What was the purpose of the sextant during the Age of Discovery?
A. It was a navigational tool used to determine longitude and latitude by calculating the angle between the horizon and a celestial body such as the moon, sun, or a star.
B. It was a navigational tool used to determine the time of day and geographical location by the position of the stars.
C. It was a spinning frame and one of the greatest achievements for mass producing yarn for ship’s sails.
D. It was a steam engine that harnessed steam to create a power vacuum to drive pistons and create rotary motion to propel ships across the sea.
I believe that it is B.
It is A but we did not figure out how to use the altitude of celestial bodies to determine longitude until late in the era. Latitude by noon sights of the sun with and octant or later a sextant was easy. Until then you could only tell latitude and people did not know how far east or west they had sailed. If you wanted to get to Gloucester Mass from Europe, you sailed north or south until you reached about 42.5 degrees north of the equator then turned west and went on that latitude until you got to America. If you did not know America was there, you might think you found Asia. Google the invention of the chronometer for what you needed besides a sextant if you also needed longitude.
By the way, I resent the statement "was used". I have sailed in Europe and the US and between Bermuda and Halifax using a sextant for latitude and longitude. These days you can get accurate time by radio. In the seas around Great Britain you can get a midnight accurate time signal from Big Ben so you do not need a very accurate chronometer that will not lose or gain seconds in a year. A simple clock set at midnight every night will do.
By the way I teach students and Sea Scouts how to use a sextant. GPS and earlier Loran etc are fine, but they depend on your electronics ALWAYS working.