Astronomy With Your Personal Computer

by Peter Duffett-Smith

• ISBN13: 9780521389952
• ISBN10: 052138995X
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1990-06-29
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The first edition of this very successful book was one winner of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 'Astronomy Book of the Year' awards in 1986. There are a further seven subroutines in the new edition which can be linked in any combination with the existing twenty-six. Written in a portable version of BASIC, it enables the amateur astronomer to make calculations using a personal computer. The routines are not specific to any make of machine and are user friendly in that they require only a broad understanding of any particular problem. Since the programs themselves take care of details, they can be used for example to calculate the time of rising of any of the planets in any part of the world at any time in the future or past, or they may be used to find the circumstances of the next solar eclipse visible from a particular place. In fact, almost every problem likely to be encountered by the amateur astronomer can be solved by a suitable combination of the routines given in the book.

Table of Contents

Preface

Using your personal computer for astronomy

Default value input routine

'Y' or 'N' input routine MINSEC converts between decimal hours/degrees and min/sec form

JULDAY calendar date to Julian day number since 1900 Jan. 0.5

CALDAY Julian day number since 1900 Jan. 0.5 to calendar date

TIME converts between local civil and sidereal times

EQHOR converts between equatorial and horizon coordinates

HRANG converts between right ascension and hour-angle

OBLIQ calculates the value of the obliquity of the ecliptic

NUTAT finds corrections for nutation in longitude and obliquity

EQECL converts between equatorial and ecliptic coordinates

EQGAL converts between equatorial and galactic coordinates

GENCON converts between any of the coordinate systems

PRCESS1 approximate precession of equatorial coordinates

PRCESS2 rigorous precession of equatorial coordinates

PARALLX converts between geocentric and apparent position

REFRACT calculates the effect of atmospheric refraction

RISET finds the circumstances of rising and setting

ANOMALY solves Kepler's equation for elliptical motion

SUN finds the ecliptic coordinates of the Sun

SUNRS finds the circumstances of sunrise and sunset

PELMENT returns the orbital elements of the major planets

PLANS finds the position of a planet

MOON finds the position and parallax of the Moon

MOONRS finds the circumstances of moonrise and moonset

MOONNF finds the times of new and full moon

ECLIPSE finds the circumstances of lunar and solar eclipses

Displays an eclipse in graphical form

ELOSC finds positions from osculating elliptical elements

RELEM converts ecliptic orbital elements from one epoch to another

PCOMET finds the position of a comet from parabolic elements

PFIT finds parabolic elements from observations

EFIT finds elliptical elements from observations

List of variables

Bibliography

Index.