Astronomy with your Personal Computer

✍ Scribed by Peter Duffett-Smith

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 270
• Edition: 2
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The first edition of this very successful book was a winner of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's "Astronomy Book of the Year" award in 1986. The popularity of the book's programs is based on the ease with which the amateur astronomer can perform calculations on a personal computer. The routines are not specific to any make of computer and are user-oriented in that they utilize a simple version of the BASIC programming language and require only a broad understanding of any particular problem. Seven new subroutines in this new edition can be linked in any combination with the existing twenty-six. 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 circumference 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 this book. Peter Duffett-Smith is the author of another popular astronomy book: Astronomy with Your Calculator (3rd Edition), also published by Cambridge University Press.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover......Page 1
Frontmatter......Page 2
Contents......Page 8
Preface......Page 10
Using your personal computer for astronomy......Page 12
DEFAULT: default value input routnine & YESNO: Y' orN' input routine......Page 18
MINSEC: converts between decimal hours/degrees and minutes/seconds form......Page 21
JULDAY: calendar date to Julian day number since 1900 January 0.5......Page 26
CALDAY: Julian day number since 1900 January 0.5 to calendar date......Page 32
TIME: converts between local civil and sidereal times......Page 40
EQHOR: converts between equatorial and horizon coordinates......Page 48
HRANG: converts between right ascension and hour angle......Page 55
OBLIQ: calculates the value of the obliquity of the ecliptic......Page 62
NUTAT: finds corrections for nutation in longitude and obliquity......Page 66
EQECL: converts between equatorial and ecliptic coordinates......Page 70
EQGAL: converts between equatorial and galactic coordinates......Page 76
GENCON: converts between any of the coordinate systems......Page 82
PRCESS1: approximate precession of equatorial coordinates & PRCESS2: rigorous precession of equatorial coordinates......Page 95
PARALLX: converts between geocentric and apparent position......Page 104
REFRACT: calculates the effect of atmospheric refraction......Page 110
RISET: finds the circumstances of rising and setting......Page 116
ANOMALY: solves Kepler's equation for elliptical motion......Page 122
SUN: finds the ecliptic coordinates of the Sun......Page 126
SUNRS: finds the circumstances of sunrise and sunset......Page 134
PELMENT: returns the orbital elements of the major planets......Page 142
PLANS: finds the position of a planet......Page 148
MOON: finds the position and parallax of the Moon......Page 165
MOONRS: finds the circumstances of moonrise and moonset......Page 176
MOONNF: finds the times of new and full moon......Page 183
ECLIPSE: finds the circumstances of lunar and solar eclipses......Page 188
DISPLAY: displays an eclipse in graphical form......Page 198
ELOSC: finds positions from osculating elliptical elements......Page 208
RELEM: converts elliptic orbital elements from one epoch to another......Page 216
PCOMET: finds the position of a comet from parabolic elements......Page 221
PFIT: finds parabolic elements from observations & EFIT: finds elliptical elements from observations......Page 228
List of variables......Page 251
Bibliography......Page 263
Index......Page 264
PROGRAMS AVAILABLE ON DISK......Page 270