Astronomy on the Personal Computer

the long version

Astronomy on the PC provides practical solutions to a variety of astronomical problems. The book includes both astronomical fundamentals and the technical know-how for an implementation of high-quality software. Efficient and precise computer programs help the user to calculate and predict - positions of the Sun, Moon, and the planets - rising and setting times - physical ephemerides of the Sun and the major planets - positions of comets and minor planets (with perturbations) - the central line and local conditions of solar eclipses - stellar occultations - orbits in the solar system from three observations - coordinates from sky photographs Software developers will find a comprehensive collection of efficient Pascal routines. The extensive documentation and selfcontained structure facilitate a fast and reliable development of individual programs. The enclosed diskette contains source texts of all programs for Turbo Pascal on IBM-compatible PCs or Pure Pascal on Atari ST/TT computers. For the new edition the programs have also been made accessible using Windows. Furthermore, an input file for the OCCULT program is now included on the diskette containing the stars of the Zodiacal Catalogue by Robertson.