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Zenith Passage The moment when a star passes directly overhead, at a peak height of 90°. Any star that does this must have a declination equal to your latitude, or vice versa, if you spot a star overhead, your latitude equals the star's declination. Look it up (or recall it from memory), and you know your latitude. This is an emergency method of finding latitude without sextant or tables, though it takes practice to determine whether the star was indeed at your zenith at meridian passage. If the star passes 2° north of your zenith (zenith distance of 2°), your latitude is 2° south of the star's declination, and so forth. See Zenith Stars and Meridian Passage.

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