Astronomy on the Personal Computer

Astronomy on the Personal Computer provides the reader with a thorough introduction to the computation of celestial mechanics, which is of particular significance to astronomical observation. Covering everything from astronomical and computational theory to the construction of rapid and accurate applications programs, this book supplies the necessary knowledge and software solutions for determining and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, minor planets and comets, solar eclipses, stellar occultations by the Moon, phases of the Moon and much more. This completely revised edition makes use of the widely implemented programming language C++, and individual applications may be efficiently realized through the use of a powerful module library. The material previously available on an accompanying CD-ROM, now at extras.springer.com, contains, in addition to the complete, fully documented and commented source codes, the executable programs for use with the Windows 98/2000/XP and LINUX operating systems.

Covers most topics of interest to the practical observer Provides practical solutions to a variety of astronomical problems Useful as a course book for students All programs, written in C++, can be found on the CD-ROM together with the executables running under Windows and Linux Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext
Thomas Pfleger is a software developer who has been interested in astronomy since his school days. His passion is the visual observation of everything within reach of his telescope. For many years he has been interested in the benefits that computers can bring to amateur astronomers.

Inhalt
1 Introduction.- 2 Coordinate Systems.- 3 Calculation of Rising and Setting Times.- 4 Cometary Orbits.- 5 Special Perturbations.- 6 Planetary Orbits.- 7 Physical Ephemerides of the Planets.- 8 The Orbit of the Moon.- 9 Solar Eclipses.- 10 Stellar Occultations.- 11 Orbit Determination.- 12 Astrometry.- A.1 The Accompanying CD-ROM.- A.1.1 Contents.- A.1.2 System Requirements.- A.1.3 Executing the Programs.- A.2 Compiling and Linking the Programs.- A.2.1 General Advice on Computer-Specific Modifications.- A.2.2 Microsoft Visual C++ for Windows 98/2000/XP.- A.2.3 GNU C++ for Linux.- A.3 List of the Library Functions.- Symbols.