This was the way the site --below-- looked many years ago, Dan Fitz. Using a sextant, the angle measured from the pole star (pivot point of star movement) to the horizon gives one, his or her exact latitude. The
This error - in navigation - was almost entirely eliminated - in the seventeenth century - by taking the readings of the North Star when certain constellations were directly above or below the star, and then respectively adding or subtracting the two+ degrees from the observed angle measurement.