This program will allow you to discover the fantastic world of the Moon. It is divided into four main parts: the GRAPHIC part displays the various lunar sites, seas, mountains andcraters; in the DATA part you can read about the Moon, its motion,historical facts and trivia; the CALCULATION part allows you to computethe ephemerides of the Moon, its phase, its time of setting, culminationand rising, solar and lunar eclipses, and many other data in real time;the VARIOUS part contains several utilities. To use the various parts of the program move around with the arrow keysand then select with the <Enter> key. We hope you enjoy yourself. You are entering the GRAPHIC mode. You can see a picture of the Moon divided into 25 sectors. Use the arrowkeys to choose any sector you like, zoom in, and read about the craters,the seas and the mountains visible in this sector. Pressing the <F9> key, a list of lunar seas, mountains, valleys can beobtained. You can select one of them and have it displayed. Pressing the <F10> key a list of lunar craters can be obtained. Move upand down the list with the arrow keys and select with the <Enter> key. To go back to the previous menu press the <ESC> key. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. You decided to zoom in on the Moon. An enlargement of the lunar sectoryou chose is shown. Various formations are visible on the lunar surface,such as craters, seas, mountains, valleys. Whenever some numbers orletters appear on the picture, more information will be displayed bypressing the corresponding keys. The same result can be obtained bypressing the left mouse button when the arrow is on the number orletter. With the <F10> key the list of lunar formations visible in this sectoris displayed. More information will be displayed by pressing thecorresponding key. To go back to the previous menu press the <ESC> key. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. You are entering the LUNAR PHENOMENA section. Information about the most relevant astronomical phenomena related tothe Moon, like eclipses, or related to events occurring on the lunarsurface, like LTP's (Lunar Transient Phenomena). To go back to the previous menu press the <ESC> key. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. You entered the HISTORICAL DATA AND NEWS section. You can ask for historical information relative to the Moon, the earlydiscoveries, the early explorations with automatic spacecrafts, thehuman landing and so on. If you press the <ESC> key you can go back to previous menu. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. You are entering the LUNAR MOTION section. Information related to the main lunar motions are available. To go back to the previous menu press the <ESC> key. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. The date must be entered in the following format: month (MM), day (DD) (two figures each), year (±Y...). The sign (+) isfor years A.D. and the sign (-) for years B.C.. The Local Time is the same as the one of your watch. When daylight-saving time is in effect, you must subtract one hour fromthe time displayed by your watch. Therefore, if the time on your watchis 22.30, the corresponding Local Time is 21.30. Longitude and latitude must be the ones of your observing site. You mustenter them in degrees and their decimals. Latitudes are positive east of Greenwich and negative west of Greenwich. To modify any of the entries, press the corresponding key as shownbelow: L - to modify the longitude of the observing site. Also S.T. and L.T.are modified, and therefore the apparent position of the celestialbodies. E.T. undergoes no change. T - to modify the latitude of the observing site. D - to change the date and the geographic coordinates of the observingsite. To go back to the previous menu press the <ESC> key. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. To show all solar eclipses in a given year press the <S> key. Pressingthe <M> key lunar eclipses are shown. For each eclipse the program gives: - the Type, i.e. total, annular, partial, etc. . - the Magnitude, corresponding to the percentage of the solar diameterhidden by the Moon or the lunar diameter obscured by the umbra of theEarth. For annular eclipses the value of the magnitude is always 1. - the Visibility, i.e. the emisphere from which a solar eclipse isvisible. For a lunar eclipse the visibility is always from bothemispheres. - The Date. - E.T. (Ephemeris Time), which represents a good approximation of thetime of the central phase of the eclipse. The year must be preceded by the sign (-) if it is Before Christ,otherwise no sign is needed. Since the year 0 does not exist, entering the value 0 for the year willyield results for the year 1 A.D.. To select one of the options below, press the corresponding key: D - to repeat the choice between solar or lunar eclipses, and to modifythe year. T - (if it appears) to view the path of totality on the surface of theEarth. This option is available only for years between 1000 A.D. and3000 A.D.. Press the <ESC> key to go back to the eclipse menu. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. Pressing the <DownArrow> or <UpArrow> key, you can choose the eclipse. Then you must confirm your choice pressing the <F10> key. The Local Time is the same as the one of your watch. When daylight-saving time is in effect, you must subtract one hour fromthe time displayed by your watch. Therefore, if the time on your watchis 22.30, the corresponding Local Time is 21.30. Longitude and latitude must be the ones of your observing site. You mustenter them in degrees and their decimals. Latitudes are positive east of Greenwich and negative west of Greenwich.For each year the program computes Delta T, that is the correction dueto the slowing down of the rotation of the Earth. The value of thelongitude is automatically corrected. The calculation of the time zone is performed from this new value of thelongitude and the same happens for U.T. and E.T.. The calculation of thetime zone is not in accordance with the regulations of most countries,which span more than one time zone, but extend the value of their L.T.to the whole country. The atmospheric pressure of the observing site is expressed in millibar.The air temperature is expressed in degrees Celsius. The height above sea level, in meters, is related to the observing site.The value after the characters <JD:> indicates the Julian Date. Further information, appearing during the input of the data about TOTALLUNAR ECLIPSES, refers exclusively to the E.T. of the CENTRAL PHASE ofthe eclipse. To perform an automatic search for the visibility of a solar eclipseenter for the L.T. the same value as the one showing for E.T. (the valueof E.T. is indicated in the row of the eclipse you have chosen) and setto zero the values of the geographic longitude and latitude. Aftergetting the graphic representation of the eclipse, correct L.T. pressingthe <F3> ... <F8> keys to obtain the same E.T. of the central phase(significant differences between the E.T. and the L.T. at the firstmeridian occur only for years very distant from the year 1900). After these operations have been performed, press the <CTRL> + <F9> keys(only for solar eclipses). If the eclipse is not visible, repeat the above-mentioned steps,modifying the longitude of 5-10 degrees to the east or to the west. To select one of the options below, press the corresponding key: D - to repeat the choice between solar or lunar eclipses, and to modifythe year. Press the <ESC> key to go back to the eclipse menu. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. C - to change the entries for the L.T., the coordinates and theatmospheric pressure of the observing site. When the change in thelongitude changes also the time zone, the program computes the apparentposition of the Sun and the Moon according to the new value of the E.T.related to the L.T.. If you press the <-> or <+> key instead of the <C> key, you can changethe date to the previous or the following day. H - to abandon the selected eclipse and make a new choice. F10 - to go back to the graphic page. T - this option is available only if the solar eclipse is total orannular and happens in a year between 1000 A.D. and 3000 A.D.. In this case you can view, pressing this key, the path of the eclipse onthe surface of the Earth, and read its coordinates. The graphic window represents the portion of the sky that includes theSun and the Moon. To the left, the ordinate axis is shown, indicatingthe value in degrees of the elevation above the local horizon. At the bottom, the abscissae axis gives the value of the azimuth angle,measured from the north towards the east. Elevation 0 corresponds to the local horizon. If the value is negativethe eclipse is not visible from your observing site. When a solar eclipse is shown in the graphic window, the Sun is alwaysin the middle. For lunar eclipses two circles are shown in the middle ofthe window, which represent the umbra and the penumbra of the Earth. The horizontal coordinates are computed taking into consideration thecorrection in R.A. and Declination for the nutation, the aberration andthe parallax. In addition, the elevation values above the local horizonare corrected for the refraction corresponding to the specifiedatmospheric pressure and temperature. To modify the perspective or L.T. for an eclipse, use the followingfunction keys: <F3> increase L.T. by 6 seconds. <F4> decrease L.T. by 6 seconds. <F5> increase L.T. by 1 minute. <F6> decrease L.T. by 1 minute. <F7> decrease L.T. by 5 minutes. <F8> increase L.T. by 5 minutes. <Ctrl>+<F3> increase the Latitude by 5'. <Ctrl>+<F4> decrease the Latitude by 5'. <Ctrl>+<F5> increase the Latitude by 30'. <Ctrl>+<F6> decrease the Latitude by 30'. <Ctrl>+<F7> decrease the Latitude by 5 degrees. <Ctrl>+<F8> increase the Latitude by 5 degrees. <Alt>+<F3> increase the Longitude by 5'. <Alt>+<F4> decrease the Longitude by 5'. <Alt>+<F5> increase the Longitude by 30'. <Alt>+<F6> decrease the Longitude by 30'. <Alt>+<F7> decrease the Longitude by 5 degrees. <Alt>+<F8> increase the Longitude by 5 degrees. ==================================================== <Ctrl>+<F9> AUTOMATIC LATITUDE SEARCH. WARNING! Small modifications of the longitude may affect the time zone.In this case the L.T. remains unchanged while the program computesagain, according to the new value of the E.T., the positions of the Sunand the Moon. Pressing the <I> key, observing data for the Sun and the Moon relativeto a particular time and place can be obtained. Press the <ESC> key to go back to the eclipse menu. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. Pressing the <P> key, the times for the various lunar phases will bedisplayed, and the computation of the minimum and maximum distancebetween the Earth and the Moon in a particular month will be performed. Press the <ESC> key to go back to the previous menu. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. You have entered the menu for eclipse computation. Pressing the <E> key, solar and lunar eclipses between 4713 B.C. and6500 A.D. can be computed and displayed as visible from any location onthe Earth. Press the <ESC> key to go back to the previous menu. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. Pressing the <T> key the position of the lunar terminator will becomputed and the phase of the Moon shown. Press the <ESC> key to go back to the previous menu. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. You have entered the section for the computation of the ephemerides ofthe Sun and the Moon. Pressing the <V> key you will be prompted for entering the data for thecalculation of the visibility of the Sun and the Moon. Press the <ESC> key to go back to the previous menu. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. Now the data for the computation of the monthly list must be entered. The program asks you whether you want the list for the Sun or the Moonto be computed. Press the <S> key for the list of the Sun or the <M> keyfor the list of the Moon. The date must be in the format <MMYYYY> because the program computes thedata for the whole month. The year must be greater than 1582 A.D.. The program uses the latitude and the longitude of your observing site.They can be modified and set to any value. If you want the output data to be written to a file, enter the filename. If the file is to be created in a different directory or on adifferent drive, enter the full path name. Once the data for the rise, the culmination and the setting of the Sunor the Moon have been computed, you can browse up and down one row at atime with the <DownArrow> and <Up Arrow> keys. Use the <PgUp> and <PgDn>keys to scroll a whole page at a time. Press the <ESC> key to go back to the previous menu. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. Enter the month and the year for which you wish to calculate the phasesof the Moon and its maximum and minimum distance from the Earth. The date must be in the format <MMYYYY> and the program works for aperiod between January 1900 and December 2200. In addition to showing the path of the eclipse, the program can show thedata relative to the centrality path with the date, the time, thecoordinates of the site, the duration of the eclipse and how it willappear from that site and at that time. These data can be printed or displayed on the screen. To have themprinted press the <P> key, to display them on the screen press the <V>key. You have entered the section for eclipse simulation. Pressing the <S> key any solar or lunar eclipse visible from anylocation on the Earth between 4713 B.C. and 6500 A.D. can be displayed,and its evolution can be followed with an arbitrary time step. Press the <ESC> key to go back to the previous menu. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. To select one of the options below, press the corresponding key: D - to repeat the choice between solar or lunar eclipses, and to modifythe year. Press the <ESC> key to go back to the eclipse menu. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. The eclipse can be chosen by pressing the <DownArrow> or <UpArrow> key.Confirm your choice pressing the <F10> key. The Local Time is the same as the one of your watch. When daylight-saving time is in effect, you must subtract one hour fromthe time displayed by your watch. Therefore, if the time on your watchis 22.30, the corresponding Local Time is 21.30. Longitude and latitude must be the ones of your observing site. You mustinput them in degrees and their decimals. Latitudes are positive east of Greenwich and negative west of Greenwich.For each year the program computes Delta T, that is the correction dueto the slowing down of the rotation of the Earth. The value of thelongitude is automatically corrected. The calculation of the time zone is performed from this new value ofthe longitude and the same happens for U.T. and E.T.. The calculation ofthe time zone is not in accordance with the regulations of mostcountries, which span more than one time zone, but extend the value oftheir L.T. to the whole country. The value after the characters <JD:> indicates the Julian Date. Further information appearing during the input of the data about TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSES refers exclusively to the time, in E.T., of the CENTRAL PHASE of the eclipse. To select one of the options below, press the corresponding key: D - you can repeat the choice between eclipses of Sun or Moon and modifythe year. If you press the <ESC> key you can go back to the eclipse simulationmenu. Pressing the <F2> key will get you back to the main menu from anyenvironment. C - to enter new data for the time expressed as L.T. and for thecoordinates of the observing site. When the modification of thelongitude changes also the time zone, the program computes the apparentposition of the Sun and the Moon according to the new value of E.T.related to the L.T.. If you press the <-> or <+> key instead of the <C> key you can changethe date to the previous or to the next day. H - to abandon the selected eclipse and to make a new choice. F10 - to go back to the graphic page. The graphic window shows the portion of the sky that includes the Sunand the Moon. To the left, on the y axis, the values in degrees of thealtitude above the local horizon are given. At the bottom, on thex axis, the values of the azimuth from the north towards the east areshown. The value 0 on the y axis represents the local horizon. If the value ofthe altitude is negative, the eclipse is not visible from your observingsite. When a solar eclipse has been shown, the Sun is always in the middle ofthe window, otherwise the center of the window is occupied by twocircles simulating the umbra and the penumbra of the Earth. The horizontal coordinates are computed including the correction in R.A.and Declination for the nutation and the parallax. Pressing any key you can stop the execution of the eclipse simulation.Then, pressing the <ESC> key, some parameters can be modified or newchoices made, while pressing the space bar the eclipse simulation willbe resumed. YOU ARE NOT A REGISTERED USER The program works only for a period between 1980 and 1995 included. Please read the file LUNA.DOC and the explanation at the beginning ofthe program in order to register your copy. The program now allows you to transform the horizontal coordinates toequatorial ones and vice versa (as you chose in the main menu). Youmust input the date in the following format: (MM) month, (DD) day, bothof which are expressed with two digits. The year (±Y...) must be preceded by the sign (+) or the sign (-). Thetime has the format HHMMSS, while the longitude and the latitude of theobserving site must be in degrees and their decimals. The equatorial coordinates must be expressed in the HHMMSS format forthe Right Ascension and in degrees and their decimals for thedeclination, while horizonthal coordinates must be expressed in degreesand their decimals. You can perform conversions from the calendar date to Julian day or viceversa (as selected in the main menu). In the first case you must inputthe calendar date (in the format MMDD±YYYY) and the time (in the formatHHMMSS) while in the second case you must input the Julian day (withdecimals). The program allows you to calculate the difference, in days, between twodates. The dates must be in the format MMDD±YYYY and the second datemust be always later than the first one. The program computes the date of Easter for any year between 1583 and99999. You must enter the year chosen and you can see the day of Easterwhich corresponds to the first Sunday after the first full Moon ofSpring.
