Low-precision ephemeris for the Sun, Moon and planets

[cdeaglejr]

This program is a suite of PPL functions that compute low-precision ephemerides of the sun, moon, and planets. These functions are based on the algorithms described in Low-Precision Formulae for Planetary Positions, T. C. Van Flandern and K. F. Pulkkinen, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 41:391-411, November 1979. To the precision of implemented algorithm (one arc minute), these coordinates can be considered to be true-of-date.

The user can provide an initial UTC calendar date and celestial body according to

// calendar date

month := 11;

day := 25;

year := 2012;

// compute corresponding julian day

jdutc := julian(month, day, year);

/////////////////////
// select target body
/////////////////////

// 1 = Mercury
// 2 = Venus
// 3 = Earth
// 4 = Mars
// 5 = Jupiter
// 6 = Saturn
// 7 = Uranus
// 8 = Neptune
// 9 = Moon
// 10 = Sun

The zipped archive for this program can be downloaded from

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8krmdpbtj52f1h...e.zip?dl=0