PossiblesField Outing No. 1 · North Without a Compass · Sheet I of II — print on cardstock
TAPE THE STRAW ALONG THIS BAND · fold band up behind for strength051015202530354045505560657075808590PIVOT · pierce here, pass thread through, knot behindEYE END ◂ sight toward the pivot end ▸ STARThe Quartermaster’s QuadrantPattern of 1791 · after A. Quill · Possibles · Outing No. 1Sight the star through the straw. Pinch the thread.The degree it crosses is the star’s altitude —and for the Pole Star, your latitude.0° · thread hangs here when the straw is level
Any print scale works. Angles don’t change when a page shrinks, so “Fit to page” is fine. For a sturdier instrument, glue this sheet to cereal-box card before cutting. Cut along the solid outline only.
1 inch at 100%
PossiblesField Outing No. 1 · Sheet II of II — assembly, finder & field log

Assembly · about 25 minutes

  1. Stiffen. Glue Sheet I to thin card (a cereal box is ideal). Smooth it flat; let it set five minutes under a book.
  2. Cut. Cut the quarter-circle and the dashed straw band as one piece. Score the dashed line lightly and fold the band back behind the quadrant — it makes a stiff spine.
  3. Mount the sight. Tape a straight drinking straw along the top edge, flush with the corner. Look through it at a light: it must be clear and straight.
  4. Hang the plumb. Pierce the red pivot mark with a pin. Pass 10–12 in of thread through, knot it behind, and tie a washer, nut, or three paperclips to the free end.
  5. Check it. Hold the straw level against a tabletop edge. The thread should fall on 0°. If it doesn’t, re-pierce the pivot exactly on the mark.
  6. Sign it. Write your initials and today’s date on the back. Instrument-makers always did.
✂

Pole-Star Finder

PolarisDubheMerakKochabTurn the card until the Dipper matches the sky

From Merak through Dubhe — the two stars at the lip of the Dipper’s bowl — go about five times their gap. The modest star waiting there, alone, is Polaris.

✂

Your Hand Is a Ruler

At full arm’s length, for most adults:

Fist
≈ 10°
Three fingers
≈ 5°
Little finger
≈ 1°

Count fists up from the horizon to check your quadrant. It works for the rest of your life — on any hill, deck, or porch.

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Field Log · Night of the Outing

ReadingTimeDegrees
First
Second
Third
Mean

Place: ______________________   Sky: ____________

Keep this card. It goes in your Ledger behind Plate I.

© 2026 Grey Pulse LLC · Possibles · For personal use by the subscriber named on the order.Ada Quill is fiction. The sky is not.