GHA.) Some navigators call this a time sight.

    2007, John Karl, Celestial Navigation in the GPS Age, page 71
Cite this entry
APA

time sight. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/time%20sight

MLA

“time sight.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/time%20sight. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “time sight,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/time%20sight.

Source: time sight on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.