An octant is 1 eighth of a circle because it is 45 degrees
There are 45 degrees in an octant because an octant is 1 eighth of a circle, and a circle is 360 degrees, and 45 degrees is one eighth of 360.
One eighth of a circle.
There is 45 degrees in an octant. This is equivalent to one eighth of a circle. Since a circle has 360 degrees you would divide this number by 8.
A slice (Pie) Octant
One eighth of a circle.
A similar but smaller instrument called the octant. The octant was one eighth ("octo" is latin for eight) of a circle, while a sextant ("sextus" is Latin for "six") is one sixth of a circle. An even earlier instrument was called a quadrant. Enter your guesses as to how big a "quadrant" is in the Discussion area!
Following the same kind of naming convention, 1/8th of a circle would be an octant.
The sailors who named most of the southern hemisphere constellations looked up and imagined shapes in the stars; and since they were sailors, they imagined nautical objects, like the Octant, the Compass, the Telescope, the Flying Fish, and the Stove.Octans, the Octant, represents a navigational instrument that is one-eighth of a circle. The octant wasn't big enough for detailed navigation, so a bigger instrument that was one-sixth of a circle - the "sextant" - replaced it.
Isaac Newton invented the reflecting octant in 1699.
When navigators wanted to be able to measure angles that were larger than about 60 degrees and the older octant wasn't long enough to do it. An octant has an arc of one eighth of a circle. (From the Latin prefix "octo" for eight.) The device uses a mirror as a doubling tool, so in theory an octant could measure one fourth of a circle, or 90 degrees, but there's some overlap in the mechanism and you don't get the full 90 degrees. The sextant is one-SIXTH of a circle (Latin "sextus" for six), and with doubling (and the overlap) allows you to measure more than 90 degrees.
An octant is a navigational instrument used to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon, aiding in celestial navigation. Historically, it was essential for sailors to determine their latitude and longitude at sea. The instrument has a quarter-circle arc and is marked with a scale, allowing for precise measurements. While largely replaced by modern devices like GPS, the octant remains significant in the history of navigation and astronomy.
Half.