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Re: almanac software
From: Hal Mueller
Date: 2002 Mar 7, 23:43 -0800
From: Hal Mueller
Date: 2002 Mar 7, 23:43 -0800
At 10:57 PM -0800 3/7/02, Cliff Sojourner wrote: >ok, I have to ask: is there any source code for nautical almanac software >available? I have searched high and low in marine, air, navigation, and >astronomy areas, but all I can find are some commercial programs, and a few >people's pet projects. what are those programs based on? I suppose as a >last resort I could ask one of the private parties to share. http://aa.usno.navy.mil/software/novas/novas_c/novasc_info.html is the source code for the US Naval Observatory's positional astronomy package. It's a good start toward almanac software, although you'll have to supply your own code for planetary positions, and it's really designed for astronomers and not navigators. C and Fortran versions available. It might also be worth taking a crack at getting the source for the USNO's "MICA" (Mac/Win almanac). Below is an excerpt from the README (which is 5 years old). I haven't kept up with the status of the program. As for testing, I used every published example I could get my hands on, including single almanac pages in navigation textbooks, as well as spot checks through all the nautical almanacs I could locate. I also generated my own examples with MICA. Jean Meeus's book "Astronomical Algorithms" was what I used for first-round test cases (as well as for algorithms). >MICA 1.5 is a product of the Astronomical Applications Department of >the U.S. Naval Observatory. It is available for both DOS (PC) and >MacOS systems. MICA 1.5 was published for the Naval Observatory by: > > Willmann-Bell, Inc. > P.O. Box 35025 > Richmond, VA 23235 USA > (804) 320-7016 (voice) > (804) 272-5920 (fax) > http://www.willbell.com > >Please direct all orders and questions about orders to the publisher. > > >(5) TECHNICAL SUPPORT > >The MICA developers welcome your comments, criticisms, suggestions, >and problem reports. However, we are able to provide only very >limited technical support services, and these will be provided >through the regular mail. We regret that we can not respond to any >telephone inquiries or correspondence sent by e-mail or FAX. > >Please send all technical correspondence concerning MICA to: > > U. S. Naval Observatory > Code: AA/MICA > 3450 Massachusetts Ave., NW > Washington, DC 20392-5420 USA > >When writing to us, please be sure to indicate the version of MICA >being used and information concerning your computer system >configuration (CPU type, RAM, hard disk, etc.) if relevant. > > >(6) WORLD WIDE WEB SITE > >The Astronomical Applications Department of the U.S. Naval >Observatory maintains a Web site providing a wide variety of >astronomical data, answers to frequently asked questions, and >up-to-date information on its publications and software products. >Point your browser to http://aa.usno.navy.mil/AA. ---- Hal Mueller hal@mobilegeographics.com Mobile Geographics LLC http://www.mobilegeographics.com/ Seattle, Washington (206) 297-9575 MapTap public test now underway! http://www.mobilegeographics.com/maptap/