Question

I am curious to know what "sight reduction tables" are:

I assume they give distance and bearing (azimuth) from one known (or assumed)location on the surface of the earth to another to the accuracy of the tables.

Please can someone confirm or correct my assumption.

Thanks

Mike

Answer 1

I assume they give distance and bearing (azimuth) from one known (or assumed)location on the surface of the earth to another to the accuracy of the tables.

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Yes
With those tables, and the measured altitude and time and an almanac to tell you where the body was whose altitude you measured, you can get a line of position. They save you from doing a mess of spherical trig.