navigational tools in 1500's

An astrolabe was used to measure the height of the stars in the sky and calculate the latitude on a map.

An orienteering compass has a magnetic needle that aligns with the poles of the Earth. The compass always points North. Sailors would use it to determine the direction they were traveling.

A sextant uses two mirrors and a movable arm to measure angles of the stars in the sky. Sailors would then use a map to determine how far east or west they were from the Prime Meridian.

Ship builders started adding features to ships to make sailing easier.

A stern rudder was one of the things added to a ship. A stern rudder was an oar on the back of the ship which controlled the direction the ship is sailing. It made steering the ship easier.

The Caravel was a type of ship that had rectangular sails. It helped ships sail faster. It had more room for cargo and could sail into shallow waters.