Precession-Jumping from 1875 to 1950

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the method of precession-jumping from the year 1875 to 1950 using the precession routine in a coding context. The author references a 1967 book that utilizes the function precco(0.75) to update precession coefficients, which are then applied to two vectors through the preces function. The approach is deemed valid for approximating precession to 1950, although the code does not explicitly update to 1955. The discussion raises questions about the accuracy of this method and its reliance on basic calculations.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of astronomical precession and its significance in coordinate systems.
  • Familiarity with programming concepts, particularly function calls and vector manipulation.
  • Knowledge of the precession routine and its application in astronomical calculations.
  • Basic mathematical skills for performing calculations related to time intervals.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the implementation of the precession routine in programming languages.
  • Explore the use of the precco function and its parameters in astronomical software.
  • Learn about the differences between various epochs in astronomical data and their implications.
  • Investigate tools for precise coordinate conversion and precession, such as the Precess tool from Harvard.
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Astronomers, software developers working with astronomical data, and researchers interested in historical star catalogs and coordinate transformations.

solarblast
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Precession--Jumping from 1875 to 1950

I'm looking at a book that was written in 1967. The only star catalog available for the author's purposes was from 1875. He needed to have the precession for 1955 data. In his program code, he makes a call to precco(0.75) to update the coefficients of the precession routine, preces. preces is called twice right after that to two vectors. Each vector is replaced by a new vector with precession applied.

I'm fairly sure that this is to jump 75 years (expressed as 0.75) and somehow move from 1875 to 1950. I do not see any code that gets the precession updated to 1955. Close enough at 1950, I guess?? Comments? Does this seem like a valid way to get to 1950?
 
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Sounds like you could use a caculator.



Precession Routine

This routine will precess astronomical coordinates from one epoch to another.
http://fuse.pha.jhu.edu/support/tools/precess.html


Precess: Coordinate Conversion and Precession Tool
http://asc.harvard.edu/toolkit/precess.jsp
 
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