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Unique collection of the National Museum of Indonesia, there is a sextant star binoculars: Okezone techno

Photo of September 26, 2023
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FIRE hit National Museum Indonesia on Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta. The firefighters are currently still carrying out the extinguishing interventions which occurred on Saturday (16/9/2023) around 8.00 pm WIB.

According to a written statement from the DKI Jakarta Fire and Rescue Service (Gulkarmat), the fire occurred in Gajah Museum, Building A. Medium building type. There is no official statement on the cause of the fire.

The operation is currently being handled by officers from the Central Jakarta Gulkarmat sub-department, who have deployed 13 fire trucks. Gambir police chief Commissioner Mugia Yarry explained that police were still looking for the exact cause of the fire. “We don’t know the cause yet, we are getting closer to the location,” police commissioner Mugia said.

Cited by the official website of the national museum, they preserve 190,000 objects of historical value made up of 7 types of collections, namely Prehistory, Archeology of the classical period or Hindu-Buddhist; Numismatics and Heraldry; Ceramic; Ethnography, geography and history.

The National Museum complex was built on 26,500 square meters of land and currently has 2 buildings. Building A is used for the Immersifa showroom and rides. Meanwhile, Building B is also known as Ark Building.

One of the National Museum’s unique collections is the sextant star telescope. It is a manual navigation tool used by explorers in the 18th century to determine the position of ships while sailing on the high seas.

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This instrument is called a sextant telescope and was discovered by John Hadley and Thomas Godrey. The instrument, discovered in 1730, consisted of an index mirror, a horizon mirror, a filter glass, a drum micrometer, a telescope, a protractor and also an arm index.

Explained in the press release published on the official website of the national museum, the operating principle of the Sextant measures the height of celestial bodies above the horizon. How to use it, first place the horizon mirror towards the horizon.

Secondly, point the index mirror at a celestial body, it could be the moon, the sun or even the constellations. Third, place the celestial object parallel to the horizon line, then start reading the height angle.

But remember, when measuring angles, make sure you do it quickly and accurately. It also records the time every second, minute, and hour, because a one-minute error can cause your ship to drift a mile in the ocean.

In addition to this, a compass also existed in the 19th century: in ancient times, sailors used the stars, waves and other elements to determine the direction of their travel. Compasses were popularized in the 19th century when sailors used them with maps to keep direction.

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Photo of September 26, 2023
0 41 2 minutes read
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