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Re: Tycho Brahe Mars oppositions
From: Frank Reed CT
Date: 2004 Dec 1, 00:37 EST
From: Frank Reed CT
Date: 2004 Dec 1, 00:37 EST
Omar R wrote:
"I'm trying to validate the results of
a planet position algorithm for early
dates. So I searched for the oldest
Mars observations I could find."
a planet position algorithm for early
dates. So I searched for the oldest
Mars observations I could find."
There's really no reason these days to use a "planet position algorithm".
The JPL planetary position integrations (e.g. DE406) are accurate to about a
second of arc for any time in the past thousand years (and the Moon position is
accurate to about 0.1*T^2 arcseconds where T is the number of centuries back in
time). These integrations have been validated and checked against the best
available historical data and they are likely to be far more trustworthy than
Tycho's observations. I use the reuslts of these integrations as the basis for
my online almanac and lunar distance predictions:
Frank R
[ ] Mystic, Connecticut
[X] Chicago, Illinois
[ ] Mystic, Connecticut
[X] Chicago, Illinois
