# Sextant — Celestial Nav — Learn to navigate by the stars

> Celestial navigation toolkit for sailors and students, offline and ad-free. (iPhone/iPad app by Stolk.cc.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sextant-celestial-nav/id6758679821 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Stolk.cc](https://appshunter.io/developer/313529099)
- Category: Navigation, Education
- Price: $9.99
- Age rating: +4
- Requires: iOS 26.0 · 2 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-02-05
- Data updated: 2026-08-20
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sextant-celestial-nav/id6758679821/reviews.md

## What is Sextant?

A complete celestial navigation toolkit for sailors, students, and the curious.

When the GPS quits, the sun, moon, planets, and stars still work. Sextant takes you all the way from a single sextant reading to a line of position on a map — with every correction shown, so you can check the math by hand if you want to.

Point the camera at the sky
The Sky tab labels every navigational body in view — the sun, the moon, all four navigational planets, and 58 navigational stars — using the magnetic compass and on-device ephemeris. Spot a star, tap its name, and a sight starts with that body identified and the time stamped.

Sight with your camera, or a real sextant
The camera flow uses gravity-based altitude with a roll lockout so a tilted phone can't slip a bad shot through. Multi-shot mode takes a series and saves the trimmed mean. Or just type your altitude from a brass sextant and let the app do the reduction.

Every body you'll ever shoot
Sun, moon, all four navigational planets — Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn — and all 58 standard navigational stars. Positions computed from astronomical models (Meeus, VSOP87, JPL Keplerian elements), not stale tables. Works fully offline.

Noon Sight in one tap
Take the sun's altitude at meridian passage; the app gives you latitude. It also predicts the exact UTC of local apparent noon so you know when to look.

Plot your fix
Every sight draws a line of position on a real map. Take more than one, apply dead reckoning between them, watch your running fix come together — exactly like the paper-chart workflow.

Tools sailors actually use
- Polaris one-shot latitude
- Solar Compass — true bearing of the sun, for compass deviation checks
- Starfinder — what's above the horizon right now
- Reduction tables (dip, refraction, semi-diameter)
- DMS / decimal converter

Learn celestial navigation as you go
Step through your first sight with a guided walk-through. Every screen has inline help, and every correction in the sight reduction — dip, refraction, semi-diameter, parallax — has an explanation a tap away. Check the app against your hand calculations, or let it do all the work.

Share your work
Export sight records as CSV or as a printable PDF work-form in the classic HO 229 layout.

No subscription. No ads. No internet. One purchase, everything included.

## Key features

- Celestial body identification using camera and ephemeris
- Sextant sight reduction with manual correction checks
- Offline celestial navigation
- Noon sight for latitude calculation
- Line of position plotting on a real map
- Polaris one-shot latitude
- Solar Compass for deviation checks

## Recent user reviews (1 of 1)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sextant-celestial-nav/id6758679821/reviews.md

### 1/5 — sextant

*2026-08-19*

funktionsloser schrott, schade für die 9.99€

## Frequently asked questions about Sextant

### What is Sextant used for?

Sextant is a celestial navigation toolkit that helps users navigate by the sun, moon, planets, and stars, especially when GPS is unavailable. It guides you from taking a sextant reading to plotting a position on a map.

### Does Sextant work offline?

Yes, Sextant works fully offline. All necessary astronomical data and calculations are available without an internet connection, making it reliable for remote navigation.

### How does Sextant help with learning celestial navigation?

Sextant offers a guided walk-through for your first sight and provides inline help on every screen. Each correction in the sight reduction process is explained, allowing you to learn as you go and check calculations manually.

### What celestial bodies can Sextant identify?

Sextant can identify the sun, moon, all four navigational planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn), and 58 standard navigational stars. It uses on-device ephemeris and magnetic compass data for identification.

### Can I use Sextant with a real sextant?

Yes, you can type in your altitude readings from a real sextant, and the app will perform the reduction. Alternatively, you can use the app's camera feature to take sights.

### What are the pricing details for Sextant?

Sextant is a paid app priced at $9.99. The purchase includes all features with no subscriptions or ads.

### Does Sextant have ads?

No, Sextant is ad-free. The developer explicitly states 'No subscription. No ads. No internet. One purchase, everything included.'

### On which devices can I use Sextant?

Sextant is supported on iPhones and iPads, making it accessible to a wide range of iOS users.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.6 — 2026-07-02

Small tune-ups and reliability improvements.

New in 1.5, in case you missed it: the Sky tab. Point your phone at the sky and every navigational body in view gets a label — the sun, the moon, four planets, and 58 stars. Tap a label to start a sight with the time already stamped.

### 1.5 — 2026-05-25

Point your phone at the sky.

The new Sky tab labels every navigational body in view — the sun, moon, all four navigational planets, and 58 navigational stars. Magnetic compass plus on-device ephemeris. No internet required.

Tap a label to start a sight on that body with the time already stamped.

If your compass is noisy, Sky tells you and shows the figure-8 motion to recalibrate.

### 1.4 — 2026-05-18

Map and fix overhaul.

NEW
• The Fix is now a real fix. With two LOPs the app shows their spherical great-circle intersection. With three or more it shows the cocked-hat centroid. Previously the 'Fix' label was just the most recent LOP's intercept point.
• Running fix with DR. Earlier LOPs are now automatically advanced forward in time by the recorded DR legs before computing the fix.
• DR legs render on the map as dashed blue lines.
• DR entry sheet: enter course, speed, and duration with steppers — the live distance preview shows you what you're committing to. The old hardcoded button is gone.
• Green Fix marker drops on the map at your computed fix.
• Context-aware coach text under the map explains what you have and what to do next (no LOPs, single LOP, 2 LOPs, cocked hat).

Plus everything from v1.3 (help system, settings screen, picker fix, limb auto-default, what's new screen).

### 1.1 — 2026-05-13

Major update for celestial navigators.

NEW
• Planets: take sights of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, or Saturn with full geocentric ephemeris.
• Noon Sight: classic latitude from the sun's meridian altitude, with predicted LAN time.
• All 58 standard navigational stars (up from 20).
• Multi-shot averaging: capture a series of readings and save the trimmed mean.
• Export sight records as CSV or printable PDF work-forms.

NEW TOOLS
• Polaris one-shot latitude (northern hemisphere).
• Solar Compass: compare the sun's true bearing to your compass for magnetic correction.

FIXES
• Camera sextant now applies the full correction stack: limb, height of eye, index error, temperature, pressure.
• Gravity-based roll-compensated altitude with level-lock for accurate hand-held shots.

### 1.0 — 2026-02-06

No release notes.

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All apps by Stolk.cc: https://appshunter.io/developer/313529099

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-20.*