Almanac and Celestial Navigation Calculator

Hi Sean C - Just a simple word of gratitude for your work and kind generosity. Thank you.

[Sean C]

Originally Posted by Capt Codetrucker

Hi Sean C - Just a simple word of gratitude for your work and kind generosity. Thank you.

You're very welcome!


By the way, I just added my PostScript plotting sheets to my site. I'll upload them here too, if there's any interest in them.


Cheers!

[Sean C]

New version available in the downloads section.



v 0.2.8 - 2021, Feb 28

• Increased the number of decimals of azimuth included in the data series to a ridiculous precision.
• Fixed a bug causing the spreadsheet to display wildly inaccurate values for the equation of time under certain circumstances.

[Sean C]

New version available in the downloads section.


v 0.3.1 - 2021, Oct 31

• Added rise, set, transit and twilight calculator.
• Increased precision of azimuths on the printable list to 0.1°.
• Added button to Data Series calculator to get the date and time from the Almanac.
• Added ecliptic longitude of Sun, Moon and planets to the Data Series calculator to facilitate determination of the times of equinoxes, conjunctions, etc.
• Corrected a minor error in the calculation of Ha of the LL of the Moon and Sun at extremely low altitudes.
• Added PA correction to the Sun.
• Updated delta-T table.
• Extended visibility chart to -5°.
• Minor formatting changes.

[Sean C]

Apologies, but I just found a bug ... of course. And it's a bug I thought I had already squashed. Maybe I'll get it right this time ... [Link]

v 0.3.2 - 2021, Nov 2

• Fixed a bug [again] causing the spreadsheet to display incorrect values for the equation of time under certain circumstances.

[Sean C]

I have added the option to the sky chart to display all 1,535 stars in the basic FK5 catalogue (see screenshot, below). As with the navigational stars, corrections for proper motion have been included. There is a check-box below the chart to show or hide them. These will not be selectable in the almanac or sight reduction calculator. But if you hover your mouse over them, the calculated azimuth and altitude will be displayed. So, they can be used for navigation in a pinch ... you'll just have to plot the LOPs manually. Maybe I will change this in the future.

I have also tweaked the map alignment. Waypoints shouldn't be plotted off the edge of the map anymore [mostly], and the waypoints, DR and fix should be plotted a bit more accurately. (Although at this scale I admit it's hard to see the difference.)

As always, the new version is available in the downloads section. Cheers!

v 0.3.3 - 2021, Nov 7

• Added the option to the sky chart to display all 1,535 stars in the basic FK5 catalogue. (This increased the size of the spreadsheet from 2.5MB to 3.7MB.)
• Tip: You can hover your mouse over any star to see its calculated azimuth and altitude.
• Fixed a bug causing the almanac date and time to change when using the data series or rise/set calculators. (Almanac date and time will still change when using the sight reduction tab.)
• Improved map alignment. Waypoints and DR/Fix will now be plotted more accurately.
• Minor formatting changes.

[Sean C]

New version available in the downloads section:

v 0.3.4 - 2022, Oct 24
· Added day of the week calculation on Almanac tab.
· Added the option to display the celestial equator and ecliptic to the sky chart.
· Added the ability to increment time on the Almanac tab.
· Updated the delta-T values.
· Moved the "Auto-Fill" button for the date of celestial sights and added an arrow to hopefully clarify the button's purpose.