Which inaccuracy was exposed when 18th-century sextants were deployed during Arctic exploration?

💡 Explanation

When used in Arctic exploration, sextants faced challenges due to extreme atmospheric conditions; atmospheric refraction increases significantly at low angles to the horizon, because colder, denser air near the surface bends light more, distorting celestial positions. Therefore, atmospheric refraction caused inaccuracies, rather than magnetic deviation, chronometer drift, or parallax as these require different error sources.

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