Which adjustment error in an 18th-century naval sextant causes consistently inaccurate altitude readings?

💡 Explanation

When a sextant pivot is loose, eccentricity errors arise, because the angular readings are displaced from the true angle, particularly significant at higher angles. Therefore, eccentricity causes systematic altitude inaccuracy, rather than side/horizon misalignment or scope bending which create different error patterns in the measurements.

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