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← HistoryWhich error increases inaccuracy when navigating exclusively by lunar distance with a sextant upon heavy seas?
A)Parallax error from observer height
B)Instrumental error from index arm play
C)Timing error from ship's motion✓
D)Refraction error from atmospheric density
💡 Explanation
When constantly compensating for heavy seas, timing errors occur because accurate sextant lunar observations demand very precise timing to correlate with published lunar ephemeris data. Therefore timing error results, rather than height-based parallax, instrument defects or atmospheric interference which affect direct sightings more consistently than dynamic measurements.
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