Chasing Polaris

The aim of the game is to reach a certain latitude. You start on a random position on the northern hemisphere, so you might be north or south of your target latitude.

The first step is finding Polaris (the North Star). It will help you get your bearings, since it always points north. The best way to find Polaris is by finding the Big Dipper constellation and using its pointer stars to guide your eye to Polaris. You can find many resources online to help you find it.

Once you've found Polaris, the next step is to use it to determine your latitude. The altitude of the star (its angle from the horizon) is very close to your latitude on Earth. To measure its altitude, you need to use the sextant.

This short video tutorial on how to operate a real sextant is also useful for how to operate the virtual sextant in this experience. You can ignore the steps regarding error corrections, since the virtual sextant is perfectly calibrated to make things simpler.

Once you've determined the altitude of Polaris, you can consider that number to be your latitude. It's not exactly correct, since Polaris is not exactly above the north pole, but it's within 1°.

If your current latitude is less than your target latitude, that means you are south of your goal and you need to go north, which means towards Polaris. If your current latitude is greater than your target latitude, you need to go south, away from Polaris.