"Courtney Thomas" wrote in message
...
Is there a publication revealing the algorithms so that a programmer can
avoid having to buy almanacs,etc. and instead generate his own tables
and annual almanac ?

Thank you.
--
Courtney Thomas
s/v Mutiny
lying Oriental, NC

Jean Meeus "Astronomical Algorithms" 2nd Ed. Willmann-Bell March 2000 is
the bible.

There is a great deal of software ( a lot of it free) available for
celestial nav calculations (sight reduction) and almanac
calculations......available for PC (laptop), PDA and calculator (mostly HP
and TI) platforms. Most of this software is based on Meeus in one form or
another.

Not much point in recreating existing software, unless you have different,
specific requirements. And if you needed to ask about the existence of
Meeus, it would seem you are well down on the learning curve for creating
applications....no offence intended, just that I asked myself the same
question you have asked, some years ago.

If you care to firm up on your requirements (is it simply sight reduction?)
and platform.... I can possibly point you towards appropriate software. If
you wish to write your own, there are many modules/routines to help you get
started, depending on your platform of choice.