N A U T I C A L A L M A N A C

V E R S I O N 2 . 0 0 . 8 8
U S

B Y T H E
N A V A L O B S E R V A T O R Y

U.S. Naval Observatory Nautical Almanac Office

Floppy Almanac User's Guide
1. Introduction
The Floppy Almanac is a program for MS-DOS based microcomputers which
reproduces the data contained in the major sections of the Astronomical, Air,
and Nautical Almanacs to full precision. The time span of each edition of the
Floppy Almanac is 400 days: one calendar year plus about two weeks overlap into
each of the adjacent years.
To properly use the Floppy Almanac, you must be familiar with basic
astronomical terminology, coordinate systems, and conventions. You should be
familiar with the contents and use of either the Astronomical Almanac, the
Nautical Almanac, or the Air Almanac, depending on your particular application.
To assist you with some of the specialized astronomical terminology, however, a
glossary is provided in Appendix B of this document.
All of the necessary files for the Floppy Almanac are contained on a single
51/4" DSDD disk. The program is compatible with MSDOS 2.00 and higher and
runs on the IBM PC, XT, and AT computers and compatible machines. There are 8
files in this version of the Floppy Almanac. They are:
MESSIER.CAT
RADIO1.CAT
STAR1.CAT
FA.DFT
CATALOG.EXE
FAyy.EXE
READ.ME
SAMPLE.TXT

Messier catalog
extragalactic radio sources
FK5 star catalog
ASCII file of initial values
catalog generation utility
the main program
more information
sample input for generating catalogs

The first file in the list is the executable module comprising the Floppy
Almanac, and is the only essential file. Its file name is formed by replacing
the characters yy with the last two digits of its year, for example, FA88.EXE
for the 1988 edition of the Floppy Almanac. It is executed by simply typing
the first four characters, that is, "fa88" (or"FA88") at the DOS prompt for the
1988 Floppy Almanac or the corresponding codes for other years. The module
will then be read from the disk into the computer's memory and the Floppy
Almanac masthead and main menu will appear on the screen. Once the main menu
appears the disk can be removed from the drive; no further disk reads are
required for standard execution.
The other files on the disk are auxiliary files, which are not used by most
applications. Most of these files relate to the optional facility for
redefining the star catalog to be used by the Floppy Almanac and are described
in detail below.
Version 2.00.xx of the Floppy Almanac is written in FORTRAN and assembly
language and has been compiled to take advantage of an 8087 or 80287 numeric
1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 1

coprocessor, if one is installed in your computer. A coprocessor is not

required; however, the Floppy Almanac will run up to 5 times faster with a
coprocessor. The program requires about 180k bytes of RAM, therefore a machine
with at least 256k bytes of RAM will be required, depending on the version of
MSDOS in use. The program does not use any screen graphics -- all output is
in text mode and the monitor and keyboard are used as a "dumb terminal".
2. Getting Started -- Sample Run
Since the Floppy Almanac is menu and prompt driven, the novice user can usually
"feel" his way around its various options and obtain useful information. One
can become fairly proficient in using the Floppy Almanac simply through a
series of trial-and-error runs. Nevertheless, there is a significant amount of
information about how the Floppy Almanac works which is not obvious but which
is quite important for all but the most casual user. This information is
presented below.
The following is a simple, but typical, run of the Floppy Almanac which
illustrates its use. This run produces the rise, set, and transit times of
Mars for five consecutive dates. You may wish to duplicate this run to get
acquainted with the Floppy Almanac. Data which you must type appears below
underlined. Menu selections are made using the 'F - keys' on the computer
keyboard.
This run is from version 2.00.88. This run is for 1988; if you have a Floppy
Almanac for a different year replace each occurrence of "88" below with the
last two digits of the appropriate year. Obviously for years other than 1988
the output data values will be different than those shown but the input and
output formats will be the same.
Start the Floppy Almanac by typing "fa88".

U.S. Naval Observatory

Nautical Almanac Office

Floppy Almanac for the year 1988

Version 2.00.88

The file of default initial values

FA.DFT has been read.

Press any key to continue.

1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 2


F1 Initial Values
F2 File Output

F3 Positions
F4 Physical Ephemeris

F5 Sidereal Time
F6 Rise & Set Times

F7 Navigation
F8 Daily Configuration

F9 Change Catalog
F10 Quit

Pressing any key (such as the spacebar) will remove the message box and the
Floppy Almanac is ready to begin a calculation.

U.S. Naval Observatory

Nautical Almanac Office

Floppy Almanac for the year 1988

Version 2.00.88

F1 Initial Values
F2 File Output

F3 Positions
F4 Physical Ephemeris

F5 Sidereal Time
F6 Rise & Set Times

F7 Navigation
F8 Daily Configuration

F9 Change Catalog
F10 Quit

Typically, a calculation will begin with changing some of the initial values.
To do this, press the F1 key.

U.S. Naval Observatory

Nautical Almanac Office

Floppy Almanac for the year 1988

Version 2.00.88
* * Initial Values * *Press F key to modify:
1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 3


F1 Date
880601.000000
F2 Latitude

+39.00

F3 Longitude

-77.00

F4 Tabulation Interval
+1.000000
F5 Number of Lines

F6 Time Zone

-4

F7 Accept values

Pressing F1 again will allow us to change the starting date for the
calculation. Here it is being changed to July 4, 1988.

U.S. Naval Observatory

Nautical Almanac Office

Floppy Almanac for the year 1988

Version 2.00.88
Enter starting date [JD or yymmdd.hhmmss]: 880704<enter>

U.S. Naval Observatory

Nautical Almanac Office

Floppy Almanac for the year 1988

Version 2.00.88* * Initial Values * *Press F key to modify:

F1 Date
880704.000000
F2 Latitude

+39.00

F3 Longitude

-77.00

F4 Tabulation Interval
+1.000000
F5 Number of lines

F6 Time Zone

-4

F7 Accept values

Next, press F7 to accept the new initial values.

U.S. Naval Observatory

Nautical Almanac Office

Floppy Almanac for the year 1988

Version 2.00.88
1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 4


F1 Initial Values
F2 File Output

F3 Positions
F4 Physical Ephemeris

F5 Sidereal Time
F6 Rise & Set Times

F7 Navigation
F8 Daily Configuration

F9 Change Catalog
F10 Quit

Now pressing F6 will select Rise & Set Times, and a prompt will be presented
for the object name.

U.S. Naval Observatory

Nautical Almanac Office

Floppy Almanac for the year 1988

Enter object name: mars<enter>

U.S. Naval Observatory

Nautical Almanac Office

Floppy Almanac for the year 1988

Topocentric Ephemeris of MARS | for Greenwich Meridian | for location:

Longitude W 77 00.0
Latitude N 39 00.0 Time Zone UT-4 Ephemeris Transit
Date | TDT
JD TDT Time | Rise (Azm)
Trans (Alt) Set (Azm)
h m s h m
h m
h m

1988 Jul 4 2447346.707497

4 58 47.7 0 21 ( 96)
6 06 (s46) 11 52 (264)
1988 Jul 5 2447347.706111
4 56 48.0 0 18 ( 96)
6 04 (s46) 11 51 (264)
1988 Jul 6 2447348.704713
4 54 47.2 0 16 ( 96)
6 02 (s46) 11 49 (264)
1988 Jul 7 2447349.703301
4 52 45.2 0 13 ( 96)
6 00 (s46) 11 48 (264)
1988 Jul 8 2447350.701874
4 50 42.0 0 11 ( 95)
5 58 (s46) 11 46 (265)
Pause - Please enter a blank line (to continue) or a DOS command.
3. Supported Celestial Objects
One of the features of the Floppy Almanac is that the most common tabulations
are supported for a wide range of celestial objects. For example, "F6 Rise &
Set Times" can be used not only for the Sun and Moon, but also for planets or
stars. The example above shows a tabulation for Mars, but the object could
have been Vega, the Moon, Pluto, Canopus, Eta Tauri, etc.
For the solar system, the Floppy Almanac contains information on the positions
of all nine major planets plus the Sun and Moon. The information is internally
stored as a Chebyshev series for each of three position vector components (with
respect to the solar system barycenter) for each of the eleven solar system
bodies. The series "work" only within the 400-day window of time which defines
1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 5

the span of validity for the Floppy Almanac disk. If, during a tabulation, a
date outside this span is encountered, the error message
'Julian date before first allowed date.' or'Julian date after last allowed
date.
is displayed and the tabulation is terminated.
The basic catalog of stars consists of data for the brightest 199 stars in the
FK5 catalog, plus one navigational star (Sabik: Eta Ophiuchi) not in the FK5.
Stars as faint as third magnitude are represented, although the catalog is not
complete at this level. The catalog is stored within the Floppy Almanac module
and consists of the names, epoch J2000.0 position and proper motion, parallax
and other information for each star.
This basic 200 star catalog can be replaced. One of the main menu choices, "F9
Change Catalog", can be used to specify an external disk file to be used in
place of the basic star catalog. Three catalog files are provided on the
distribution disk: the entire FK5 catalog, a catalog of compact extragalactic
radio sources, and the Messier catalog of clusters and nebulae. You can also
set up your own catalog of objects. This will be discussed more thoroughly in
section 6.4 and Appendix A.
4. Specifying What You Want
During its execution, the Floppy Almanac requests you to enter two broad types
of input data: names and numbers. The Floppy Almanac treats these two types of
input data quite differently and therefore requests them separately. Names are
simply character strings used to select celestial objects or menu choices.
Numbers are used to specify exactly what data you want the Floppy Almanac to
produce on any given run. Numbers are used to supply information on dates and
intervals, geographic position (latitude and longitude), and the number of
lines of output to be produced. The meaning, format, and general requirements
for all these types of input data are given below.
4.1 Names
In the context of the Floppy Almanac, a "name" is simply a string of one to
eight alphanumeric characters. The Floppy Almanac always requests names
separately from numbers. Lower case letters which you enter as part of a name
are converted to upper case by the Floppy Almanac, any blanks are treated as
meaningless spacers (ignored except for the fact that they take up one of the
eight positions), and any characters beyond the eighth position are
superfluous. Therefore, "Alp Cen", "ALP CEN", and "a L pCENTAURI" are
completely equivalent names, since the Floppy Almanac will (internally) reduce
each to the basic form "ALPCEN ". (Note: When entering names, do not surround
them with quotes.)
Names are used to select celestial objects. The following rule holds
throughout:
When entering names, you need type the fewest number of characters necessary to
unambiguously specify your choice.
1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 6

Thus, for example, when you are asked to enter an object name there is never
any reason to type more than eight characters since only the first eight are
used. Therefore, "ALPCENTAURI" is equivalent to "ALPCEN". Furthermore,
according to the above rule, you need only enter the number of characters
necessary to distinguish your choice from any of the other possibilities. It
may not be obvious how many characters are needed to unambiguously specify your
choice. For example, "ma" is sufficient to distinguish Mars from Mercury or the
Moon, but how about the star Markab? Does "ve" result in Venus or Vega? In
these cases it is helpful to know that the Floppy Almanac has an ordered list
of object names and will select the first object from the list that seems to
correspond to the name you entered. The ordered list is as follows:
Sun,Moon,Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars,Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune,Pluto,Star
names:
Proper names, Bayer designations, and DM numbers.
The stars in the 200-star catalog are arranged in the following order:(a) the
57 standard navigational stars, in order of navigational star number; followed
by(b)
the next 143 brightest FK5 stars, in order of
decreasing
brightness (increasing magnitude).
Thus, "s" and "m" are sufficient for the Sun and Moon, respectively, "ma" will
indeed get you Mars, not Markab ("Mark" is sufficient for the latter), "ve"
yields Venus, but "veg" is needed for Vega.
There are two "wild-card" characters which you can use within names. The first
is "?" (question mark), which means "any single character is acceptable here".
Thus, for example, if you were unsure of whether the star name "Alkaid" was
spelled with a "k" or a "c" in the middle, you could enter the name "Al?aid".
The second "wild-card" character is "_" (underscore), which means "one or more
blanks must be present here". This character is useful when blanks are
significant parts of names (normally blanks are ignored). Examples are,
"Kaus_Aus", "+6_919", and "ALP_TAU", although in most cases omitting this
character will not result in any ambiguity. Also, it turns out that because of
the order of the navigational stars, the names "den" or "deneb" will always
result in the selection of the star Denebola; to obtain Deneb, you must enter
"deneb_".
Note that star names may be specified as proper name, Bayer designation, or DM
number. Each star in the 200-star catalog also has a serial number which can
be used as a name if it is known; serial numbers 1 to 57 are the standard
navigational star numbers.
Proper names have been taken from the list in the back of the Nautical Almanac,
supplemented by common names for some of the fainter stars taken from Appendix
II of the Yale Bright Star Catalog (4th ed). However, note that there is no
universal agreement on the English spelling of many star names.
Bayer designations should be entered in the form "GGG CCC" where "GGG"
represents the first three letters of the English name of the Greek letter
("ALP", "BET", "GAM", etc.) and "CCC" represents the standard 3-letter IAU
constellation abbreviation ("ORI", "CAS", "UMA", etc.). Thus "LAM SCO", "Alp
Lyr", and "gam cru" are acceptable Bayer designations. Since some of the stars
are components of binary systems, it may be necessary to insert a component
number into the middle of the name, for example, "ALP2 LIB"; if you are unsure
about whether a component number is required, try "ALP?LIB" or the like.
1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 7

DM numbers should not contain leading zeros in either the zone or the star
number subfields. When the star number subfield requires four or fewer digits,
a "_" character is recommended to separate the two subfields. The zone section
must always begin with a "+" or "-". Thus "+3_419" is an acceptable DM number,
but not the apparently equivalent "03 0419".
Thus, any of the names "RIGEL", "11", "rig", "bet or", or "-8_1063" could be
used to specify the star Rigel.
4.2 Numbers
All numeric data that the Floppy Almanac requires to begin a calculation is
entered from the menu selection "F1 Initial Values". Numeric data are entered
as FORTRAN "list-directed input" which is very free-form. Floating point
numbers may be truncated at any point to the right of the decimal point, i.e.
the number is assumed to be extended on the right with zeros. The decimal
point itself may be omitted if the fraction is zero. A disadvantage of this
form of input is its insistence on only allowing number to be entered. If a
letter or special character is entered when a number is expected, the error
message "Invalid character in input! Try again." will appear. Also, once a
numeric input has been chosen, a number must be entered. If the enter key is
pressed without having first entered a number, the prompt is redisplayed.
Specific information on the three general types of numeric data follows.
4.2.1 Dates and Intervals
The date which you enter in response to a prompt from the Floppy Almanac is
used to specify the epoch for the tabulation. For fixedinterval tabulations
this date is used as the beginning date of a running table; you must also
select the tabulation interval and the number of lines of output you wish. The
tabulation interval is the difference in tabular epochs between successive
output lines.
As in the Astronomical Almanac, the independent argument for most Floppy
Almanac tabulations is dynamical time, specifically, Terrestrial Dynamical Time
(TDT). TDT is effectively equal to TAI (International Atomic Time) + 32.184
seconds, and is the extension of the old Ephemeris Time scale, abandoned in
1984. The more familiar Universal Time (UT), which is tied to the (irregular)
rotation of the Earth, is currently "slow" with respect to TDT and the TDT - UT
difference is now almost one minute. A complete table of past and projected
values of TDT-UT, accurate to a fraction of a second, can be found on page K9
of the Astronomical Almanac.
Therefore, in using the Floppy Almanac, dates and intervals to be entered
should be expressed in Terrestrial Dynamical Time (TDT), except for the
following cases. "F7 Navigation" and "F5 Sidereal Time" require Universal Time
(UT, or, more precisely, UT1), otherwise known as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Within the "F3 Positions" selection, the time scale for heliocentric and
barycentric coordinates is, technically, Barycentric Dynamical Time (TDB),
although TDB never differs from TDT by more than 1.7 milliseconds.
Dates may be entered in either of two forms:
year-month-day-hour-minute-second, or Julian date and fraction. The former is
1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 8

entered using the format YYMMDD.HHMMSS, for example, 880314.052741 for 1988
March 14, 5:27:41 TDT. Alternatively, a Julian date, including an appropriate
fraction, may be entered, for example, 2447234.72756 which corresponds to the
above date. The Floppy Almanac can distinguish between the two forms since
they require, respectively, six and seven digits to the left of the decimal
point.
Intervals may also be entered in either of two formats:
days-hours-minutes-seconds, or days and fraction. The format of the interval
must correspond to the format of the date. If the date is entered as
year-month-day-hour-minute-second, the interval must be entered as
days-hours-minutes-seconds, using the format DD.HHMMSS. Similarly, if the date
is entered as Julian date and fraction, the interval must be entered in the
form days and fraction. For example, if a tabulation interval of 8.5 minutes
is desired, it must be entered as 0.000830 if the date is entered as
880314.052741 and as 0.005903 if the date is entered as 2447234.72756.
4.2.2 Geographic Position - Latitude and Longitude
Latitude and longitude are always entered as degrees plus fraction. North
latitudes are positive, south latitudes negative. In accordance with a recent
IAU resolution, east longitudes are considered positive, west longitudes
negative. For most purposes not more than two or three digits to the right of
the decimal point are required for latitude and longitude entries, since 0.01
degree of latitude (or longitude at the equator) corresponds to just over 1 km.

Therefore the latitude and longitude of (downtown) Chicago could be expressed

as -87.63, 41.85; that of Sydney, Australia, 151.22, -33.88.
4.2.3 Number of Lines
The data item "F5 Number of Lines" is used to specify how many lines of output
you wish for the fixed interval tabulations. The first line will show data for
the starting date which you entered, and each succeeding line will show the
data for one tabulation interval further in the future.
4.2.4 Time Zone
The menu selection "F6 Rise & Set Times" is the only section
Almanac which uses information about time zones. Time zones
the "F1 Initial Values" menu selection. The time zone value
hours before or after UT that is in effect for the longitude

of the Floppy
are entered from
is the number of
of the tabulation.

Note however, that it is not necessary to enter the time zone value for the
longitude for which the phenomena is being calculated. A value of 0 will
result in a tabulation in UT, while a value of -4 for longitude -77.00 will
produce a table in Eastern Daylight Time.
1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 9

4.3 Default Values of Input Data

The Floppy Almanac will search 3 sources of initial values when starting a
calculation. The first source is the values entered by the user from the "F1
Initial Values" menu selection. These values may only be changed from the menu
selection. The second source is the external disk file of values called
FA.DFT. This is simply a file of ASCII text which is read by the Floppy
Almanac once at start-up time. If this file is not found in the current
directory or is not readable for some reason, then the third source of initial
values will be used, which are values stored internal in the Floppy Almanac and
are not modifiable. The FA.DFT file can be customized for individual uses and
can be edited by any ASCII text editor, and has the simple format that the
numbers must be in columns 21 thru 40. The order of the lines is critical and
must not be changed, i.e. the first line must be the starting date, the second
line must be the latitude, etc. Copying the supplied FA.DFT and renaming the
original will provide a pattern to use when setting up your own default values.

The Floppy Almanac program only reads this file; it will not alter the contents
of the FA.DFT file. Below is the contents of a typical FA.DFT file.
Starting date =
880601.00000Latitude
=
39.000Longitude = -77.000
Time step = 1.00 Num. of positions =5 Time zone =-4
4.4 Choices at End of Tabulation
After the Floppy Almanac has computed and tabulated the data you requested, it
displays the statement:
Pause - Please enter a blank line (to continue) or a DOS command.
At this point, any DOS command may be executed, or the word "command" may be
typed to load a DOS shell. While running the shell, keep in mind that
available RAM has been decreased by the amount occupied by DOS and the Floppy
Almanac (about 280k with DOS 3.2). The command "exit" is used to leave the DOS
shell and return to the Floppy Almanac. The cursor is turned off by the Floppy
Almanac and will not be visible in the DOS shell unless the DOS "mode" command
is used to reset the video mode. See the DOS manual for instructions on this
command. If the cursor is turned on in the shell, it will remain visible after
returning to the Floppy Almanac. The key sequence "Alt-F1" will redraw the
header and menu and turn the cursor off.
5. File Output
The Floppy Almanac receives input from the keyboard and displays its output on
the monitor screen. However, a new feature has been added with release
2.00.88. Menu option "F2 File Output" will capture all of the titles, column
headers and numbers from a calculation to a disk file. When "F2 File Output"
is selected, there are 3 situations which can occur:
#1 The named file does not exist.#2 The named file exists but is not opened for
writing.#3 The named file exists and is currently open.
1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 10

The Floppy Almanac tests for these conditions and has a slightly different
response to each of them. If the file does not exist, it is created and opened
for output. If the file already exists, but is not open, it is opened and the
new data will be appended to the bottom of the file. Finally, if an output
file exists and is open, it will be closed. It can be re-opened later by
selecting "F2 File Output" and specifying the same file name.
6. Details of Floppy Almanac Computations and Output
As noted above, when the Floppy Almanac program is started, the main menu
appears. It is always possible to return to the main menu after any tabulation
is finished by pressing the "Enter" key. The main menu is used to select the
type of tabulation desired or otherwise control Floppy Almanac execution. As
shown in the example in section 2, this menu presents 10 options.
A brief explanation of each of the options follows. Except where specifically
noted, the data values produced by the Floppy Almanac will be consistent with
those printed in the Astronomical, Nautical, or Air Almanacs, with occasional
end-figure discrepancies of one unit.
6.1 Positions
If you select this option, a secondary menu immediately appears:

U.S. Naval Observatory

Nautical Almanac Office

Floppy Almanac for the year 1988

Version 2.00.88

F1 Apparent geocentric coordinates

F2 Astrometric geocentric coordinates

F3 Heliocentric coordinates

F4 Barycentric rectangular coordinates

F5 Leave Position calculation

Each of the options produces a tabulation of the positions of a specific object

with respect to one of four standard astronomical coordinate systems, as
described below.
"F1 Apparent geocentric coordinates" and "F2 Astrometric geocentric
coordinates" both produce tabulations of right ascension and declination, and,
for solar system objects, true distance. Apparent coordinates are with respect
1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 11

to the true equator and equinox of date; astrometric coordinates are with
respect to the mean equator and equinox of J2000.0.
"F3 Heliocentric coordinates" are tabulated as ecliptic longitude and latitude
and radius vector, with respect to the mean ecliptic and equinox of date. This
tabulation is provided only for solar system objects.
"F4 Barycentric rectangular coordinates" are tabulated as equatorial X, Y, and
Z, measured from the solar system barycenter. The XY-plane is the mean equator
of J2000.0, the Z-axis points toward the mean north celestial pole of J2000.0,
and the X-axis points toward the mean equinox of J2000.0. This tabulation is
provided only for solar system objects.
6.2 Physical Ephemeris of Planet
The physical ephemeris of a planet refers to its aspect as seen from the Earth:
its apparent magnitude, the angular size of its disk, its apparent degree of
illumination, the orientation of its pole, and the positions of its sub-solar
and sub-Earth points. In the Astronomical Almanac, the physical ephemeris of a
planet is spread across two facing pages. This divides into what could be
called "illumination data" on the left-hand pages and "rotation data" on the
right-hand pages. The Floppy Almanac asks which set of data you wish to see.
The data tabulated by the Floppy Almanac for the planets are the same as those
in the Astronomical Almanac.
The physical ephemeris of the Sun is not available from the Floppy Almanac. The
physical ephemeris of the Moon is available but is substantially different from
that in the Astronomical Almanac, both in format and accuracy. The model of
the rotation of the Moon used by the Floppy Almanac is based on a simplified
lunar libration theory and therefore the rotation data are not as accurate as
that in the Astronomical Almanac.
6.3 Sidereal Times
This selection provides computed Greenwich mean and apparent sidereal times,
and local apparent sidereal time for any longitude. This computation does not
depend on the Floppy Almanac's solar system ephemeris; therefore, it will work
for dates in any year.
6.4 Change Catalog
This menu selection is used to replace the standard 200-star catalog with
another catalog of objects. The new catalog must exist as a
specially-formatted disk file external to the Floppy Almanac module. A group
of such catalogs is provided on the Floppy Almanac disk:
Catalog
number
1
2
3
4

File
name
Standard
STAR1.CAT
RADIO1.CAT
MESSIER.CAT

Contents

Number of
objects
200-star catalog
200
FK5 star data transformed to J2000.0
1536
Compact extragalactic radio sources
233
Messier catalog of clusters and nebulae 109

1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 12

You will be prompted to "Enter catalog number or file name of catalog". You
may enter one of the catalog numbers given above or the corresponding file
name. The new catalog will be used for the duration of the Floppy Almanac run
(the standard 200-star catalog is always in place at the beginning of a run) or
until you again select "F9 Change Catalog". If at any point you wish to
restore the standard 200-star catalog, simply select "F9 Change Catalog" and
respond to the prompt with a "1". (The standard 200-star catalog does not have
a file name, since it is actually just the first 200 stars of catalog 2.)
You can create your own catalogs of special objects. A program to set up your
catalog in the required format is supplied on the Floppy Almanac disk as file
CATALOG.EXE. See Appendix A for further information.
The Floppy Almanac can internally store the data for 200 objects at a time. As
part of the "F9 Change Catalog" routine, data on the first 200 objects in the
new catalog will be read into memory. If you have selected a catalog with more
than 200 objects in it, the Floppy Almanac will execute disk reads whenever it
needs to access data for an object not currently in memory.
Once a new catalog has been defined, most Floppy Almanac tabulations (those
normally applicable to stars) can be requested for any of the new set of
objects. Each object in each catalog has up to three names (aliases) by which
it can be referred:
Catalog FileName

How specified Examples number

name priority

1 & 2 STAR1.CAT Name 1 Proper name ARCTURUS, MIZAR Name

designation
BET ORI, ALP2 CVN
Name 3
DM number
3
RADIO1.CAT Name 1
IAU designation
0851+202,
Name 2
3C or 4C number
3C 454, 4C-02.81
Name
designation
OJ287, NRAO 150
4
MESSIER.CAT Name 1
Messier number M3, M57, M 31
number
NGC 6205, NGC221
Name 3
Common name

2 Bayer
+23 541, - 6 1241
1641+399
3
Other
Name 2
NGC
RING, ANDROMED

The rules for referring to objects by name are given in section 4.1. An
object's serial number within its catalog is also a "name" by which it can be
referred.
Redefinition of the catalog to be used by the Floppy Almanac does not affect in
any way the availability or accuracy of data for solar system objects.
Before the "F9 Change Catalog" routine exits, you will be asked whether you
wish to see a display of data for all the objects in the new catalog. This
display lists the serial number, all three names, and the J2000.0 right
ascension and declination of each object. The CATALOG.EXE utility program can
also produce a complete list of the contents of each catalog file, which may be
output as a disk file.
A few notes on each catalog: Catalog 2 is the FK5, with the addition of one
star (Eta Ophiuchi) which is a standard navigational star not in the FK5. The
FK5 contains stars as faint as visual magnitude 8, but is not complete except
for the very brightest stars. The data in the other catalogs have been
transformed to equator, equinox, and epoch J2000.0 by Dr. Clayton Smith of the
Naval Observatory; the equinox is that of the FK5. Catalog 3 is the list of
1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 13

233 compact extragalactic radio sources compiled by a working group of IAU

Commission 24, and is the same as the list of radio sources published in the
1988 Astronomical Almanac. Catalog 4 is the standard Messier catalog; the
serial numbers are the same as the "M" numbers. M40, a "missing" Messier
object, has null data in its record.
6.5 Rise, Set, and Transit Times
This selection produces, for any object, a tabulation of ephemeris transit
times, and local times of rise, set, and transit for any location.
Additionally, the local azimuth at rise and set (measured eastward from true
north) and the local altitude at transit is displayed. The times of rise and
set correspond to the times when the upper limb of the object appears to be
coincident with the true (unobstructed) horizon, with atmospheric refraction at
optical wavelengths and standard atmospheric conditions at sea level taken into
account. Similarly, the computed altitude at transit includes the effects of
standard refraction.
The time zone used by the Floppy Almanac for the local rise, set and transit
times is the one specified in the "F1 Initial Values" menu choice. Any time
zone may be specified for any longitude. This makes a calculation possible for
UT, for example, or more convenient for Daylight Saving Time. The time zone
used by the Floppy Almanac is displayed at the top of the tabulation: for
example, "UT -6" is North American Central Standard Time, and "UT +1" is
central European time.
The following symbols may appear within the tabulation:
** **
means object is continually above horizon
-- -means
object is continually below horizon
p
means event occurs on preceding
date, local time
f
means event occurs on following date, local time s
means altitude is measured from southern horizon n
means altitude is
measured from northern horizon
The rise and set times displayed by the Floppy Almanac for the Sun and Moon may
differ at high latitudes from those printed in the Astronomical or Nautical
Almanac by several minutes, especially near the times when the Sun or Moon is
continually above the horizon. The rise and set times displayed by the Floppy
Almanac for latitudes very close to the poles are not, in general, reliable.
6.6 Navigation
This selection tabulates all the astronomical information necessary to obtain a
line of position from an altitude observation made at sea level. The Floppy
Almanac will prompt you to enter the name of the object observed, the exact
time of the sight (in UT1 or GMT), and the assumed position (latitude and
longitude) from which the sight was made. Once these are entered, the Floppy
Almanac will display both almanac data and altitude corrections for the object
specified. The almanac data consist of: Greenwich hour angle (GHA),
declination (Dec), computed altitude (Hc), and computed azimuth (Zn). The
altitude corrections consist of atmospheric refraction (Refr) for sea level and
standard conditions, semidiameter (SD), parallax in altitude (PA), and the sum
1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 14

Refr + SD + PA. If the Sun is a factor at the time of the observation (daytime
or during nautical twilight), a similar line of data will also be displayed for
it. Additionally, the GHA of Aries is always displayed.
If, in place of the name of a specific object, you enter "all" (or "ALL"), a
line of data will be displayed for each navigational planet and star which is
above the horizon as viewed from the assumed position at the time specified.
The altitude corrections are intended for use during sight reduction. To
obtain the observed altitude (Ho), the sum of the altitude corrections (in the
rightmost column) may be added to the apparent altitude (ha), which itself is
obtained from the sextant altitude (hs) by removing instrumental and dip
corrections. The altitude corrections strictly apply only in the case where
the observation was in fact made from the assumed position and, for solar
system objects, the lower limb of the specified object was observed. Generally,
however, these corrections are weak functions of altitude and can therefore be
applied, with some small error, to sights made close to the assumed position.
The first of the listed corrections, refraction, applies to sea level
observations made under standard atmospheric conditions. The semidiameter
correction for the Moon includes augmentation.
The tabulated quantities can also be used for observation planning, where a
prediction of the apparent altitude (ha) may be formed by subtracting the sum
of the altitude corrections from the computed altitude: ha (predicted) = Hc Sum. In many cases, Sum is itself negative, leading to ha (predicted) being
greater than Hc.
The tabulated almanac data are consistent with those printed in the Air or
Nautical Almanacs, to within the accuracy of the latter, 0.1-0.2 minutes of
arc. The only significant difference (which may reach 0.5 minutes of arc) may
arise in the case of Venus, where, in the Floppy Almanac, no adjustment has
been made for its phase. (If the disk of a planet can be resolved, then an
observation of its lower limb can be reduced in the same way as that for the
Sun or Moon; a phase correction is then irrelevant.) The Floppy Almanac's
altitude corrections are consistent, within 0.2 minutes of arc, with those
tabulated on the front inside cover of the Nautical Almanac.
6.7 Daily Configuration
This selection provides a concise summary of the most frequently used
information on the observability of all the major solar system bodies (Sun and
Moon and planets except Pluto), including right ascension and declination,
elongation from Sun, magnitude, apparent angular size of disk, etc. The
information is arranged in order of elongation from Sun. The only input
required is the date.
6.8 Topocentric Altitude and Azimuth
The altitude and azimuth of a celestial body as observed from any geographic
location at any time can be obtained by using the "F7 Navigation" selection.
The celestial objects which can be specified are not limited to those normally
1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 15

used for celestial navigation. In fact, if you redefine the catalog in use
(see section 6.4), it is possible to obtain "F7 Navigation" on objects such as
the Ring Nebula or the quasar 3C 273.
For those not familiar with navigational notation, the following definitions
are provided:
GHA Greenwich hour angle. Apparent instantaneous hour angle of object
measured westward from the plane of the Greenwich meridian.
Dec Declination. Apparent declination of object.
Hc Computed altitude. Instantaneous altitude of center of object, calculated
using its geocentric position, that is, without adjustments for topocentric
parallax or refraction.
Zn Computed azimuth. Instantaneous azimuth of object, measured eastward from
true north.
Refr Refraction. Atmospheric refraction correction applicable to object, if
observed at sea level at optical wavelengths, under standard atmospheric
conditions.
SD

Semidiameter. Half the apparent equatorial angular diameter of object.

PA Parallax in altitude. Topocentric parallax correction applicable to

object.
Sum Sum = Refr + SD + PA. If Sum is subtracted from Hc, the apparent altitude
(that comparable to observation) of the lower limb of the object is obtained.
7. Future Developments
This is the second major version of the Floppy Almanac to be released. Many of
the changes that have been incorporated into its operation are the direct
result of letters received from satisfied (or irate) customers. The most
popular request by far was to have some way of installing your local
coordinates as the default values. The change made to implement this was the
FA.DFT file. Other minor changes have been made, but at this point, they are
all in the appearance of the program and not in its operation. The next
improvement will be the addition of civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight
times to the Rise & Set Times menu choice. Improvements and extensions will be
made to the software, bugs will be fixed, inconvenient features changed, and
versions for computers of architectures other than that of the IBM PC may be
produced. Versions of the Floppy Almanac which span more than one year are
still under study. As the computing speed, memory, and disk capacity of
microcomputers increases, the Floppy Almanac will be changed to take advantage
of the increased computing power available.
Comments, criticisms, and suggestions are solicited. Please mail your remarks
to:
Nautical Almanac Office Code FA U. S. Naval Observatory Washington, DC
20392-5100
1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 16

Appendix A
Creating Star or Special-Object Catalogs
In order for catalog positions of stars or other special objects (e.g.,
pulsars, globular clusters, X-ray sources, etc.) to be used by the Floppy
Almanac, they must be in a specially-coded binary form. Once in this form, the
catalog can be substituted for the standard 200-star catalog by using the "F9
Change Catalog" option, in which you specify the new catalog by entering its
MS-DOS file name.
A program is provided on the disk as file CATALOG.EXE which can be used to
transform a catalog of yours to the special binary form required by the Floppy
Almanac. You can set up your catalog using an editor, another program, etc.
Your catalog must be formatted, that is, composed of character data, with one
record of 96 characters for each object in the catalog. The order of the
records is not important, but each record in your catalog must be set up as
follows:
Field
Field
Contents Units
Example posn. format
1- 8
A8
Name1
Left justified
ALP2 LIB 9-16 A8
Name2, left justified
--- ZUBENELG17-24 A8 Name3, left justified
---15 399625-38 F14.10
J2000.0 right ascension hours
14.847975694639-52 F14.10
J2000.0 declination
degrees
-16.041802501053-62 F10.4
J2000.0 proper motion in RA s / cy
-0.735063-72 F10.4
J2000.0 proper motion in dec " / cy
-6.831073-80
F8.4
Parallax "
0.049081-88
F8.4 Radial Velocity km
/ s -10.000089-96 F8.4 Visual Magnitude (or flux)
mag, Jy 2.9000
The example column shows data for the star Zubenelgenubi, Alpha2 Librae. Names
are truncated on the right, if necessary. Any of the name fields may be left
blank. The time unit for proper motion is the Julian century. For stars, the
parallax and radial velocity fields can be set to zero if these quantities are
unknown. For extragalactic objects, or those without precise positions, the
proper motion, parallax, and radial velocity fields can be set to zero. The
visual magnitude (flux) field is not currently used by the Floppy Almanac.
A small sample catalog file formatted as above is included on the disk as file
SAMPLE.TXT . It contains data on five stars.
To use the program to convert your catalog to the binary form suitable for use
by the Floppy Almanac, simply type CATALOG . You will be prompted to enter the
file name of the catalog you are supplying as input (constructed as specified
above), the number of stars (objects) in the input file, and a character string
describing the contents of the catalog to be used as a title. The program will
then execute and produce an output file with the file name BINARY.CAT which can
be used by the Floppy Almanac. You may, of course, later rename this file.
The Floppy Almanac can always be obtained by downloading the latest version
from the NOVAC computer bulletin board system. It is run by the Northern
Virginia Astronomy Club and the call is always free except for pertinent long
distance charges. The number is 703-256-4777 and is currently running at 1200
baud, no parity, eight data bits and one stop bit.
1988 US Naval Observatory Nautical Floppy Almanac Version 2.00.88 Page 17

Appendix B
Glossary (Reprinted from 1987 Astronomical Almanac)
U.S. Naval Observatory Nautical Almanac Office
Floppy Almanac User's Guide
Table C
1.
2.
3.
4.
4.1
4.2
4.2.1
4.2.2
4.2.3
4.2.4
4.3
4.4

Introduction
Getting Started -- Sample Run
Supported Celestial Objects
Specifying What You Want
Names
Numbers
Dates and Intervals
Geographic Position - Latitude and Longitude
Number of Lines
Time Zone
Default Values of Input Data
Choices at End of Tabulation

5.
6.
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6
6.7
6.8
7.

File Output
Details of Floppy Almanac Computations and Output
Positions
Physical Ephemeris of Planet
Sidereal Times
Change Catalog
Rise, Set, and Transit Times
Navigation
Daily Configuration
Topocentric Altitude and Azimuth
Future Developments

Appendix A
Appendix B