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← HistoryWhich navigation error grows due to limitations inherent to 18th-century brass sextants?
A)Cumulative angle measurement inaccuracy✓
B)Declination conversion table obsolescence
C)Longitudinal drift near ice sheets
D)Incorrect celestial body identification
💡 Explanation
Cumulative angular error increases because machining imperfections introduce minimal angle errors with each reflecting surface and incremental reading. This leads to compound error, therefore, angle measurements degrade, rather than yielding consistent single-observation skews or astronomical misidentification.
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