Apparatus for making astronomical calculations

摘要

An apparatus for making astronomical calculations includes a calculator, mechanism and/or program for determining the time for sunrise and sunset on a specified date and time at a specific longitude and latitude. The apparatus also includes a mechanism and/or program for calculating the moonrise and moonset at the aforementioned date, time and location.

主权项

1. An apparatus for making astronomical calculations consisting of:
a case having a main screen disposed thereon, a plurality of keypad elements for operating said apparatus, said main screen having display parameters of date, latitude, longitude, sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and timezone, the case further including a battery and an on/off switch; first calculating means for determining the time for sunrise and sunset on a given date at a specified longitude and latitude; second calculating means for determining the sun's azimuth at sunrise and sunset on said given date at said specified longitude and latitude; third calculating means for determining the time of moonrise and moonset on said given date and at said specified longitude and latitude; wherein the calculations are based on the following elements, Julian day, Universal time, Sidereal time, Greenwich Sidereal time, formula for rising and setting of a celestial object, sun's right ascension, and sun's declination, sun's refraction and sun's position; moonrise and moonset, the formula for rising and setting of a celestial object, geocentric parallax, correction for parallax, moon's right ascension, moon's hourly motion, moon's position and moon's declination; and wherein first calculation for determining the time of sunrise and sunset on a given date at a specified longitude and latitude includes means for calculating the sun's coordinates for the two midnights stradalizing the required sunrise and sunset using the formulaT=24.07×ST⁢⁢124.07+ST⁢⁢1-ST⁢⁢2wherein T is the actual Sideral time of rising or setting, ST1 is the Sideral Time of rising or setting calculated from X2 appropriate to the midnight before, and S2 is the Sideral time of rising or setting calculated from alpha 2 appropriate to the midnight after; and
wherein third calculating means for determining the time of moonrise and moonset on said given date at said specified longitude and latitude include means for calculating the moon's coordinates at two different times on the same day and interpolating between them to determine the required time and calculating r via the value of p′ wherein r=60.268,322p′ and then calculating the moon's right ascension and declination X 1 and X, at the midnight before the day in question and then using the moon's hourly motion in latitude and longitude to find the coordinates X2 and X2 12 hours later, next the calculating means applies corrections for parallax to both sets of coordinates; the third calculation means uses the corrected set of coordinates and the interpolation formula below to give Sideral time T of moonrise and moonset:T=12.03×ST⁢⁢112.03+ST⁢⁢1-ST⁢⁢2hours and finally the third calculation means applies the correction for refraction and the finite size of the moon's disc; and
wherein second calculation means using the following formulas:LSTR=24-115⁢Cos⁢.-1⁢(-ten⁢⁢ϕ⁢⁢ten⁢⁢⁢8)+XLSTS=115⁢Cos⁢.-1⁢(ten⁢⁢ten⁢⁢ϕ⁢⁢ten⁢⁢⁢8)+XA=360-Cos⁢.-1⁢((Sin⁢⁢X)Cor⁢⁢ϕ)⁢A=Cos-1⁢(Sin⁢⁢X)Cor⁢⁢ϕ)⁢A=Cos⁢.-1⁢(Sin⁢⁢X)Cor⁢⁢ϕ) wherein the suffixes R and S correspond to rising and setting, A is the azimuth, LST is the local Sideral time in hours X is the right ascesion, X is the declination and φ is the observers geographical latitude.