Celestial Computing With MATLAB
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Anonymous REw1YIq4q7Celestial Computing With MATLAB
Uploaded by
Anonymous REw1YIq4q7Celestial Computing
with MATLAB
Copyright © 1998-2012 cdeaglejr@yahoo.com. All rights reserved.
Celestial Computing with MATLAB
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 7
1. RISE AND SET OF THE SUN, MOON AND PLANETS ........................................ 9
2. LUNAR ECLIPSES .............................................................................................. 17
3. LUNAR OCCULTATIONS ................................................................................... 20
4. SOLAR ECLIPSES .............................................................................................. 23
5. TRANSITS OF MERCURY AND VENUS ............................................................ 25
6. CLOSEST APPROACH BETWEEN THE EARTH AND HELIOCENTRIC
OBJECTS ................................................................................................................ 28
7. EQUINOXES AND SOLSTICES.......................................................................... 31
8. COWELL’S METHOD FOR HELIOCENTRIC ORBITS ....................................... 32
cowell1.m – rectangular position and velocity vector formulation ................................................................ 32
cowell2.m – modified equinoctial orbital elements formulation ..................................................................... 34
9. ENCKE’S METHOD FOR HELIOCENTRIC ORBITS.......................................... 39
10. THE CIRCULAR-RESTRICTED THREE-BODY PROBLEM............................. 43
crtbp1.m – coordinates and energy of the libration points ............................................................................. 44
g3body.m – graphics display of three-body motion ......................................................................................... 46
zvcurve1.m – graphics display of zero velocity curves through equilibrium points ..................................... 49
zvcurve2.m – graphics display of user-defined zero relative velocity curves ................................................ 51
11. APPARENT COORDINATES OF A PLANET OR THE MOON ........................ 55
12. APPARENT COORDINATES OF A STAR........................................................ 59
13. JPL DE405 LUNAR, SOLAR AND PLANETARY EPHEMERIS ....................... 62
14. SLP96 LUNAR, SOLAR AND PLANETARY EPHEMERIS .............................. 65
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15. OTHER LUNAR, SOLAR AND PLANETARY EPHEMERIS ALGORITHMS .... 69
sun.m – solar ephemeris ..................................................................................................................................... 69
moon.m – lunar ephemeris ................................................................................................................................ 70
mercury.m – Mercury ephemeris ...................................................................................................................... 70
venus.m – Venus ephemeris ............................................................................................................................... 71
earth.m – Earth ephemeris ................................................................................................................................ 71
mars.m – Mars ephemeris.................................................................................................................................. 71
jupiter.m – Jupiter ephemeris ........................................................................................................................... 72
saturn.m – Saturn ephemeris ............................................................................................................................ 72
uranus.m – Uranus ephemeris ........................................................................................................................... 72
neptune.m – Neptune ephemeris ....................................................................................................................... 73
pluto.m – Pluto ephemeris ................................................................................................................................. 73
sun1.m – precision Sun ephemeris .................................................................................................................... 74
elp2000.m – osculating orbital elements of the moon ...................................................................................... 76
planet1.m – mean ecliptic and equinox of data planetary ephemeredes ........................................................ 78
planet2.m – mean ecliptic and equinox of J2000 planetary ephemerides ...................................................... 79
seleno.m – selenographic coordinate transformation ...................................................................................... 80
16. APPARENT GREENWICH SIDEREAL TIME ................................................... 81
gast.m – low precision ........................................................................................................................................ 81
gast1.m – full precision....................................................................................................................................... 82
gast2.m – DE405 nutations ................................................................................................................................ 83
17. IAU 1980 NUTATION IN LONGITUDE AND OBLIQUITY ................................ 85
18. PRECESSION TRANSFORMATION ................................................................ 87
19. KEPLER’S EQUATION ..................................................................................... 89
kepler1.m – Danby’s method ............................................................................................................................. 89
kepler2.m – Danby’s method with Mikkola’s initial guess ............................................................................. 91
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kepler3.m – Gooding’s two iteration method ................................................................................................... 92
kepler4.m – parabolic and near-parabolic orbits ............................................................................................ 93
20. TWO-BODY ORBITAL MOTION ....................................................................... 96
twobody1.m – Goodyear’s method .................................................................................................................... 96
twobody2.m – Sheppard’s method .................................................................................................................... 98
twobody3.m – Stumpff/Danby method ............................................................................................................. 98
21. TIME AND DATE FUNCTIONS ....................................................................... 101
julian.m – calendar date to Julian date .......................................................................................................... 101
gdate.m – julian date to calendar date ............................................................................................................ 101
jd2str.m – julian date to calendar date and universal time strings .............................................................. 101
utc2tdt.m – convert UTC Julian date to TDT Julian date ............................................................................ 102
tdt2tdb.m – convert TDT Julian date to TDB Julian date ............................................................................ 102
hrs2hms.m – convert hours function .............................................................................................................. 103
22. NUMERICAL METHODS AND UTILITY ROUTINES ...................................... 104
TRIGONOMETRY AND VECTOR ROUTINES ......................................................................................... 104
atan3.m – four quadrant inverse tangent ....................................................................................................... 104
modulo.m – modulo 2 pi ................................................................................................................................... 104
uvector.m – unit vector .................................................................................................................................... 104
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS ..................................................................................................................... 105
rkf45.m – Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg 4(5) method for first-order systems ....................................................... 105
rkf78.m – Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg 7(8) method for first-order systems ....................................................... 105
nym4.m – Nystrom fourth-order method for second-order systems ............................................................ 107
ceqm1.m – first-order heliocentric equations of orbital motion ................................................................... 108
meeeqm.m – modified equinoctial equations of motion ................................................................................ 109
ROOT-FINDING AND OPTIMIZATION .................................................................................................... 110
broot.m – bracket a single root of a nonlinear function ................................................................................ 110
brent.m – solve for a single root of a nonlinear function .............................................................................. 111
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minima.m – one-dimensional minimization ................................................................................................... 112
oevent1.m – find minimization/root finding orbital event ............................................................................ 112
ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION .................................................................................................................. 113
refract.m – refraction correction function ..................................................................................................... 113
refract1.m – NOVAS refraction correction function..................................................................................... 113
refract2.m – refraction correction function including temperature/pressure effects ................................. 114
UTILITY ROUTINES ..................................................................................................................................... 114
oeprint1.m – formatted classical orbital elements screen display ................................................................ 114
svprint.m – formatted state vector screen display ......................................................................................... 115
deg2dms.m – convert degrees function ........................................................................................................... 115
INTERACTIVE REQUEST OF PROGRAM INPUTS ................................................................................ 115
getdate.m – request calendar date................................................................................................................... 115
getobs.m – request observer coordinates ........................................................................................................ 116
getoe.m – request classical orbital elements ................................................................................................... 117
gettime.m – request universal time ................................................................................................................. 117
RECTANGULAR AND ORTHOGRAPHIC GRAPHICS ........................................................................... 118
demomwdb.m – MicroWorld Database map files ......................................................................................... 118
pltortho.m – plot orthographic view of the Earth .......................................................................................... 118
pltrect.m – plot rectangular map of the Earth ............................................................................................... 120
23. ASTRONOMICAL COORDINATES ................................................................ 121
rec2pol.m – rectangular to polar coordinate conversion .............................................................................. 121
pol2rec.m – polar to rectangular coordinate conversion .............................................................................. 122
ecl2equ.m – ecliptic to equatorial coordinate conversion.............................................................................. 122
equ2ecl.m – equatorial to ecliptic coordinate conversion.............................................................................. 123
equ2hor.m – equatorial to local horizontal coordinate conversion .............................................................. 123
hor2equ.m – local horizontal to equatorial coordinate conversion .............................................................. 124
oepreces.m – transform angular orbital elements from one equinox to another ........................................ 124
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gsite.m – ground site position vector ............................................................................................................... 126
geodet1.m – convert geocentric coordinates to geodetic coordinates - series solution ................................ 127
geodet2.m – convert geocentric coordinates to geodetic coordinates – exact solution ................................ 128
geodet3.m – convert geodetic coordinates to ECF position vector ............................................................... 129
geodet4.m – convert geodetic coordinates to geocentric coordinates ........................................................... 130
triaxial.m – geodetic altitude to a triaxial ellipsoid ........................................................................................ 131
orb2eci.m – convert classical orbital elements to inertial state vector ......................................................... 132
eci2orb.m – convert inertial state vector to six classical orbital elements ................................................... 133
mee2coe.m – convert modified equinoctial orbital elements to classical orbital elements ......................... 136
mee2eci.m – convert modified equinoctial orbital elements to ECI state vector......................................... 138
eci2mee.m – convert ECI state vector to modified equinoctial elements ..................................................... 139
rotmat.m – fundamental rotation matrix ....................................................................................................... 140
24. NOVAS ROUTINES ......................................................................................... 142
aberat.m – correction for the aberration of light ........................................................................................... 142
etilt1.m – orientation quantities based on DE405 .......................................................................................... 142
etilt2.m – orientation quantities based on IAU 1980 nutation ...................................................................... 143
geocen.m – move coordinates origin to the Earth center-of-mass ................................................................ 143
nutate1.m – nutation transformation .............................................................................................................. 143
nutate2.m – nutation transformation .............................................................................................................. 144
pnsw.m – Earth-fixed to space-fixed transformation .................................................................................... 144
propmo.m – apply proper motion correction................................................................................................. 145
solsys.m – interface to JPL ephemerides ........................................................................................................ 145
spin.m – rotating to non-rotating transformation ......................................................................................... 146
sunfld.m – correct for the deflection of light .................................................................................................. 146
tdtimes.m – compute TDT julian date ............................................................................................................ 146
terra.m – position and velocity vectors of a terrestrial observer .................................................................. 147
vectrs.m – convert angular quantities to vectors ........................................................................................... 147
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wobble.m – polar motion correction ............................................................................................................... 148
25. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES ........................................................... 149
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
Introduction
Celestial Computing with MATLAB is a comprehensive collection of MATLAB functions,
scripts and data files that can be used to solve a variety of problems in fundamental and
advanced celestial mechanics. This suite of applications and functions can be used to solve
practical problems in the following areas of computational celestial mechanics:
Rise and Set of the Sun, Moon and Planets
Lunar and Solar Eclipses
Lunar Occultations
Transits of Mercury and Venus
Equinoxes and Solstices
The Circular-Restricted Three-Body Problem
Cowell’s and Encke’s Method for Heliocentric Objects
Apparent Coordinates of the Sun, Moon, Planets and Stars
Kepler’s Equation
Two-body Orbital Motion
This MATLAB toolbox also contains many numerical methods, basic celestial mechanics
functions and data files that can be used to create your own applications. The following is a
summary of these routines:
Date and time routines
Lunar, solar and planetary ephemerides
Astronomical Coordinates and Transformations
Root-finding and optimization
Differential equations of heliocentric orbital motion
The Celestial Computing with MATLAB software suite also includes binary data files for the
SLP96 and DE403 ephemeris. Please note that the binary ephemeris and map files provided
with this software package are only compatible with the Windows version of MATLAB.
Requirements
Celestial Computing with MATLAB requires MATLAB version 5.3 or higher.
MATLAB is a registered trademark of The Mathworks, Inc.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
1. Rise and Set of the Sun, Moon and Planets
This MATLAB script (riseset.m) determines rise and set conditions of the Sun, Moon and
planets. This software uses a combination of one-dimensional minimization and root-finding
to predict visibility. The source ephemeris for this routine is the JPL DE405.
The basic procedure for predicting rise and set of a celestial body involves the following
computational steps and MATLAB functions:
(1) locate an extrema using the functions oevent1 and minima
(2) bracket a “forward” and “backward” root using the function broot
(3) find each root using the function brent
(4) calculate the event circumstances using the function events1
(5) display the event circumstances using the function rsfunc
The main MATLAB function that solves this problem has the following syntax and
arguments:
function oevent1 (objfunc, prtfunc, ti, tf, dt, dtsml)
% predict minimization/root-finding events
% input
% objfunc = objective function
% prtfunc = display results function
% ti = initial simulation time
% tf = final simulation time
% dt = step size used for bounding minima
% dtsml = small step size used to determine whether
% the function is increasing or decreasing
The name of the user-defined objective function (objfunc) and a function that prints the
important results (prtfunc) is passed to this routine in the argument list.
Choosing the Search Parameters
The proper selection of the search parameters dt and dtsml for this algorithm depends on the
type of celestial event you are trying to predict. For example, the value of dt is used to bound
one or more extremas and depends on how long the event lasts. For shorter events dt should
be smaller and for longer events dt can be larger. Be careful not to make dt too large or the
algorithm may “step over” one or more solutions. For lunar events dt can be between 0.1 and
0.25 days and for planetary events dt can be between 0.1 and 0.5 days.
The value of dtsml must be selected such that it produces a “big” enough change in the
objective function to tell the algorithm if it is moving “downhill” or “uphill”. This is similar
to choosing the value of x when numerically estimating the derivative of a function of the
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form y f x . For planetary events a value of dtsml = 0.1 days should be adequate. For
lunar events this number should be a number between 0.01 and 0.05 days. An examination
of a plot of the objective function over a period of time can also provide insight into the
proper selection of the dtsml parameter.
During the search process the oevent1 function calls a MATLAB function called minima
that calculates the extremum of a one-dimensional user-defined objective function. The
syntax of this optimization function is as follows:
function [xmin, fmin] = minima (f, a, b, tolm)
% one-dimensional minimization
% Brent's method
% input
% f = objective function coded as y = f(x)
% a = initial x search value
% b = final x search value
% tolm = convergence criterion
% output
% xmin = minimum x value
% fmin = minimum function value
This function in turn requires an objective function coded as fx = objfunc(x) where
objfunc is the name of the user-defined objective function, x is the current function
argument and fx is the objective function evaluated at x. For this script the objective function
is equal to the topocentric elevation angle of the body. A numerical value of 1e-4 for the
convergence criterion should be adequate for most user-defined objective functions.
The source code of the objective function for this example is as follows:
function fx = rsfunc(x)
% topocentric elevation angle
% objective function
% input
% x = elpased simulation time (days)
% output
% fx = objective function at x
% Celestial Computing with MATLAB
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
global jdatei itarg icent rootflg
global obslat glon glat ht stlocl
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global aunit elevation azimuth
rtd = 180 / pi;
dtr = pi / 180;
jdutc = jdatei + x;
jdtdt = utc2tdt(jdutc);
[ra, dec, dis] = applan1(jdtdt, jdutc, itarg, icent, 1, glon, glat, ht);
% apparent hour angle
hangle = stlocl - (2 * pi * ra / 24);
% topocentric elevation (degrees)
elevation = rtd * asin(sin(obslat) * sin(dtr * dec) ...
+ cos(obslat) * cos(dtr * dec) * cos(hangle));
% topocentric azimuth (degrees)
tmp1 = sin(hangle);
tmp2 = cos(hangle) * sin(obslat) - tan(dtr * dec) * cos(obslat);
azimuth = mod(180 + rtd * atan3(tmp1, tmp2), 360);
if (rootflg == 1)
% correct for horizontal refraction
dref = (34 / 60);
if (itarg == 11)
% correct for semidiameter of the moon
tsdia = rtd * asin((1738 / aunit) / dis);
elseif (itarg == 10)
% correct for semidiameter of the sun
tsdia = rtd * asin((0.5 * 696000 / aunit) / dis);
else
% no semidiameter correction for planets
tsdia = 0;
end
else
dref = 0;
tsdia = 0;
end
% evaluate objective function
fx = -(elevation + tsdia + dref);
Notice the use of a root flag rootflg to “toggle” the function when finding a minimum
(rootflg = 0) or a root (rootflg = 1) of the objective function.
This function calculates the topocentric elevation angle of the celestial object for any input
argument x. For this script the input argument is the elapsed time in days since the simulation
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began. Notice the corrections for the semidiameter of the Moon and the horizontal refraction
during the root-finding calculations.
The syntax of the MATLAB function that calculates and displays the actual roots of the user-
defined objective function is as follows:
function events1 (objfunc, prtfunc, ti, tf, topt)
% compute and display celestial events
% input
% objfunc = objective function
% prtfunc = display results function
% ti = initial simulation time
% tf = final simulation time
% topt = extrema time
This function is a “driver” routine that uses the time of the extrema topt to first bracket the
backward and forward roots and then actually find the value of each root. After each root is
calculated this routine then calls a MATLAB function called rsfunc that actually displays
the event conditions.
The following is a brief description of the function that brackets each root.
function broot
This MATLAB function is used to bracket a single root of a single nonlinear equation of the
form y f x It uses a combination of geometric acceleration and time rectification to
bracket single roots. The basic idea is to find the endpoints of a time interval x1 and x2 such
that f x1 f x2 0 . This condition guarantees that there is at least one root in the interval
because the objective function changes sign.
The user must supply this function with an initial guess for x1 and x2 . Typically x1 is the
time of an objective function minimum or maximum and x2 is a time 0.05 days after
(forward root) or 0.05 days before (backward root) the value of x1 . The sign of this delta
tells the algorithm in which direction to move.
The name of the user-defined objective function f is passed to this routine in the argument
list. For the riseset script the user-defined (and coded) objective function is called rsfunc.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is as follows:
function [x1out, x2out] = broot (f, x1in, x2in, factor, dxmax)
% bracket a single root of a nonlinear equation
% input
% f = objective function coded as y = f(x)
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% x1in = initial guess for first bracketing x value
% x2in = initial guess for second bracketing x value
% factor = acceleration factor (non-dimensional)
% dxmax = rectification interval
% output
% x1out = final value for first bracketing x value
% x2out = final value for second bracketing x value
The acceleration factor used in this script is 0.25 and the rectification interval is 0.1 days.
The acceleration factor increases the size of each step geometrically and the rectification
interval monitors the length of the current bracketing interval. When necessary the
rectification logic reinitializes the search and prevents the interval from becoming too large
and skipping one or both ends of the bracketing interval completely. The size of each step
increases geometrically until the length of the current step reaches the value of the
rectification interval. At that point the step size is reset and the process begins again.
Eventually, the process will bracket the root and the function will return the endpoints of this
bracketing interval.
The following is a brief description of the MATLAB function that solves for each root.
function brent
This function uses Brent’s method to find a single root of a single nonlinear equation of the
form y f x . Derivatives are not required for this algorithm. However, the user should
ensure that a root is bracketed, f x1 f x2 0 , before calling this routine. Additional
information about this numerical method can be found in Algorithms for Minimization
Without Derivatives, R. P. Brent, Prentice-Hall, 1972. As the title of this book indicates, this
algorithm does not require derivatives of the objective function. This feature is important
because the analytic first derivative of many objective functions is difficult to derive and
code.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is as follows:
function [xroot, froot] = brent (f, x1, x2, rtol)
% solve for a single real root of a nonlinear equation
% Brent's method
% input
% f = objective function coded as y = f(x)
% x1 = lower bound of search interval
% x2 = upper bound of search interval
% rtol = algorithm convergence criterion
% output
% xroot = real root of f(x) = 0
% froot = function value at f(x) = 0
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The root-finding performance of this algorithm is determined by rtol. A value of 1.0e-8
should be adequate for most problems. Smaller values will predict roots more accurately at
the expense of longer program execution times.
The riseset MATLAB script will prompt you for an initial calendar date, on the UTC time
scale, and the search interval in days. It will also ask you for the geographic coordinates of
the observer. Please note that north latitudes are positive and south latitudes are negative.
Also note that east longitudes are positive and west longitudes are negative. Furthermore,
observer sites above sea level have positive altitudes and sites below sea level are negative.
The following is a typical user interaction with this script. It illustrates two rise and sets of
the Moon. The initial calendar date was January 1, 1998, and the observer was located at 40
north latitude and 105 west longitude. The altitude of the site is 0 meters. The calendar date
and time displayed is on the UTC time scale.
rise and set of the sun, moon or planets
please input an initial UTC calendar date
please input the calendar date
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
? 1,1,1998
please input the search duration (days)
? 5
target body menu
<1> Mercury
<2> Venus
<3> Earth
<4> Mars
<5> Jupiter
<6> Saturn
<7> Uranus
<8> Neptune
<9> Pluto
<10> Sun
<11> Moon
please select the target body
? 11
please input the geographic latitude of the ground site
(-90 <= degrees <= +90, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(north latitude is positive, south latitude is negative)
? 40,0,0
please input the geographic longitude of the ground site
(0 <= degrees <= 360, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(east longitude is positive, west longitude is negative)
? -105,0,0
please input the altitude of the ground site (meters)
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(positive above sea level, negative below sea level)
? 0
rise and set conditions
'Moon'
observer latitude +40d 00m 00.00s
observer east longitude -105d 00m 00.00s
observer altitude 0.0000 meters
rise conditions
calendar date 01-Jan-1998
universal time 16:27:02
UTC Julian date 2450815.1854
azimuth angle +107d 16m 34.84s
elevation angle +00d -50m 08.02s
< please press any key to continue >
maximum elevation conditions
calendar date 01-Jan-1998
universal time 21:55:47
UTC Julian date 2450815.4137
azimuth angle +180d 44m 55.48s
elevation angle +36d 55m 51.41s
< please press any key to continue >
set conditions
calendar date 02-Jan-1998
universal time 03:25:20
UTC Julian date 2450815.6426
azimuth angle +254d 49m 56.04s
elevation angle +00d -50m 09.37s
event duration +10h 58m 17.6827s
< please press any key to continue >
rise conditions
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calendar date 02-Jan-1998
universal time 17:07:18
UTC Julian date 2450816.2134
azimuth angle +102d 17m 18.07s
elevation angle +00d -50m 10.40s
< please press any key to continue >
maximum elevation conditions
calendar date 02-Jan-1998
universal time 22:49:50
UTC Julian date 2450816.4513
azimuth angle +180d 53m 01.40s
elevation angle +40d 55m 36.02s
< please press any key to continue >
set conditions
calendar date 03-Jan-1998
universal time 04:33:46
UTC Julian date 2450816.6901
azimuth angle +260d 17m 02.22s
elevation angle +00d -50m 10.77s
event duration +11h 26m 27.6213s
This same technique can be used to predict rise and set of stars and other stellar objects. For
this case simply call the apstar1 or apstar2 MATLAB functions from within the rsfunc
objective function.
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2. Lunar Eclipses
This MATLAB script (eclipse.m) can be used to predict lunar eclipses. The source
ephemeris for this script is SLP96. However, the code can be easily modified to use DE405
as the source ephemeris. This software provides the eclipse type, the universal times and
topocentric coordinates of the Moon at the beginning and end of the penumbra contacts, and
the time and coordinates at maximum eclipse.
This script uses a combination of one-dimensional minimization and root-finding to solve
this classic problem. The objective function used in these calculations involves the geocentric
separation angle between the center of the Moon and the anti-Sun position vector or shadow
axis, and the semidiameter and horizontal parallax of the Sun and Moon. This function is
given by the following expression:
f t cos1 U
ˆ U
m
ˆ f s
s 1 m
where
Uˆ geocentric unit position vector of the Sun
s
ˆ
U m geocentric unit position vector of the Moon
f1 1.02 1 s ss size of penumbra shadow
1 0.99834 m corrected parallax
m horizontal parallax of the Moon
s horizontal parallax of the Sun
sm semidiameter of the Moon
ss semidiameter of the Sun
If we let represent the minimum geocentric separation angle of the Moon relative to the
shadow axis, a penumbral lunar eclipse occurs whenever the following geometric condition
is satisfied:
1.02 1 s ss sm
A partial lunar eclipse will happen whenever the following is true:
1.02 1 s ss sm
The geometric condition for a total lunar eclipse is given by
1.02 1 s ss sm
In these expressions
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req req
m sin 1 s sin 1
dm ds
r r
sm sin 1 m ss sin 1 s
dm ds
where req is the equatorial radius of the Earth (6378.14 kilometers), rm is the radius of the
Moon (1738 kilometers), rs is the radius of the Sun (696,000 kilometers), d m is the
geocentric distance of the Moon and d s is the geocentric distance of the Sun.
The following is a typical user interaction with this script. It illustrates the circumstances of
the total lunar eclipse of November 28, 1993. The topocentric coordinates are for an observer
located in Denver, Colorado.
lunar eclipses
please input the calendar date
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
? 11,1,1993
please input the search duration (days)
? 30
please input the geographic latitude of the ground site
(-90 <= degrees <= +90, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(north latitude is positive, south latitude is negative)
? 40,0,0
please input the geographic longitude of the ground site
(0 <= degrees <= 360, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(east longitude is positive, west longitude is negative)
? -105,0,0
please input the altitude of the ground site (meters)
(positive above sea level, negative below sea level)
? 0
working ...
total lunar eclipse
begin penumbral phase of lunar eclipse
calendar date 29-Nov-1993
universal time 03:27:08
UTC Julian date 2449320.6438
lunar azimuth angle +99d 45m 53.83s
lunar elevation angle +43d 53m 09.29s
< please press any key to continue >
working ...
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greatest eclipse conditions
calendar date 29-Nov-1993
universal time 06:26:13
UTC Julian date 2449320.7682
lunar azimuth angle +164d 18m 16.73s
lunar elevation angle +70d 13m 39.01s
< please press any key to continue >
working ...
end penumbral phase of lunar eclipse
calendar date 29-Nov-1993
universal time 09:25:00
UTC Julian date 2449320.8924
lunar azimuth angle +250d 53m 05.61s
lunar elevation angle +52d 24m 42.53s
event duration +05h 57m 51.8379s
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3. Lunar Occultations
This MATLAB script (occult.m) can be used to predict the local circumstances of lunar
occultations of a planet or star. The source ephemeris for this script is SLP96. However, the
code can be easily modified to use DE405 as the source ephemeris.
This script uses a combination of one-dimensional minimization and root-finding to solve
this problem. The objective function used in these calculations is the topocentric separation
angle between the center of the Moon and the object being occulted. This function is given
by the following expression:
f t cos1 U
ˆ U
m b m
ˆ s s
b
where
ˆ topocentric unit position vector of the Moon
U m
ˆ topocentric unit position vector of the object
U b
sm semidiameter of the Moon
sb semidiameter of the object
The semidiameter of the Moon is given by
r
sm sin 1 m
dm
where rm is the radius of the Moon (1738 kilometers) and d m is the topocentric distance of
the Moon. The semidiameter of a star is zero and the semidiameter of a planet is
s p0
sp
rp
where s p0 is the semidiameter of the planet at a distance of 1 astronomical unit and rp is the
topocentric distance of the planet.
The following is a typical user interaction with this script. It illustrates a lunar occultation of
the star Spica relative to an observer located in Denver, Colorado.
lunar occultations
please input the calendar date
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
? 2,1,1987
please input the search duration (days)
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
? 30
target body menu
<1> Mercury
<2> Venus
<3> Mars
<4> Jupiter
<5> Saturn
<6> Uranus
<7> Neptune
<8> Pluto
<9> Star
please select the target body
? 9
please input the star data file name
(be sure to include the file name extension)
? spica.dat
please input the geographic latitude of the ground site
(-90 <= degrees <= +90, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(north latitude is positive, south latitude is negative)
? 39,45,0
please input the geographic longitude of the ground site
(0 <= degrees <= 360, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(east longitude is positive, west longitude is negative)
? -104,58,48
please input the altitude of the ground site (meters)
(positive above sea level, negative below sea level)
? 0
working ...
begin lunar occultation
calendar date 18-Feb-1987
universal time 12:27:04
UTC Julian date 2446845.0188
lunar azimuth angle +214d 02m 41.91s
lunar elevation angle +32d 52m 22.10s
< please press any key to continue >
working ...
end lunar occultation
calendar date 18-Feb-1987
universal time 13:17:46
UTC Julian date 2446845.0540
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
lunar azimuth angle +226d 06m 05.32s
lunar elevation angle +26d 31m 56.13s
event duration +00h 50m 41.6772s
< please press any key to continue >
The following is the star data file used in this example.
star name
SPICA
J2000 right ascension (hours)
13.4198852780
J2000 declination (degrees)
-11.1613083330
J2000 proper motion in right ascension (seconds/Julian century)
-0.2780
J2000 proper motion in declination (arcseconds/Julian century)
-2.8300
parallax (arcseconds)
0.0210
radial velocity (kilometers/second)
1.0
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
4. Solar Eclipses
This MATLAB script (seclipse.m) can be used to predict local circumstances of solar
eclipses. The source ephemeris for this script is SLP96. However, the code can be easily
modified to use DE405 as the source ephemeris. This software provides the universal times
and topocentric coordinates of the Moon at the beginning and end of the penumbra contacts,
and the time and coordinates at maximum eclipse.
This script uses a combination of one-dimensional minimization and root-finding to solve
this problem. The objective function used in these calculations is the selenocentric separation
angle between the axis of the shadow cast by the Moon and an Earth observer. This function
is given by the following expression:
f t cos1 U
ˆ U
axis
ˆ
mo p
where
ˆ
U axis selenocentric unit vector of the Moon's shadow
ˆ
U m o selenocentric unit position vector of the observer
p penumbra shadow angle
The penumbra shadow angle at the distance of the Earth observer is determined from
rm 1 rs rm
p sin 1 sin
dm d m s
In this expression rm is the radius of the Moon, rs is the radius of the Sun, d m is the
topocentric distance of the Moon and d m s is the distance from the Moon to the Sun.
The selenocentric position vector of the Sun is computed from the expression
R m s R s R m
where R s is the geocentric position vector of the Sun and R m is the geocentric position
vector of the Moon.
The following is a typical user interaction with this script. This example is taken from page
209 of Astronomy with the Personal Computer.
solar eclipses
please input the calendar date
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
? 5,1,1994
please input the search duration (days)
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
? 30
please input the geographic latitude of the ground site
(-90 <= degrees <= +90, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(north latitude is positive, south latitude is negative)
? 33,57,0
please input the geographic longitude of the ground site
(0 <= degrees <= 360, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(east longitude is positive, west longitude is negative)
? -6,50,0
please input the altitude of the ground site (meters)
(positive above sea level, negative below sea level)
? 0
working ...
begin penumbral phase of solar eclipse
calendar date 10-May-1994
universal time 17:50:46
UTC Julian date 2449483.2436
lunar azimuth angle +280d 49m 06.97s
lunar elevation angle +15d 58m 45.39s
< please press any key to continue >
working ...
greatest eclipse conditions
calendar date 10-May-1994
universal time 18:58:15
UTC Julian date 2449483.2904
lunar azimuth angle +289d 25m 24.94s
lunar elevation angle +02d 55m 27.28s
< please press any key to continue >
working ...
end penumbral phase of solar eclipse
calendar date 10-May-1994
universal time 19:59:20
UTC Julian date 2449483.3329
lunar azimuth angle +297d 56m 19.07s
lunar elevation angle -08d 14m 55.69s
event duration +02h 08m 34.2403s
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
5. Transits of Mercury and Venus
This MATLAB script (transit.m) can be used to predict the local circumstances of
transits of Mercury and Venus. The source ephemeris for this script is SLP96. However, the
code can be easily modified to use DE405 as the source ephemeris.
This script uses a combination of one-dimensional minimization and root-finding to solve
this problem. The objective function used in these calculations is the topocentric separation
angle between the center of the Sun and the planet in transit. This function is given by the
following expression:
f t cos1 U
ˆ U
s p s
ˆ s s
p
where
ˆ topocentric unit position vector of the Sun
U s
ˆ topocentric unit position vector of the planet
U p
ss semidiameter of the Sun
s p semidiameter of the planet
During the search for minimum separation angles, the software also checks to see if the
planet is between the observer and the Sun.
The semidiameter of the Sun is given by
r
ss sin 1 s
ds
where rs is the radius of the Sun (696,000 kilometers) and d s is the topocentric distance of
the Sun. The semidiameter of Mercury and Venus is determined from the expression
s p0
sp
rp
where s p0 is the semidiameter of the planet at a distance of 1 astronomical unit and rp is the
topocentric distance of the planet. This script uses a value of 3.36 arc seconds for Mercury
and 8.41 arc seconds for Venus.
The following is a typical user interaction with this script. This example is Example 6 from
the book Transits by Jean Meeus. The software will also display the topocentric coordinates
of the Sun at the time of ingress, least separation distance and egress. The ingress and egress
conditions correspond to exterior contact.
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
transits of Mercury and Venus
please input the calendar date
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
? 6,1,2012
please input the search duration (days)
? 30
target body menu
<1> Mercury
<2> Venus
please select the target body
? 2
please input the geographic latitude of the ground site
(-90 <= degrees <= +90, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(north latitude is positive, south latitude is negative)
? 38,55,17
please input the geographic longitude of the ground site
(0 <= degrees <= 360, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(east longitude is positive, west longitude is negative)
? -77,3,56
please input the altitude of the ground site (meters)
(positive above sea level, negative below sea level)
? 84
working ...
ingress - exterior contact - Venus
calendar date 05-Jun-2012
universal time 22:03:45
UTC Julian date 2456084.4193
azimuth angle of the sun +279d 05m 05.27s
elevation angle of the sun +25d 56m 12.81s
< please press any key to continue >
working ...
least distance of the Sun and Venus
calendar date 06-Jun-2012
universal time 01:26:18
UTC Julian date 2456084.5599
azimuth angle of the sun +309d 48m 31.41s
elevation angle of the sun -09d 40m 16.84s
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
< please press any key to continue >
working ...
egress - exterior contact - Venus
calendar date 06-Jun-2012
universal time 04:51:00
UTC Julian date 2456084.7021
azimuth angle of the sun +355d 50m 23.84s
elevation angle of the sun -28d 16m 44.34s
event duration +06h 47m 15.4074s
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
6. Closest Approach Between the Earth and Heliocentric Objects
This MATLAB script (cae2ho.m) uses a combination of Cowell’s method and one-
dimensional minimization to predict closest approach conditions between the Earth and
objects such as asteroids, comets and other bodies in heliocentric elliptic orbits. It includes
the point mass gravity perturbations due to the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn and the Sun. It also includes the point-mass effect of the Moon via a combined
Earth/Moon gravitational constant.
The user can elect to use either the JPL DE405 ephemeris or the SLP96 ephemeris developed
by the Bureau of Longitudes in Paris for the planetary and solar ephemeris calculations. The
software expects to find one or both of these binary files in the same directory as cae2ho.
Additional information about the SLP96 ephemeris can be found on the Internet at
ftp://ftp.bdl.fr/pub/ephem/sun/slp96. Information about the DE405 ephemeris is available
at ftp://navigator.jpl.nasa.gov.
The second-order heliocentric equations of motion of a satellite or celestial body subject to
the point mass gravitational attraction of the Sun and planets are given by
d 2r rs b 9
r p bi rpi
r 2 r, t s 3
pi 3
3
dt rs b i 1 r p b rpi
i
where
s gravitational constant of the Sun
p gravitational constant of planet i
i
rp position vector from the Sun to planet
rs b position vector from the Sun to the body
rp b position vector from the planet to the body
These position vectors are related according to
rsb rp rpb
This program uses the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg 7(8) method to numerically integrate the first-
order form of the orbital equations of motion. This is a variable step size method of order 7
with an 8th order error estimate that is used to dynamically change the integration step size
during the simulation.
This software also uses a one-dimensional optimization algorithm due to Richard Brent to
solve the close approach problem. Additional information about this numerical method can
be found in Algorithms for Minimization Without Derivatives, R.P. Brent, Prentice-Hall,
1972. As the title of this book indicates, this algorithm does not require derivatives of the
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
objective function. This feature is important because the analytic first derivative of many
objective functions is difficult to derive and code. The objective function for this program is
the scalar geocentric distance of the heliocentric object.
The software will ask you for the name of a simple ASCII input file that defines the
simulation. When responding to this request be sure to include the file name extension. The
following is a typical input data file for this program. It contains the J2000 equator and
equinox heliocentric orbital elements of the asteroid 1997 XF 11. This file was created using
data available on the Horizons ephemeris system which is located on the Internet at
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.html. Do not change the total number of lines or the order
of annotation and data in this file. The software expects to find exactly 31 lines of
information in the input data file.
initial calendar date
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
10,20,1998
initial TDB
(0 <= hours <= 24, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
0,0,0
initial semimajor axis (AU)
(semimajor axis > 0)
0.1441779254846407D+01
initial orbital eccentricity (non-dimensional)
(0 <= eccentricity < 1)
0.4836740409964595D+00
initial orbital inclination (J2000 equator and equinox)
(degrees; 0 <= inclination <= 180)
0.2017287833484568D+02
initial argument of perihelion (J2000 equator and equinox)
(degrees; 0 <= argument of perihelion <= 360)
0.3228014264370198D+03
initial right ascension of the ascending node (J2000 equator and equinox)
(degrees; 0 <= raan <= 360)
0.3533298230482567D+03
initial mean anomaly (J2000 equator and equinox)
(degrees; 0 <= mean anomaly <= 360)
0.2708752703925974D+03
Please note the proper units and coordinate system (J2000 equinox and equator) of the input
orbital elements. Be sure to include all the digits of the calendar year. Notice also that time
on the TDB scale is used.
The following is a typical user interaction with this MATLAB script. The user can specify
the search duration in days and a minimum close approach distance in Astronomical Units.
program cae2ho
< closest approach between the Earth and a heliocentric object >
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
< please press any key to continue >
please input the name of the data file
(be sure to include the file name extension)
? xf11.dat
please input the search duration (days)
? 2000
would you like to enforce a minimum distance constraint (y = yes, n = no)
? y
please input the minimum distance constraint (AU)
? .1
please select the ephemeris source (1 = DE405, 2 = SLP96)
? 1
The software will display the initial conditions as follows:
initial heliocentric orbital elements
(J2000/ICRF equinox and equator)
sma (au) eccentricity inclination (deg) argper (deg)
1.4417792548e+000 4.8367404100e-001 2.0172878335e+001 3.2280142644e+002
raan (deg) true anomaly (deg) arglat (deg) period (days)
3.5332982305e+002 2.2165440865e+002 1.8445583509e+002 7.3186814210e-003
< please press any key to continue >
DE405 ephemeris
time and conditions at closest approach
calendar date 31-Oct-2002
TDB time 00:26:38
TDB Julian date 2452578.5185
geocentric distance 0.06350013 AU
geocentric distance 9499483.83935515 km
heliocentric orbital elements
(J2000/ICRF equinox and equator)
sma (au) eccentricity inclination (deg) argper (deg)
1.4422695673e+000 4.8412378833e-001 2.0165272969e+001 3.2279202361e+002
raan (deg) true anomaly (deg) arglat (deg) period (days)
3.5334764382e+002 7.7110770918e+001 3.9902794530e+001 7.3224150847e-003
< please press any key to continue >
For this example the output is with respect to the J2000/ICRF equinox and equator. When
using SLP96 as the source ephemeris, the output will be with respect to the J2000 dynamical
equinox and equator.
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
7. Equinoxes and Solstices
This MATLAB script (equsol.m) determines the time of the equinoxes and solstices of the
Earth. These events are the times when the apparent geocentric longitude of the Sun is an
exact multiple of 90 degrees. This script uses Brent’s root-finder and the sun1.m solar
ephemeris to calculate these events.
Brent’s method requires an objective function that defines the nonlinear equation to be
solved. The objective function for the spring and fall equinoxes is the geocentric declination
of the Sun. For the summer and winter solstices the objective function is s , where
90 for the summer solstice, 270 for the winter solstice and s is the geocentric
apparent longitude of the Sun. Brent’s method also requires an initial and final time which
bounds the root of the objective function. The initial time for the spring equinox is March 15,
for the summer solstice June 15, for the fall equinox September 15 and for the winter solstice
December 15. For each event, the final time is equal to these initial dates plus 15 days.
The equsol script will prompt you for the calendar date of interest. The following is a typical
user interaction with this script. Please note that the event is displayed in dynamical or
ephemeris time.
time of the equinoxes and solstices
please input the calendar year
? 2000
time of the equinoxes and solstices
spring equinox
calendar date 20-Mar-2000
dynamical time 07:36:11
summer solstice
calendar date 21-Jun-2000
dynamical time 01:48:48
fall equinox
calendar date 22-Sep-2000
dynamical time 17:28:45
winter solstice
calendar date 21-Dec-2000
dynamical time 13:38:30
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
8. Cowell’s Method for Heliocentric Orbits
cowell1.m – rectangular position and velocity vector formulation
This MATLAB script (cowell1.m) uses Cowell’s method to propagate the motion of
spacecraft, comets and other celestial bodies in heliocentric elliptic orbits. It includes the
point mass gravity perturbations due to the planets Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and
the Sun. The low precision ephemerides used in this application can be replaced with the
DE405 or SLP96 algorithms.
The second-order heliocentric equations of motion of a satellite or celestial body subject to
the point mass gravitational attraction of the Sun and planets are given by
d 2r rs b 9
r p bi rpi
r 2 r, t s 3
pi 3
3
dt rs b i 1 r p b rpi
i
where
s gravitational constant of the Sun
p gravitational constant of planet i
i
rp position vector from the Sun to planet
rs b position vector from the Sun to the body
rp b position vector from the planet to the body
These position vectors are related according to
rsb rp rpb
The following data file defines a simulation for Halley’s comet.
calendar date of perihelion passage
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
2,9,1986
universal time of perihelion passage
(0 <= hours <= 24, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
15,52,14.592
perihelion radius (Astronomical Units)
(perihelion radius > 0)
0.587478
orbital eccentricity (non-dimensional)
(0 <= eccentricity < 1)
0.967329
orbital inclination (degrees)
(0 <= inclination <= 180)
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162.2486
argument of perigee (degrees)
(0 <= argument of perigee <= 360)
111.8114
right ascension of the ascending node (degrees)
(0 <= raan <= 360)
58.1291
The syntax of the MATLAB function that reads this file is as follows:
function [fid, oev1, jdpp] = readoe2(filename)
% read orbital elements data file
% required by encke.m and cowell2.m
% input
% filename = name of orbital element data file
% output
% fid = file id
% jdpp = julian date of perihelion passage
% oev(1) = semimajor axis
% oev(2) = orbital eccentricity
% oev(3) = orbital inclination
% oev(4) = argument of perigee
% oev(5) = right ascension of the ascending node
% oev(6) = true anomaly
The following is a typical user interaction with this script.
program cowell1
< heliocentric orbit propagation using Cowell's method >
< please press any key to continue >
simulation data menu
<1> user input
<2> data file
? 2
please input the simulation data file name
(be sure to include the file name extension)
? halley.dat
initial calendar date and universal time
please input the calendar date
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
? 1,1,1986
please input the universal time
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
(0 <= hours <= 24, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
? 0,0,0
please input the simulation period (days)
? 120
please input the algorithm error tolerance
(a value of 1.0e-10 is recommended)
? 1e-8
The following is the output created for this example:
program cowell1
< heliocentric orbital motion - Cowell's method >
final conditions
calendar date 01-May-1986
universal time 00:00:00
sma (km) eccentricity inclination (deg) argper (deg)
2.6903161323e+009 9.6733201594e-001 1.6224898626e+002 1.1181332479e+002
raan (deg) true anomaly (deg) arglat (deg) period (days)
5.8130641784e+001 1.0750909426e+002 2.1932241905e+002 2.7855777571e+004
perihelion radius 5.8748967570e-001 AU
cowell2.m – modified equinoctial orbital elements formulation
This MATLAB script (cowell2.m) determines the long-term orbit evolution of objects in
heliocentric orbits using Cowell’s solution of the modified equinoctial orbital elements form
of the differential equations of motion. The user can provide the initial orbital elements for
this program interactively or by specifying the name of a data file as described in the
cowell1.m script above.
The following is a typical user interaction with this script.
program cowell2
< heliocentric orbit propagation using Cowell's method >
simulation data menu
<1> user input
<2> data file
? 2
please input the simulation data file name
(be sure to include the file name extension)
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
? halley.dat
initial calendar date and universal time
please input the calendar date
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
? 1,1,1986
please input the universal time
(0 <= hours <= 24, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
? 0,0,0
please input the simulation period (days)
? 120
please input the algorithm error tolerance
(a value of 1.0e-8 is recommended)
? 1e-8
The following is the data display for this example.
program cowell2
< heliocentric orbital motion - Cowell's method >
final conditions
calendar date 01-May-1986
universal time 00:00:00
sma (km) eccentricity inclination (deg) argper (deg)
2.6903158654e+009 9.6733201271e-001 1.6224898624e+002 1.1181332505e+002
raan (deg) true anomaly (deg) arglat (deg) period (days)
5.8130641942e+001 1.0750909422e+002 2.1932241926e+002 2.7855773424e+004
perihelion radius 5.8748967534e-001 AU
Technical Discussion
The relationship between modified equinoctial orbital elements and classical orbital elements
is given by
p a 1 e 2
f e cos
g e sin
h tan i 2 cos
k tan i 2 sin
L
where
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
p semiparameter
a semimajor axis
e orbital eccentricity
i orbital inclination
argument of perigee
right ascension of the ascending node
true anomaly
L true longitude
The equations of orbital motion expressed in terms of modified equinoctial orbital elements
are as follows:
dp 2 p p
p t
dt w
df p g
f r sin L w 1 cos L f t h sin L k cos L n
dt w w
dg p g
g r cos L w 1 sin L g t h sin L k cos L n
dt w w
dh p s 2n
h cos L
dt 2w
dk p s 2n
k sin L
dt 2w
2
dL w 1 p
L p h sin L k cos L n
dt p w
where r , t , n are external perturbations in the radial, tangential and orbit normal
directions, respectively.
The equations of motion can also be expressed as follows:
dy
y A yP b
dt
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
where
2p p
0 0
q
q 1 cos L f
p p1 p g
sin L h sin L k cos L
q q
q 1 sin L g
p p p f
cos L h sin L k cos L
q
A y
2
0 0
p s cos L
2q
p s 2 sin L
0 0
2q
p
0 0 h sin L k cos L
and
0
0
0
b 0
0
q
2
p
p
In this equation P is the total disturbing acceleration vector given by
P r ˆir t ˆit n ˆin
In this MATLAB script these perturbations consist of the point-mass gravity effects of the
planets. Other perturbations such as solar radiation pressure can also be included.
Furthermore, ˆir , ˆit and ˆin are unit vectors in the radial, tangential and normal directions given
by
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
ˆi r
r
r
ˆi r v
rv
n
ˆi ˆi ˆi
t n r
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
9. Encke’s Method for Heliocentric Orbits
This MATLAB application (encke.m) demonstrates heliocentric orbit propagation using
Encke’s method. It includes the point mass gravity perturbations due to the planets Venus,
Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the Sun.
The classic form of Encke’s special perturbation method solves the initial value problem
(IVP) of celestial mechanics by analytically propagating a two-body “reference” orbit and
numerically integrating the deviations from two-body motion. These two procedures are
performed for the same time interval or step size. Since the two-body solution is “exact”, the
time interval used is usually a function of the numerical integration technique and the
magnitude of the perturbations. After each propagation interval, the errors between the
reference orbit and the perturbed orbit are evaluated. When these errors become “large”, a
process known as rectification of the orbit is performed. This involves adding the integrated
deviations to the two-body orbit to produce a new reference orbit called the osculating orbit.
After rectification, the algorithm is reinitialized with the elements of the new osculating orbit
and the process is repeated until either the errors become large once more or the final time is
reached.
The numerical algorithm used in this script simplifies this technique by using a variable step-
size integration method to automatically select the propagation step size. Since this type of
integrator “senses” the magnitude of the perturbations, it will choose the “best” and largest
step size for each propagation interval. The user can control how well this procedure is
performed with the algorithm truncation error tolerance. Furthermore, the software eliminates
the logic required to determine when rectification should occur by simply rectifying the orbit
after each and every propagation step.
The two-body or unperturbed equations of motion of a spacecraft or celestial body are
d 2rk r t
2
k 3 0
dt rk
where rk is the unperturbed position vector of the spacecraft at any time t and is the
gravitational constant of the primary body.
The equations of motion of motion of a spacecraft subject to a point mass central body and
other external perturbations are
d 2rp r t
2
p 3 a rp , t
dt rp
where rp is the perturbed position vector at any time t and a rp , t is the vector of
perturbations or other accelerations.
The difference between these two types of orbital motion is
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
2r d 2rp d 2rk
dt 2 dt 2 dt 2
In order to avoid numerical difficulties when subtracting small differences of vector
equations, the following form of the equations of motion is used:
2r
f q rp t rp t a rp , t
dt 2
3
where
3 3q q2
f q q
1 1 q 3/ 2
and
q
r 2r r
r2
At any time the position and velocity vectors of the true orbit are given by the vector sum of
the two body and perturbed components as follows:
r t rk t rp t
v t vk t v p t
The gravitational acceleration on the spacecraft due to each planet is determined from the
following expression:
r rp
a r, t p b
rp b 3 rp 3
where
rp b position vector of spacecraft relative to planet
rp position vector of spacecraft relative to Sun
gravitational constant of planet
The software uses a slightly modified version of Shepperd's two body algorithm to provide
the unperturbed solution for any simulation time. This MATLAB file is called twobody4 and
has for its input and output the entire state vector in a single array instead of individual
position and velocity arrays. The “deviation” equations of motion are integrated using a
slightly modified version of the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg 7(8) method called rkencke.
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Although simple and straightforward, this approach does require special attention to the
initialization at the start of each propagation step. Since there are no perturbations at the
initial epoch of the osculating reference orbit, the integrator would use the initial step size
defined by the user. This will cause very large errors before rectification can be performed.
To avoid this problem, the software forces the algorithm to perform the first phase of the
orbit propagation with a fixed step size. This is accomplished by setting the initial step size
guess to a small value and the truncation error tolerance to a very large value. For the second
phase of the propagation, the step size estimate is increased and the RKF algorithm is
allowed to change the actual step size to the largest value based on the perturbations and
user-defined error tolerance. The truncation error tolerance for this phase is set to a very
small number. The “best” initial step size depends on the type of orbit propagation and the
initial conditions.
Additional information about this algorithm can be found in AAS 92-196, “A Simple and
Efficient Computer Implementation of Encke’s Method”, AAS/AIAA Spaceflight Mechanics
Meeting, Colorado Springs, Colorado, February 24-26, 1992.
The information required for this script can either be manually input by the user or the
software can read a simple data file of orbital elements. For both options the program will
always ask the user for the initial calendar date and Universal Time of the simulation, the
simulation duration in days, and the algorithm error tolerance. A tolerance of 1.0e-8 is
recommended.
The following is a typical user interaction with this program.
program encke
< orbit propagation using Encke's method >
< please press any key to continue >
simulation data menu
<1> user input
<2> data file
? 2
please input the simulation data file name
(be sure to include the file name extension)
? halley.dat
initial calendar date and universal time
please input the calendar date
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
? 1,1,1986
please input the universal time
(0 <= hours <= 24, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
? 0,0,0
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please input the simulation period (days)
? 120
please input the algorithm error tolerance
(a value of 1.0e-8 is recommended)
? 1e-8
This program also uses the readoe2 function to process the input data file. The following is
the screen display created by this software for this example.
final conditions
calendar date 01-May-1986
universal time 00:00:00
sma (km) eccentricity inclination (deg) argper (deg)
2.6903155747e+009 9.6733200916e-001 1.6224898624e+002 1.1181332495e+002
raan (deg) true anomaly (deg) arglat (deg) period (days)
5.8130641692e+001 1.0750909431e+002 2.1932241926e+002 2.7855768910e+004
perihelion radius 5.8748967589e-001 AU
The low precision ephemeris used in this application can be replaced with the DE405 or
SLP96 algorithms very easily.
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10. The Circular-Restricted Three-Body Problem
This section describes several MATLAB scripts that can be used to analyze and display
orbits in the circular-restricted three-body problem (CRTBP). This is a special case of the
general three-body problem where the primary and secondary bodies move in circular orbits
about the common center of mass, and the effect of the gravitational attraction of the smallest
body and any other perturbations such as solar radiation pressure are ignored.
The applications described here are for orbital problems in the Earth-Moon-satellite system.
However, the equations and algorithms are valid for any circular-restricted three-body system
for which the mass ratio of the primary and secondary is between 0 and 1/2.
The classic textbook for this problem is Theory of Orbits by Victor Szebehely, Academic
Press, New York, 1967. An excellent discussion about this problem can also be found in
Chapter 8 of An Introduction to Celestial Mechanics by Forest Ray Moulton, Dover
Publications, 1970.
Technical Discussion
The motion of the spacecraft or celestial body is modeled in a coordinate system which is
rotating about the center-of-mass or barycenter of the Earth-Moon system. The motion of all
three bodies is confined to the x-y plane. In the discussion that follows, subscript 1 is the
Earth and subscript 2 is the Moon.
For convenience, the problem is formulated in canonical or non-dimensional units. The unit
of length is taken to be the constant distance between the Earth and Moon, and the unit of
time is chosen such that the Earth and Moon have an angular velocity about the barycenter
equal to 1.
Kepler’s third law for this formulation is given by
2 m1 m2 g m1 m2 1
3
The x and y coordinates of the Earth and Moon in this coordinate system are given by
x1 y1 0
x2 1 y2 0
The position and velocity vectors of the small body in this system are sometimes called
“synodical” coordinates to distinguish them from “sidereal” coordinates defined in an
inertial, non-rotating coordinate system.
The system of second-order non-dimensional differential equations of motion of a point-mass
satellite or celestial body in this rotating coordinate system are given by
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
d 2x dy xx xx
2
2 x 1 3 1 3 2
dt dt r1 r2
d2y dx y y
2
2 y 1 3 3
dt dt r1 r2
d 2z z z
2
1 3 3
dt r1 r2
where
x x component of position
y y component of position
z z component of position
x1
x2 1
Earth-Moon mass ratio m1 / m2 1/ 81.27
r12 x x1 y 2 z 2
2
r22 x x2 y 2 z 2
2
The Jacobi integral for the three-body problem is given by
2 1 2
V 2 x2 y2 C
r1 r2
In this equation V is the scalar speed of the small body and C is a constant of integration
called the Jacobi constant.
crtbp1.m – coordinates and energy of the libration points
In his prize memoir of 1772, Joseph-Louis Lagrange proved that there are five equilibrium
points in the circular-restricted three-body problem. If a satellite or celestial body is located
at one of these points with zero initial velocity relative to the rotating coordinate system, it
will stay there permanently provided there are no perturbations. These special positions are
also called libration points or stationary Lagrange points. Three of these libration points are
on the x-axis (collinear points) and the other two form equilateral triangles with the positions
of the Earth and Moon.
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
This MATLAB script can be used to calculate the coordinates and energy of the five libration
or equilibrium points of the CRTBP. For the collinear libration points this script solves three
nonlinear equations.
The nonlinear equation for the L1 libration point is given by
1
x 0
x x 1
2 2
The nonlinear equation for the L2 libration point is
1
x 0
x x 1
2 2
and the nonlinear equation for the L3 collinear libration point is
1
x 0
x x 1
2 2
The lower and upper bounds used during the root-finding search for all three equations are
x 2 and x 2 respectively.
The L4 libration point is located at x 1 2 , y 3 2 and the L5 libration point is at
x 1 2 , y 3 2 . For these two libration points r1 r2 1 .
The following is a typical user interaction with this script.
program crtbp1
< equilibrium coordinates and energy >
please input the value for the mass ratio
? .01
The following is the program output for this example.
program crtbp1
< equilibrium coordinates and energy >
mass ratio = 1.0000000000e-002
location x-coordinate y-coordinate energy
L1 0.848079 0.000000 -1.5838206546e+000
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L2 1.146765 0.000000 -1.5771597543e+000
L3 -1.004167 0.000000 -1.5049988584e+000
L4 0.490000 0.866025 -1.4950500000e+000
L5 0.490000 -0.866025 -1.4950500000e+000
g3body.m – graphics display of three-body motion
This MATLAB script graphically displays motion of a spacecraft or small celestial body in
the circular-restricted three-body problem. This algorithm and program examples are based
on the methods described in “Periodic Orbits in the Restricted Three-Body Problem with
Earth-Moon Masses”, by R. A. Broucke, JPL TR 32-1168, 1968.
This script begins by displaying the following main menu.
program g3body
< graphics display of three-body motion >
main menu
<1> periodic orbit about L1
<2> periodic orbit about L2
<3> periodic orbit about L3
<4> user input of initial conditions
selection (1, 2, 3 or 4)
The first three menu options will display typical periodic orbits about the respective libration
point. The initial conditions for each of these example orbits are as follows:
(1) periodic orbit about the L1 libration point
x0 0.300000161
y0 2.536145497
0.012155092
t f 5.349501906
(2) periodic orbit about the L2 libration point
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
x0 2.840829343
y0 2.747640074
0.012155085
t f 11.933318588
(3) periodic orbit about the L3 libration point
x0 1/ 600000312
y0 2.066174572
0.012155092
t f 6.303856312
Notice that each orbit is defined by an initial x-component of position, x0 , an initial y-
component of velocity, y0 , a value of Earth-Moon mass ratio , and an orbital period t f . The
initial y-component of position and x-component of velocity for each of these orbits is equal
to zero. The software will draw the location of the Earth, Moon and libration point on the
graphics screen.
If you would like to experiment with your own initial conditions, select option <4> from the
main menu. The program will then prompt you for the initial x and y components of the
orbit's position and velocity vector, and the values of to use in the simulation. The
software will also ask for an initial and final time to run the simulation, and an integration
step size. The value 0.01 is a good number for step size.
Here is a short list of initial conditions for several other periodic orbits that you may want to
display with this script.
(1) Retrograde periodic orbit about m1
x0 2.499999883
y0 2.100046263
0.012155092
t f 11.99941766
(2) Direct periodic orbit about m1
x0 0.952281734
y0 0.957747254
0.012155092
t f 6.450768946
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(3) Direct periodic orbit about m1 and m2
x0 3.147603117
y0 3.07676285
0.012155092
t f 12.567475674
(4) Direct periodic orbit about m2
x0 1.399999991
y0 0.9298385561
0.012155092
t f 13.775148738
The following is the graphic screen display for main menu option <3> and an integration
step size of 0.01. The locations of the Earth and Moon are labeled with an asterisk and the
L3 libration point is the small dot.
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
Another excellent source of circular-restricted three-body problems is described in the report,
“A Collection of Restricted Three-body Test Problems” by Philip W. Sharp, Report Series
460, Department of Mathematics, University of Auckland, March 2001. A copy of this report
in PDF format can be found at the following web site:
http://www.scitec.auckland.ac.nz/~sharp/papers/preprints.html
The following is a summary of these test problems. Column 1 is the test problem number,
column 2 is the initial x coordinate x0 , column 3 is the initial y speed y0 and column 4 is the
orbital period t f . For problems 1 to 15 0.012277471 and for problems 16 to 20
0.000953875 .
1 0.994000E+00 -0.21138987966945026683E+01 0.54367954392601899690E+01
2 0.994000E+00 -0.20317326295573368357E+01 0.11124340337266085135E+02
3 0.994000E+00 -0.20015851063790825224E+01 0.17065216560157962559E+02
4 0.997000E+00 -0.16251217072210773125E+01 0.22929723423442969481E+02
5 0.879962E+00 -0.66647197988564140807E+00 0.63006757422352314657E+01
6 0.879962E+00 -0.43965281709207999128E+00 0.12729711861022426544E+02
7 0.879962E+00 -0.38089067106386964470E+00 0.19138746281183026809E+02
8 0.997000E+00 -0.18445010489730401177E+01 0.12353901248612092736E+02
9 0.100000E+01 -0.16018768253456252603E+01 0.12294387796695023304E+02
10 0.100300E+01 -0.14465123738451062297E+01 0.12267904265603897140E+02
11 0.120000E+01 -0.71407169828407848921E+00 0.18337451820715063383E+02
12 0.120000E+01 -0.67985320356540547720E+00 0.30753758552146029263E+02
13 0.120000E+01 -0.67153130632829144331E+00 0.43214375227857454128E+02
14 0.120000E+01 -0.66998291305226832207E+00 0.55672334134347612727E+02
15 0.120000E+01 -0.66975741517271092087E+00 0.68127906604713772763E+02
16 -0.102745E+01 0.40334488290490413053E-01 0.18371316400018903965E+03
17 -0.976680E+00 -0.61191623926410837000E-01 0.17733241131524483004E+03
18 -0.766650E+00 -0.51230158665978820282E+00 0.17660722897242937108E+03
19 -0.109137E+01 0.14301959822238380020E+00 0.82949461922342093092E+02
20 -0.110137E+01 0.15354250908611454510E+00 0.60952121909407746612E+02
zvcurve1.m – graphics display of zero velocity curves through equilibrium points
This MATLAB script can be used to display zero relative velocity curves that pass through
the five equilibrium or libration points of the Earth-Moon circular-restricted three-body
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
problem (CRTBP). These two-dimensional drawings are also called equipotential curves.
The zero velocity curves define regions of the x-y plane that a satellite or celestial body with
a given energy level can or cannot attain.
If we set the velocity components to zero in the equation for the Jacobi integral, we find that
the Jacobi constant can be determined from the following expression:
2 2
C 2 E0 1 r12 r22 1
r1 r2
where E0 is the zero relative velocity specific orbital energy which is given by.
1
E0
2
1 2
x y2
r1
r2
From the Jacobi integral we can see that imaginary velocities occur whenever the following
expression is smaller than the Jacobi constant C.
2 1 2
x2 y2
r1 r2
This MATLAB script computes and displays zero relative velocity contour plots that actually
pass through the five libration points.
The following is a typical user interaction with this script.
program zvcurve1
graphics display of zero relative velocity
curves through the crtbp equilibrium points
<1> L1 contour
<2> L2 contour
<3> L3 contour
<4> L4 and L5 contour
<5> all points contour
selection (1, 2, 3, 4 or 5)
?5
The following is a graphics display of the equipotential curves through each libration point.
The libration points are labeled with asterisks and the Earth and Moon are shown as small
dots.
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
zvcurve2.m – graphics display of user-defined zero relative velocity curves
This MATLAB script can be used to display zero relative velocity contour curves of the
circular-restricted three-body problem (CRTBP) for user-defined values of the Jacobi
constant C and mass ratio as defined by the following expression:
2 2
C 1 r12 r22 1
r1 r2
This application will prompt the user for the mass ratio and the contour levels to plot either
as discrete values or as a range of values with a user-defined increment. The software will
also ask you for the minimum and maximum values of the x and y coordinates and an
increment for creating the mesh grid used by MATLAB to plot the contours. Please note that
if the mesh grid increment is too large the script may not plot “complete” contour levels.
The following is a typical user interaction with this MATLAB script.
program zvcurve2
graphics display of user-defined
zero relative velocity curves
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
please input the value for the mass ratio
? 0.2
contour level input menu
<1> lower value, increment, upper value
<2> discrete contour values
selection (1 or 2)
? 1
please input the lower contour value
? 3.0
please input the contour increment
? 0.1
please input the upper contour value
? 4.0
would you like to label the contours (y = yes, n = no)
? n
please input the minimum value for the x and y coordinates
? -2
please input the maximum value for the x and y coordinates
? 2
please input the mesh grid value for x and y
(a value between 0.01 and 0.005 is recommended)
? 0.01
The following is the graphics display for this example. The libration points for this three-
body system are labeled with asterisks and the primary and secondary bodies are shown as
small dots.
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
The software also allows the user to control what part of the contour plot is displayed and
label the zero relative velocity contours. The following is a typical user interaction
illustrating these script options.
program zvcurve2
graphics display of user-defined
zero relative velocity curves
please input the value for the mass ratio
? 0.2
contour level input menu
<1> lower value, increment, upper value
<2> discrete contour values
selection (1 or 2)
? 1
please input the lower contour value
? 3.0
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
please input the contour increment
? 0.1
please input the upper contour value
? 3.5
would you like to label the contours (y = yes, n = no)
? y
please input the minimum value for the x and y coordinates
? 0
please input the maximum value for the x and y coordinates
? 1.5
please input the mesh grid value for x and y
(a value between 0.01 and 0.005 is recommended)
? 0.01
The following is the graphics display for this example. The libration points for this three-
body system are labeled with asterisks and the primary and secondary bodies are shown as
small dots.
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
11. Apparent Coordinates of a Planet or the Moon
These two MATLAB functions can be used to determine the apparent geocentric and
topocentric coordinates of a planet or the Moon. These functions use several functions ported
to MATLAB using the Fortran versions of the NOVAS (Naval Observatory Vector
Astrometry Subroutines) source code that was developed at the United States Naval
Observatory.
These functions includes the following types of coordinate corrections:
(1) precession
(2) nutation
(3) aberration
(4) gravitational deflection of light
Please note that these functions do not include a correction for atmospheric refraction.
An excellent discussion about these corrections can be found in “Mean and Apparent Place
Computations in the New IAU System. III. Apparent, Topocentric, and Astrometric Places of
Planets and Stars”, G.H. Kaplan, J.A. Hughes, P.K. Seidelmann, C.A. Smith and B.D.
Yallop, The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 97, No. 4, pages 1197-1210, 1989.
The processing steps used in these two MATLAB scripts are as follows:
(1) input a calendar date on the UT1 time scale
(2) compute the UT1 Julian date
(3) compute the TDT Julian date
(4) compute the TDB Julian date
(5) select the target body
(6) define type of coordinates
(7) evaluate the ephemeris
The topocentric azimuth A and elevation (altitude) h are calculated using the topocentric right
ascension and declination and the observer's coordinates as follow:
sin H
tan A
cos H sin tan cos
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
where H is the apparent hour angle of the celestial object and is the geodetic latitude of
the observer. The apparent hour angle is given by the difference between the observer's local
sidereal time and the right ascension of the object as follows:
H
In these MATLAB functions azimuth is measured positive clockwise from north. For
example, east is an azimuth of 90, south is 180 and so forth.
function applan1.m
The source ephemeris for this routine is the DE405 binary file jpleph.
The following is the syntax for this MATLAB function.
function [ra, dec, dis] = applan1 (tjd, ujd, l, n, topo, glon, glat, ht)
% this function computes the apparent geocentric or topocentric place
% of a planet or other solar system body. rectangular coordinates of
% solar system bodies are obtained from function solsys.
% input
% tjd = tdt julian date for apparent geocentric place
% ujd = ut1 julian date for apparent topocentric place
% l = body identification number for desired planet
% n = body identification number for the earth
% topo = type of apparent place calculation
% = 0 ==> geocentric
% = 1 ==> topocentric
% glon = geodetic longitude of observer (east +, degrees)
% glat = geodetic latitude of observer (north +, degrees)
% ht = height of observer (meters)
% output
% ra = apparent geocentric or topocentric right ascension,
% referred to true equator and equinox of date (hours)
% dec = apparent geocentric or topocentric declination,
% referred to true equator and equinox of date (degrees)
% dis = true distance from earth to planet (astronomical units)
A MATLAB script called aplanet1 demonstrates how to interact with this function. This
script will prompt you for the calendar date, universal time, observer coordinates, the “target”
body and the type of ephemeris (topocentric or geocentric). The program defaults to the
Earth as the central or “primary” body.
The following is a typical user interaction with this demonstration script.
aplanet1 - apparent coordinates
please input a UTC calendar date
please input the calendar date
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
? 1,1,1998
please input the universal time
(0 <= hours <= 24, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
? 10,20,30
target body menu
<1> Mercury
<2> Venus
<3> Earth
<4> Mars
<5> Jupiter
<6> Saturn
<7> Uranus
<8> Neptune
<9> Pluto
<10> Sun
<11> Moon
please select the target body
? 11
coordinate type menu
<1> geocentric
<2> topocentric
please select coordinate type
? 2
please input the geographic latitude of the ground site
(-90 <= degrees <= +90, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(north latitude is positive, south latitude is negative)
? 40,0,0
please input the geographic longitude of the ground site
(0 <= degrees <= 360, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(east longitude is positive, west longitude is negative)
? -105,0,0
please input the altitude of the ground site (meters)
(positive above sea level, negative below sea level)
? 1000
The following is the program output created for this example.
apparent topocentric coordinates
'Moon'
UTC calendar date 01-Jan-1998
universal time 10:20:30
UTC julian date 2450814.9309
observer latitude -105d 00m 00.00s
observer east longitude +40d 00m 00.00s
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observer altitude 1000.0000 meters
right ascension +21h 12m 2.9587s
declination -14d 17m 47.57s
azimuth +27d 31m 13.82s
elevation -61d 53m 39.08s
topocentric distance 376284.4187 kilometers
function applan2.m
The source ephemeris for this routine is the SLP96 binary file slp96.
The following is the syntax for this function.
function [ra, dec, dis] = applan2(tjd, ujd, l, n, topo, glon, glat, ht)
% this function computes the apparent geocentric or topocentric place
% of a planet or other solar system body. rectangular coordinates of
% solar system bodies are obtained from function slp96.
% input
% tjd = tdt julian date for apparent geocentric place
% ujd = ut1 julian date for apparent topocentric place
% l = body identification number for desired planet
% n = body identification number for the earth
% topo = type of apparent place calculation
% = 0 ==> geocentric
% = 1 ==> topocentric
% glon = geodetic longitude of observer (east +, degrees)
% glat = geodetic latitude of observer (north +, degrees)
% ht = height of observer (meters)
% output
% ra = apparent geocentric or topocentric right ascension,
% referred to true equator and equinox of date (hours)
% dec = apparent geocentric or topocentric declination,
% referred to true equator and equinox of date (degrees)
% dis = true distance from earth to planet (astronomical units)
The MATLAB script called aplanet2 demonstrates how to use this function. The user
interaction with this script is identical to the interaction with the aplanet1 script described
above.
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12. Apparent Coordinates of a Star
These two MATLAB scripts demonstrate how to calculate the apparent topocentric and
geocentric coordinates of a star. The first script is called astar1 and it uses DE405 as its
source ephemeris. The second script is called astar2 and it uses SLP96 as its source
ephemeris. These applications use several functions ported to MATLAB from the Fortran
versions of the NOVAS (Naval Observatory Vector Astrometry Subroutines) source code
that was developed at the United States Naval Observatory.
This program includes the following types of coordinate corrections:
(1) precession
(2) nutation
(3) aberration
(4) gravitational deflection of light
(5) proper motion
(6) parallax
(7) radial velocity
Please note that this program does not include a correction for atmospheric refraction. For
extragalatic objects the proper motions, parallax and radial velocity should all be set to 0.
An excellent discussion about these corrections can be found in “Mean and Apparent Place
Computations in the New IAU System. III. Apparent, Topocentric, and Astrometric Places of
Planets and Stars”, G.H. Kaplan, J.A. Hughes, P.K. Seidelmann, C.A. Smith and B.D.
Yallop, The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 97, No. 4, pages 1197-1210, 1989.
The processing steps used in this program are as follows:
(1) input a calendar date on the UT1 time scale
(2) compute the UT1 Julian date
(3) compute the TDT Julian date
(4) compute the TDB Julian date
(5) read the star's coordinates, proper motions, parallax and radial velocity
(6) define type of coordinates
(7) calculate apparent coordinates
The syntax and arguments for the MATLAB function that actually performs most of the
calculations are as follows:
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Celestial Computing with MATLAB
function [ra, dec] = apstar1 (tjd, ujd, n, topo, glon, glat, ht, ...
ram, decm, pmra, pmdec, parlax, radvel)
% this subroutine computes the geocentric or topocentric apparent place
% of a star, given its mean place, proper motion, parallax, and radial
% velocity for j2000.0.
% input
% tjd = tdt julian date for apparent place
% ujd = ut1 julian date for apparent topocentric place
% n = body identification number for the earth
% topo = type of apparent place calculation
% = 0 ==> geocentric
% = 1 ==> topocentric
% ram = mean right ascension j2000.0 (hours)
% decm = mean declination j2000.0 (degrees)
% pmra = proper motion in ra (seconds of time/julian century)
% pmdec = proper motion in dec (seconds of arc/julian century)
% parlax = parallax (seconds of arc)
% radvel = radial velocity (kilometers per second)
% output
% ra = apparent geocentric or topocentric right ascension,
% referred to true equator and equinox of date (hours)
% dec = apparent geocentric or topocentric declination,
% referred to true equator and equinox of date (degrees)
The astar software will prompt you for the calendar date, universal time, observer
coordinates, the name of the star data file and the type of ephemeris (topocentric or
geocentric). The following is a typical star data file named altair.dat. Do not delete any
lines of text or data as the software expects to find exactly 20 lines of information.
star name
ALTAIR
J2000 right ascension (hours)
19.8463894440
J2000 declination (degrees)
8.8683416670
J2000 proper motion in right ascension (seconds/Julian century)
3.6290
J2000 proper motion in declination (arcseconds/Julian century)
38.6300
parallax (arcseconds)
0.1981
radial velocity (kilometers/second)
-26.30
The following is a typical user interaction with the star1 (and star2) scripts. It illustrates
the topocentric coordinates of the star Altair relative to a sea level observer at 40 north
latitude and 105 west longitude, at 0 hours UT.
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star1 - apparent coordinates - jplephem ephemeris
please input a UTC calendar date
please input the calendar date
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
? 1,1,1998
please input the universal time
(0 <= hours <= 24, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
? 0,0,0
please input the star data file name
(be sure to include the file name extension)
? altair.dat
coordinate type menu
<1> geocentric
<2> topocentric
please select coordinate type
? 2
please input the geographic latitude of the ground site
(-90 <= degrees <= +90, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(north latitude is positive, south latitude is negative)
? 40,0,0
please input the geographic longitude of the ground site
(0 <= degrees <= 360, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(east longitude is positive, west longitude is negative)
? -105,0,0
please input the altitude of the ground site (meters)
(positive above sea level, negative below sea level)
? 0
apparent topocentric coordinates
ALTAIR
UTC calendar date 01-Jan-1998
universal time 00:00:00
UTC julian date 2450814.5000
observer latitude -105d 00m 00.00s
observer east longitude +40d 00m 00.00s
observer altitude 0.0000 meters
right ascension +19h 50m 39.1674s
declination +08d 51m 46.09s
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13. JPL DE405 Lunar, Solar and Planetary Ephemeris
This MATLAB script demonstrates how to read DE405 binary ephemeris files created using
the Fortran programs and ASCII data files provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and
calculate the position and velocity vectors of a planet or the Moon. This function was ported
to MATLAB using the Fortran source code subroutine provided by JPL. These ASCII files
can be found on the Internet at ftp://navigator.jpl.nasa.gov. A CD ROM containing these
ASCII data files and Fortran source code is also available from Willmann-Bell.
The jplephem function requires initialization the first time it is called. The following
statement in the main MATLAB script will accomplish this:
iephem = 1;
This variable should also be placed in a global statement at the beginning of the main script
that calls this function.
Demojpl is a simple MATLAB script that demonstrates how to call the jplephem routine. A
sample binary file for IBM-PC compatible computers is included on the Celestial Computing
with MATLAB CD ROM. The name of this binary file is jpleph and it is valid between
Julian date 2429616.5 (calendar date 12/19/1939) and Julian date 2473488.5 (calendar date
1/30/2060). The coordinates calculated by this function are with respect to the International
Celestial Reference System (ICRS) which is described in “The International Celestial
Reference Frame as Realized by Very Long Baseline Interferometry”, C. Ma, E. Arias, T.
Eubanks, A. Fey, A. Gontier, C. Jacobs, O. Sovers, B. Archinal and P. Charlot, The
Astronomical Journal, 116:516-546, 1998, July.
The following is the syntax for this MATLAB function:
function rrd = jplephem (et, ntarg, ncent)
% reads the jpl planetary ephemeris and gives
% the position and velocity of the point 'ntarg'
% with respect to point 'ncent'
% input
% et = julian ephemeris date at which interpolation is wanted
% ntarg = integer number of 'target' point
% ncent = integer number of center point
% the numbering convention for 'ntarg' and 'ncent' is:
% 1 = mercury 8 = neptune
% 2 = venus 9 = pluto
% 3 = earth 10 = moon
% 4 = mars 11 = sun
% 5 = jupiter 12 = solar-system barycenter
% 6 = saturn 13 = earth-moon barycenter
% 7 = uranus 14 = nutations (longitude and obliq)
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% 15 = librations, if on ephemeris file
% if nutations are wanted, set ntarg = 14.
% for librations, set ntarg = 15. set ncent = 0.
% output
% rrd = output 6-word array containing position and velocity
% of point 'ntarg' relative to 'ncent'. the units are au and
% au/day. for librations the units are radians and radians
% per day. in the case of nutations the first four words of
% rrd will be set to nutations and rates, having units of
% radians and radians/day.
% the option is available to have the units in km and km/sec.
% for this, set km = 1 via global in the calling program.
The following is a typical user interaction with this script.
demojpl - demonstrates how to use the jplephem.m function
please input a UTC calendar date
please input the calendar date
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
? 10,21,1998
target body menu
<1> Mercury
<2> Venus
<3> Earth
<4> Mars
<5> Jupiter
<6> Saturn
<7> Uranus
<8> Neptune
<9> Pluto
<10> Moon
<11> Sun
please select the target body
? 10
central body menu
<1> Mercury
<2> Venus
<3> Earth
<4> Mars
<5> Jupiter
<6> Saturn
<7> Uranus
<8> Neptune
<9> Pluto
<10> Moon
<11> Sun
<12> solar-system barycenter
<13> Earth-Moon barycenter
please select the central body
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? 3
target body 'Moon'
central body 'Earth'
UTC calendar date 21-Oct-1998
UTC Julian date 2451107.5000
state vector
rx (km) ry (km) rz (km) rmag (km)
-3.3736590217e+005 -2.1902562142e+005 -5.9817990536e+004 +4.0665239060e+005
vx (kps) vy (kps) vz (kps) vmag (kps)
+5.3908644803e-001 -7.5535385071e-001 -2.8617936544e-001 +9.7111907995e-001
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14. SLP96 Lunar, Solar and Planetary Ephemeris
This MATLAB function demonstrates how to read SLP96 binary ephemeris files created
using the Fortran programs and ASCII data files provided by the Bureau of Longitudes
(BDL, Paris), and calculate the position and velocity vectors of a planet or the moon in either
the J2000 FK5 or dynamical coordinate systems. This function was ported to MATLAB
using the Fortran source code subroutine provided by the BDL. These ASCII files can be
found on the Internet at ftp.bdl.fr/pub/ephem/sun/slp96.
The slp96 function requires initialization the first time it is called. The following statement
in the main MATLAB script will accomplish this:
islp96 = 1;
The user must also specify the name of the binary data file with the following statement:
fname = ‘slp96’
These variables should also be placed in a global statement at the beginning of the main
script that calls this function.
Demoslp is a simple MATLAB driver script that demonstrates how to call the slp96 routine.
A sample binary file for IBM-PC compatible computers is included on the Celestial
Computing with MATLAB CD ROM. This binary file is valid between Julian date 2433264.5
(calendar date 12/14/1949) and Julian date 2469808.5 (calendar date 1/02/2050).
The following is a summary of the inputs and outputs for this MATLAB function:
function [result, ierr] = slp96 (tjd, ibody, icent, ipv, iframe, icoord)
% solar, lunar and planetary coordinates j2000
% input
% tjd julian date tdb
% ibody body index
% ibody=01 : mercury ibody=07 : uranus
% ibody=02 : venus ibody=08 : neptune
% ibody=03 : e-m baryc. ibody=09 : void
% ibody=04 : mars ibody=10 : moon
% ibody=05 : jupiter ibody=11 : sun
% ibody=06 : saturn ibody=12 : earth
% icent frame center index
% icent=00 : barycenter of solar system
% icent=01 : mercury icent=07 : uranus
% icent=02 : venus icent=08 : neptune
% icent=03 : e-m baryc. icent=09 : void
% icent=04 : mars icent=10 : moon
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% icent=05 : jupiter icent=11 : sun
% icent=06 : saturn icent=12 : earth
% ipv position-velocity index
% ipv=1 : position.
% ipv=2 : position and velocity.
% iframe frame index
% iframe=1 : equinox and equator j2000 (fk5)
% iframe=2 : equinox and ecliptic j2000 (dynamical)
% icoord coordinates index
% icoord=1 : rectangular coordinates
% icoord=2 : spherical coordinates
% fname name of the slp96 data file
% note: passed via global
% output
% result results table
% rectangular coordinates (icoord = 1)
% position
% result(1) : equatorial or ecliptic component x (au)
% result(2) : equatorial or ecliptic component y (au)
% result(3) : equatorial or ecliptic component z (au)
% velocity
% result(4) : equatorial or ecliptic component x (au/day)
% result(5) : equatorial or ecliptic component y (au/day)
% result(6) : equatorial or ecliptic component z (au/day)
% spherical coordinates (icoord = 2)
% position
% result(1) : right ascension or longitude (radians)
% result(2) : declination or latitude (radians)
% result(3) : geometric distance (au)
% velocity
% result(4) : right ascension or longitude (rad/day)
% result(5) : declination or latitude (rad/day)
% result(6) : geometric distance (au/day)
% ierr error index
% ierr=0 : no error
% ierr=10 : file error
% ierr=11 : date error (tjd)
% ierr=12 : body error (ibody)
% ierr=13 : frame center error (icent)
% ierr=14 : position-velocity error (ipv)
% ierr=15 : frame error (iframe)
% ierr=16 : coordinates error (icoord)
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The processing steps used in this script are as follows:
(1) input a calendar date on the UTC time scale
(2) compute the UTC Julian date
(3) compute the TDT Julian date
(4) compute the TDB Julian date
(5) select the target body
(6) select the central body
(7) define type of coordinate system
(8) define type of coordinate calculations
(9) specify the name of the SLP96 binary data file
(10) evaluate the ephemeris
The following is a typical user interaction with this script.
demoslp - demonstrates how to use the slp96.m function
please input a UTC calendar date
please input the calendar date
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
? 10,21,1998
target body menu
<1> Mercury
<2> Venus
<3> Earth-Moon barycenter
<4> Mars
<5> Jupiter
<6> Saturn
<7> Uranus
<8> Neptune
<9> void
<10> Moon
<11> Sun
<12> Earth
please select the target body
? 10
central body menu
<0> solar system barycenter
<1> Mercury
<2> Venus
<3> Earth-Moon barycenter
<4> Mars
<5> Jupiter
<6> Saturn
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<7> Uranus
<8> Neptune
<9> void
<10> Moon
<11> Sun
<12> Earth
please select the central body
? 12
coordinate system menu
<1> equinox and equator j2000 (fk5)
<2> equinox and ecliptic j2000 (dynamical)
please select the coordinate system type
? 1
coordinate type menu
<1> rectangular coordinates
<2> spherical coordinates
please select the coordinate type
? 1
The following is the program output created for this example.
program demoslp
equinox and equator j2000 (fk5)
target body 'Moon'
central body 'Earth'
UTC calendar date 21-Oct-1998
UTC Julian date 2451107.5000
state vector
rx (km) ry (km) rz (km) rmag (km)
-3.3736588697e+005 -2.1902566702e+005 -5.9818049020e+004 +4.0665241115e+005
vx (kps) vy (kps) vz (kps) vmag (kps)
+5.3908659599e-001 -7.5535382805e-001 -2.8617931903e-001 +9.7111913078e-001
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15. Other Lunar, Solar and Planetary Ephemeris Algorithms
The next ten MATLAB 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
this algorithm (one arc minute) these coordinates can be considered to be true-of-date.
Each algorithm uses time arguments given by
t JD 2451545
T t / 36525 1
where JD is the Julian date on the UT1 time scale.
Each MATLAB function uses fundamental trigonometric arguments (in revolutions) of the
following form:
Gs 0.993126 0.00273777850t
G2 0.140023 0.00445036173t
G4 0.053856 0.00145561327t
G5 0.056531 0.00023080893t
F4 0.849694 0.00145569465t
L4 0.987353 0.00145575328t
The heliocentric, ecliptic longitude , latitude and distance r are computed from series
involving these arguments. These series are of the form
L4 38451sin G4 2238sin 2G4 181sin 3G4
6603sin F4 622sin G4 F4 615sin G4 F4
r 1.53031 0.1417cos G4 0.0066cos 2G4
where the unit of r is Astronomical Units.
The heliocentric, ecliptic position vector of the planet is determined from
cos cos
r r cos sin
sin
sun.m – solar ephemeris
This function calculates the true-of-date geocentric right ascension, declination and position
vector of the Sun.
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The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [rasc, decl, rsun] = sun (jdate)
% solar ephemeris
% input
% jdate = Julian date
% output
% rasc = right ascension of the sun (radians)
% (0 <= rasc <= 2 pi)
% decl = declination of the sun (radians)
% (-pi/2 <= decl <= pi/2)
% rsun = eci position vector of the sun (km)
moon.m – lunar ephemeris
This function calculates the true-of-date geocentric right ascension, declination and position
vector of the Moon.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [rasc, decl, rmoon] = moon (jdate)
% lunar ephemeris
% input
% jdate = julian date
% output
% rasc = right ascension of the moon (radians)
% (0 <= rasc <= 2 pi)
% decl = declination of the moon (radians)
% (-pi/2 <= decl <= pi/2)
% rmoon = eci position vector of the moon (km)
mercury.m – Mercury ephemeris
This function calculates the true-of-date heliocentric ecliptic position vector of Mercury.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function rmercury = mercury (jdate)
% true-of-date heliocentric, ecliptic
% position vector of Mercury
% input
% jdate = julian date
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% output
% rmercury = position vector of Mercury (km)
venus.m – Venus ephemeris
This function calculates the true-of-date heliocentric ecliptic position vector of Venus.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function rvenus = venus (jdate)
% true-of-date heliocentric, ecliptic
% position vector of venus
% input
% jdate = Julian date
% output
% rvenus = position vector of Venus (km)
earth.m – Earth ephemeris
This function calculates the true-of-date heliocentric ecliptic position vector of the Earth.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function rearth = earth (jdate)
% true-of-date heliocentric, ecliptic
% position vector of the Earth
% input
% jdate = Julian date
% output
% rearth = position vector of the Earth (km)
mars.m – Mars ephemeris
This function calculates the true-of-date heliocentric ecliptic position vector of Mars.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function rmars = mars (jdate)
% true-of-date heliocentric, ecliptic
% position vector of Mars
% input
% jdate = Julian date
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% output
% rmars = position vector of Mars (km)
jupiter.m – Jupiter ephemeris
This function calculates the true-of-date heliocentric ecliptic position vector of Jupiter.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function rjupiter = jupiter (jdate)
% true-of-date heliocentric, ecliptic
% position vector of Jupiter
% input
% jdate = Julian date
% output
% rjupiter = position vector of Jupiter (km)
saturn.m – Saturn ephemeris
This function calculates the true-of-date heliocentric ecliptic position vector of Saturn.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function rsaturn = saturn (jdate)
% true-of-date heliocentric, ecliptic
% position vector of Saturn
% input
% jdate = Julian date
% output
% rsaturn = position vector of Saturn (km)
uranus.m – Uranus ephemeris
This function calculates the true-of-date heliocentric ecliptic position vector of Uranus.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function ruranus = uranus (jdate)
% true-of-date heliocentric, ecliptic
% position vector of Uranus
% input
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% jdate = Julian date
% output
% ruranus = position vector of Uranus (km)
neptune.m – Neptune ephemeris
This function calculates the true-of-date heliocentric ecliptic position vector of Neptune.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function rneptune = neptune (jdate)
% true-of-date heliocentric, ecliptic
% position vector of Neptune
% input
% jdate = Julian date
% output
% rneptune = position vector of Neptune (km)
pluto.m – Pluto ephemeris
This function calculates the heliocentric position vector of Pluto relative to the ecliptic and
equinox of J2000. This algorithm is based on the method described in Chapter 36 of
Astronomical Algorithms by Jean Meeus.
The fundamental time argument for this method is a function of the Julian Ephemeris Date
JED as follows:
JED 2451545
T
36525
The heliocentric ecliptic coordinates of Pluto are computed from series of the form
43
m A sin B cos
i 1
where
m coordinate mean value
iJ jS kP
J , S , P mean longitudes of Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto
i, j, k integer constants
A, B coefficients of periodic term
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
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function rpluto = pluto(jdate)
% heliocentric coordinates of pluto
% heliocentric position vector of Pluto
% ecliptic and equinox of J2000
% input
% jdate = Julian date
% output
% rpluto = position vector of Pluto (km)
sun1.m – precision Sun ephemeris
This MATLAB function computes a true-of-date geocentric ephemeris of the Sun based on
the data and numerical methods described in the book, Planetary Programs and Tables by
Pierre Bretagnon and Jean-Louis Simon.
The fundamental time argument of this method is the number of days relative to the Julian
epoch January 1, 2000 normalized with respect to 3652500 Julian days. This value can be
calculated for any Julian Ephemeris Date JED with the following expression
JED 2451545
U
3652500
The geocentric, ecliptic mean longitude of the Sun is calculated with a trigonometric series of
the form
50
sm 0 1 U li sin i i U
i 1
The geocentric distance of the Sun is calculated with another series of the form
50
rs r0 r1 U ri cos i i U
i 1
The longitude of the Sun is corrected for the effect of aberration (in radians) with the
following equation:
sa 107 993 17cos 3.10 62830.14U
The nutation in longitude (in radians) is calculated from
107 834sin A1 64sin A2
where
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A1 2.18 3375.70U 0.36U 2
A2 3.51 125666.39U 0.10U 2
The apparent, geocentric ecliptic longitude of the Sun is determined as the combination of
these three components with the next equation
s sm sa
The three components of the geocentric, ecliptic position vector of the Sun are given by
xs rs cos s
ys rs sin s
zs 0
The apparent geocentric, equatorial right ascension s and declination s of the Sun can be
found from
s arctan cos s ,sin sin s
s arcsin sin sin s
where is the true obliquity of the ecliptic. This number is calculated from the mean
obliquity of the ecliptic m and the nutation in obliquity in this function with the
following expressions:
m
m 107 4090928 446cos A1 28cos A2
107U 226938 U 75 U 96926 U 2491 12104U
Finally, we can compute the three components of the apparent, geocentric equatorial position
vector of the Sun with the following three expressions:
rx r cos s cos s
ry r sin s cos s
rz r sin s
where r is the geocentric distance of the Sun.
This function requires initialization the first time it is called. The following statement in the
main MATLAB script will accomplish this:
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suncoef = 1;
This variable should also be placed in a global statement at the beginning of the main
script that calls this function.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [rasc, decl, rsun] = sun1 (jdate)
% precision ephemeris of the Sun
% input
% jdate = julian ephemeris date
% output
% rasc = right ascension of the Sun (radians)
% (0 <= rasc <= 2 pi)
% decl = declination of the Sun (radians)
% (-pi/2 <= decl <= pi/2)
% rsun = eci position vector of the Sun (km)
elp2000.m – osculating orbital elements of the moon
This function calculates the osculating classical orbital elements of the Moon in the mean
ecliptic and mean equinox of date coordinate system. It is based on the book Lunar Tables
and Programs From 4000 B.C. TO A.D. 8000 by Michelle Chapront-Touze and Jean
Chapront. This book and its optional companion software are available from Willmann-Bell
(www.willbell.com).
The fundamental time argument of this algorithm is
JED 2451545
t
36525
where JED is the Julian Ephemeris Date.
The osculating orbital elements are calculated from series of the form
a 383397.6 Sa tSa
where
30
Sa an cos n n t n 104 t 2 n 106 t 3 n 108 t 4
0 1 2 3 4
n 1
3
Sa an cos n n t
0 1
n 1
The first few multipliers and trigonometric arguments for this orbital element are
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n an n 0 n1 n 2 n 3 n 4
1 3400.4 235.7004 890534.223 -32.601 3.664 -1.769
0
2 -635.6 100.7370 413335.355 -122.571 -10.684 5.028
4
n an n 0 n1
1 -0.55 238.2 854535.2
2 0.10 103.2 377336.3
The following is the syntax for this MATLAB function.
function oev = elp2000(tjd)
% osculating orbital elements of the moon
% mean ecliptic and mean equinox of date
% input
% tjd = tdt Julian date
% output
% oev(1) = semimajor axis (kilometers)
% oev(2) = orbital eccentricity (non-dimensional)
% (0 <= eccentricity < 1)
% oev(3) = orbital inclination (radians)
% (0 <= inclination <= pi)
% oev(4) = argument of perigee (radians)
% (0 <= argument of perigee <= 2 pi)
% oev(5) = right ascension of ascending node (radians)
% (0 <= raan <= 2 pi)
% oev(6) = true anomaly (radians)
% (0 <= true anomaly <= 2 pi)
A MATLAB script called demoelp.m which demonstrates how to interact with this
ephemeris function is included with this software. The following is a typical user interaction
with this script.
demoelp
< orbital elements of the moon >
please input the calendar date
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
? 1,1,1999
please input the simulation period (days)
? 360
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please input the graphics step size (days)
? .1
please select the orbital element to plot
<1> semimajor axis
<2> eccentricity
<3> orbital inclination
<4> argument of perigee
<5> right ascension of the ascending node
<6> true anomaly
<7> apogee radius
<8> perigee radius
<9> geocentric distance
? 2
The following is the graphics display for this example.
planet1.m – mean ecliptic and equinox of data planetary ephemeredes
This MATLAB calculates the position and velocity vectors of the planets with respect to the
mean ecliptic and equinox of date. These calculations are based on the algorithm described in
Chapter 30 of Astronomical Algorithms by Jean Meeus. Each orbital element is represented
by a cubic polynomial of the form
a0 a1T a2T 2 a3T 3
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where the fundamental time argument T is given by
JED 2451545
T
36525
In this expression JED is the Julian ephemeris date.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [r, v] = planet1(ip, jdate)
% planetary ephemeris
% input
% ip = planet index (1 = mercury, 2 = venus, etc.)
% jdate = Julian date
% output
% r = heliocentric position vector (kilometers)
% v = heliocentric velocity vector (kilometers/second)
planet2.m – mean ecliptic and equinox of J2000 planetary ephemerides
This MATLAB calculates the position and velocity vectors of the planets with respect to the
mean ecliptic and equinox of J2000. These calculations are based on the algorithm described
in Chapter 30 of Astronomical Algorithms by Jean Meeus. Each orbital element is
represented by a cubic polynomial of the form
a0 a1T a2T 2 a3T 3
where the fundamental time argument T is given by
JED 2451545
T
36525
In this expression JED is the Julian ephemeris date.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [r, v] = planet2(ip, jdate)
% planetary ephemeris
% input
% ip = planet index (1 = mercury, 2 = venus, etc.)
% jdate = Julian date
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% output
% r = heliocentric position vector (kilometers)
% v = heliocentric velocity vector (kilometers/second)
seleno.m – selenographic coordinate transformation
This MATLB function computes a transformation matrix that can be used to convert vectors
in the ECI mean of date coordinates to selenographic mean of date or true of date coordinate
system. The transformation is based on the algorithms given in Section 4.8 of the classic text
Methods of Orbit Determination.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function a = seleno(jd, it)
% transformation matrix from eci mean of date to
% selenographic mean of date or true of date
% input
% jd = julian date
% it = transformation flag
% = 0 transform to mean selenographic
% <> 0 transform to true selenographic
% (include physical librations)
% output
% a(3, 3) = transformation matrix
A MATLAB script that demonstrates how to use this function is included in the Celestial
Computing with MATLAB software suite. The script is called demosen.m and it graphically
displays the topocentric coordinates of the Sun relative to a selenographic location on the
Moon.
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16. Apparent Greenwich Sidereal Time
This section describes three MATLAB functions that can be used to calculate apparent
Greenwich sidereal time.
gast.m – low precision
This function calculates the apparent Greenwich sidereal time using the first few terms of the
IAU 1980 nutation algorithm.
The Greenwich apparent sidereal time is given by the expression
m cos m
where m is the Greenwich mean sidereal time, is the nutation in longitude, m is the
mean obliquity of the ecliptic and is the nutation in obliquity.
The Greenwich mean sidereal time is calculated using the expression
m 100.46061837 36000.770053608T 0.000387933T 2 T 3 / 38710000
where T ( JD 2451545) / 36525 and JD is the Julian date on the UT1 time scale. The
mean obliquity of the ecliptic is determined from
m 2302621.448 46.8150T 0.00059T 2 0.001813T 3
The nutations in obliquity and longitude involve the following three trigonometric arguments
(in degrees):
L 280.4665 36000.7698T
L 218.3165 481267.8813T
125.04452 1934.136261T
The calculation of the nutations use the following two equations:
17.20sin 1.32sin 2L 0.23sin 2L 0.21sin 2
9.20cos 0.57cos2L 0.10cos2 L 0.09cos2
where these corrections are in units of arc seconds.
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The following diagram illustrates the geometry of sidereal time. In this picture is the
observer’s west longitude and is the observer’s local sidereal time.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is as follows:
function gst = gast (jdate)
% Greenwich apparent sidereal time
% input
% jdate = Julian date
% output
% gst = Greenwich apparent sidereal time (radians)
% (0 <= gst <= 2 pi)
gast1.m – full precision
This function calculates the mean or apparent Greenwich sidereal time. For the apparent
sidereal time calculation, the obliquity in longitude and obliquity are determined using the
nutation function which implements the full IAU 1980 nutation algorithm. Please note
that the Julian date can be passed to this routine in a high-order and low-order part. In the
input argument list k determines the type of Greenwich sidereal time calculation. This
function was ported to MATLAB using the Fortran version of the NOVAS source code that
was developed at the USNO.
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For this numerical method, the nutation in longitude is determined from
n
Si sin Ai
i 1
and the nutation in obliquity is determined from
n
Ci cos Ai
i 1
where
Ai ail bil ci F di D ei
and l , l , F , D and are fundamental arguments.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is as follows:
function gst = gast1 (tjdh, tjdl, k)
% this function computes the greenwich sidereal time
% (either mean or apparent) at julian date tjdh + tjdl
% input
% tjdh = julian date, high-order part
% tjdl = julian date, low-order part
% julian date may be split at any point, but for
% highest precision, set tjdh to be the integral part of
% the julian date, and set tjdl to be the fractional part
% k = time selection code
% set k=0 for greenwich mean sidereal time
% set k=1 for greenwich apparent sidereal time
% output
% gst = greenwich (mean or apparent) sidereal time in hours
gast2.m – DE405 nutations
This function calculates the mean or apparent Greenwich sidereal time. For the apparent
sidereal time calculation, the obliquity in longitude and obliquity are determined by reading
the nutation values contained on a JPL DE405 binary ephemeris file named jpleph. Please
note that the Julian date can be passed to this routine in a high-order and low-order part. In
the input argument list k determines the type of Greenwich sidereal time calculation. This
function was ported to MATLAB using the Fortran version of the NOVAS (Naval
Observatory Vector Astrometry Subroutines) source code that was developed at the United
States Naval Observatory.
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The syntax of this MATLAB function is as follows:
function gst = gast2 (tjdh, tjdl, k)
% this function computes the greenwich sidereal time
% (either mean or apparent) at julian date tjdh + tjdl
% this version reads the nutation values from jpleph
% reference
% aoki, et al. (1982) astronomy and astropysics 105, 359-361
% input
% tjdh = julian date, high-order part
% tjdl = julian date, low-order part
% julian date may be split at any point, but for
% highest precision, set tjdh to be the integral part of
% the julian date, and set tjdl to be the fractional part
% k = time selection code
% set k = 0 for greenwich mean sidereal time
% set k = 1 for greenwich apparent sidereal time
% output
% gst = greenwich (mean or apparent) sidereal time in hours
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17. IAU 1980 Nutation in Longitude and Obliquity
This MATLAB function (nutation.m) calculates the nutation in longitude and obliquity
using the coefficients defined by the IAU 1980 nutation theory.
The nutation in longitude is determined from
n
Si sin Ai
i 1
Likewise, the nutation in obliquity is determined from
n
Ci cos Ai
i 1
where
Ai ail bil ci F di D ei
and l , l , F , D and are fundamental arguments. The number of terms in this nutation theory
is 106.
The nutation matrix defined by
cos sin cos 0 sin sin 0
N sin cos cos cos cos 0 sin sin 0 cos cos cos 0 sin cos 0
sin sin cos sin cos 0 cos sin 0 cos sin sin 0 cos cos 0
can be used to transform a mean equinox of date position vector r0 to a true equinox of date
position vector r as follows:
r N r0
In this matrix 0 is the mean obliquity of the ecliptic and 0 is the true obliquity.
The nutation matrix can also be expressed as a combination of individual rotations according
to
N R1 R3 R1 0
The mean obliquity of the ecliptic is calculated from
0 2302621.448 46.8150T 0.00059T 2 0.001813T 3
where T JD 2451545.0 / 36525 and JD is the Julian Date on the UT1 time scale.
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If second-order terms are neglected, a linearized nutation matrix can be calculated from
1 cos sin
N cos 1
sin 1
Finally, mean equinox equatorial rectangular position coordinates can be converted to true
equinox coordinates by adding the following corrections to the respective components:
rx ry cos rz sin
ry rx cos rz
rz rx sin ry
The syntax of this MATLAB function is as follows:
function [dpsi, deps] = nutation (jdate)
% nutation in longitude and obliquity
% IAU 1980 version
% input
% jdate = julian date
% output
% dpsi = nutation in longitude (arc seconds)
% deps = nutation in obliquity (arc seconds)
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18. Precession Transformation
This MATLAB function (precess.m) precesses equatorial rectangular coordinates from one
epoch to another. The coordinates are referred to the mean equator and equinox of the two
respective epochs. This function was ported to MATLAB using the Fortran version of the
NOVAS (Naval Observatory Vector Astrometry Subroutines) source code written by George
Kaplan at the U.S. Naval Observatory.
According to J. H. Lieske, “Precession Matrix Based on IAU (1976) System of Astronomical
Constants”, Astronomy and Astrophysics, 73, 282-284 (1979), the fundamental precession
matrix is defined by
cos za cos a cos a sin za sin a cos za cos a sin a sin za cos a cos za sin a
P sin za cos a cos a cos za sin a sin za cos a sin a cos za cos a sin za sin a
sin a cos a sin a sin a cos a
The precession transformation of a position vector at epoch 1, r1 , to a position vector at
epoch 2, r2 , is determined from
r r
2x
1x
r2 r2 y P r1 P r1y
r2z
r1z
The precession angles are given by
a 2306.2181 1.39656T 0.000139T 2 t 0.30188 0.000344T t 2 0.017998t 3
za 2306.2181 1.39656T 0.000139T 2 t 1.09468 0.000066T t 2 0.018203t 3
a 2004.3109 0.85330T 0.000217T 2 t 0.42665 0.000217T t 2 0.041833t 3
where the unit of these angular arguments is arc seconds and the time arguments are
T JED1 2451545 / 36525
t JED1 JED2 / 36525
In these two equations JED1 is the TDB Julian Date of the first epoch and JED2 is the TDB
Julian Date of the second epoch.
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The syntax of this MATLAB function is as follows:
function pos2 = precess (tjd1, pos1, tjd2)
% this function precesses equatorial rectangular coordinates from
% one epoch to another. the coordinates are referred to the mean
% equator and equinox of the two respective epochs. see pages 30-34
% of the explanatory supplement to the ae, lieske, et al. (1977)
% astronomy and astrophysics 58, 1-16, and lieske (1979) astronomy
% and astrophysics 73, 282-284.
% input
% tjd1 = tdb julian date of first epoch
% pos1 = position vector, geocentric equatorial rectangular
% coordinates, referred to mean equator and equinox of
% first epoch
% tjd2 = tdb julian date of second epoch
% output
% pos2 = position vector, geocentric equatorial rectangular
% coordinates, referred to mean equator and equinox of
% second epoch
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19. Kepler’s Equation
This section describes three MATLAB functions that can be used to solve the elliptic form of
Kepler’s equation given by
M E e sin E
where M is the mean anomaly, E is the eccentric anomaly and e is the orbital eccentricity.
The two algorithms based on Professor Danby’s work can also solve the hyperbolic form of
Kepler’s equation.
kepler1.m – Danby’s method
This section describes a numerical solution devised by Professor J.M.A. Danby at North
Carolina State University. Additional information about this algorithm can be found in “The
Solution of Kepler’s Equation”, Celestial Mechanics, 31 (1983) 95-107, 317-328 and 40
(1987) 303-312.
The initial guess for Danby's method is
E0 M 0.85sign sin M e
The fundamental equation we want to solve is
f E E e sin E M 0
which has the first three derivatives given by
f E 1 e cos E
f E e sin E
f E e cos E
The iteration for an updated eccentric anomaly based on a current value En is given by the
next four equations:
f
En
f
f
En
1
f f
2
f
n En
1 1
f f 2 f
2 6
En 1 En n
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This algorithm provides quartic convergence of Kepler's equation. This process is repeated
until the following convergence test involving the fundamental equation is satisfied:
f E
where is the convergence tolerance. This tolerance is hardwired in the software to
=1.0e-10. Finally, the true anomaly can be calculated with the following two equations
sin 1 e2 sin E
cos cos E e
and the four quadrant inverse tangent given by
tan 1 sin ,cos
If the orbit is hyperbolic the initial guess is
2M
H 0 log 1.8
e
where H 0 is the hyperbolic anomaly.
The fundamental equation and first three derivatives for this case are as follows:
f H e sinh H H M
f H e cosh H 1
f H e sinh H
f H e cosh H
Otherwise, the iteration loop which calculates , , and so forth is the same. The true
anomaly for hyperbolic orbits is determined with this next set of equations:
sin e2 1sinh H
cos e cosh H
The true anomaly is then determined from a four quadrant inverse tangent evaluation of these
two equations.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
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function [eanom, tanom] = kepler1 (manom, ecc)
% solve Kepler's equation for circular,
% elliptic and hyperbolic orbits
% Danby's method
% input
% manom = mean anomaly (radians)
% ecc = orbital eccentricity (non-dimensional)
% output
% eanom = eccentric anomaly (radians)
% tanom = true anomaly (radians)
kepler2.m – Danby’s method with Mikkola’s initial guess
This function solves the elliptic and hyperbolic form of Kepler’s equation using Danby’s
method and Mikkola’s initial guess. This method uses a cubic approximation of Kepler's
equation for the initial guess. Additional information about this initial guess can be found in
“A Cubic Approximation For Kepler’s Equation”, Celestial Mechanics, 40 (1987) 329-334.
The elliptic orbit initial guess for this method is given by the expression
E0 M e 3s 4s3
where
s s1 ds
s1 z
2
0.078s15
ds
1 e
1/ 3
z sign 2 2
1 e
1
4e
2
1
M
2
1
4e
2
Updates to the eccentric anomaly are calculated using the same set of equations as those in
Danby's method. For hyperbolic orbits this method uses the following for the correction to s
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0.071s5
ds
e 1 0.45s 2 1 4 s 2
and the following initial guess for the hyperbolic anomaly:
H 0 3log s 1 s 2
The syntax for this MATLAB function is
function [eanom, tanom] = kepler2 (manom, ecc)
% solve Kepler's equation for circular,
% elliptic and hyperbolic orbits
% Danby's method with Mikkola's initial guess
% input
% manom = mean anomaly (radians)
% ecc = orbital eccentricity (non-dimensional)
% output
% eanom = eccentric anomaly (radians)
% tanom = true anomaly (radians)
kepler3.m – Gooding’s two iteration method
This MATLAB function solves the elliptic form of Kepler’s equation using Gooding’s two
iteration method. This algorithm always performs two, and only two iterations when solving
Kepler’s equation. Additional information about this technique can be found in “Procedures
For Solving Kepler’s Equation”, Celestial Mechanics, 38 (1986) 307-334.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [eanom, tanom] = kepler3 (manom, ecc)
% solve Kepler's equation for elliptic orbits
% Gooding's two iteration method
% input
% manom = mean anomaly (radians)
% ecc = orbital eccentricity (non-dimensional)
% output
% eanom = eccentric anomaly (radians)
% tanom = true anomaly (radians)
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kepler4.m – parabolic and near-parabolic orbits
This MATLAB function solves Kepler’s equation for heliocentric parabolic and near-
parabolic orbits. It is based on the numerical method described in Chapter 4 of Astronomy on
the Personal Computer by Oliver Montenbruck and Thomas Pfleger. This algorithm uses a
modified form of Barker’s equation and Stumpff functions to solve this problem.
The form of Kepler’s equation solved by this function is
E t e sin E t t t0
a3
where
E eccentric anomaly
e orbital eccentricity
gravitational constant of the Sun
a semimajor axis
t time
t0 time of perihelion passage
The relationship between semimajor axis a and perihelion radius q is as follows:
q
a
1 e
By introducing the variable
3ec3 E
U E
1 e
Kepler’s equation is now given by
1
U U 3 6ec3 E t t0
3 2q3
where c3 E E e sin E E 3 . The kepler4 function iteratively solves for U.
The heliocentric distance is determined from the expression
2c
r q 1 2 U 2
6c3
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The true anomaly is determined from the x and y components of the heliocentric position
vector as follows:
atan y, x
where
2c
x q 1 2 U 2
6ec3
1 e 1
y 2q
2e 6c3
c1U
The true anomaly can also be determined from
1 e c2
tan U
2 3ec3 c1
The c functions used in these equations are called Stumpff functions. They are named after
the German astronomer Karl Stumpff and defined by the series
1 x k
k
cn x k 0,1,2,
k 0 2k n !
For x real and x 0 , the first few terms are given by the following expressions:
c0 x 2 cos x c0 x 2 cosh x
c1 x 2 c1 x 2
sin x sinh x
x x
1 cos x cosh x 1
c2 x 2 c2 x 2
x x
The Stumpff functions also satisfy the recursion relationship defined by
1
xck 2 x ck x k 0,1,2,
k!
For x 0 ,
1
cn x
n!
It is most efficient to compute c2 and c3 by series and then compute c0 and c1 by recursion
according to the following:
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c0 x 1 xc2
c1 x 1 xc3
The following is the syntax for this MATLAB function.
function [r, tanom] = kepler4(t, q, ecc)
% Kepler's equation for heliocentric
% parabolic and near-parabolic orbits
% input
% t = time relative to perihelion passage (days)
% q = perihelion radius (AU)
% ecc = orbital eccentricity (non-dimensional)
% output
% r = heliocentric distance (AU)
% tanom = true anomaly (radians)
Please note that the time relative to perihelion passage is in days and the perihelion radius is
in astronomical units.
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20. Two-body Orbital Motion
The following three MATLAB functions can be used to quickly and efficiently propagate
two body or “unperturbed” orbits. For programming flexibility the input and output
arguments for each routine are identical.
twobody1.m – Goodyear’s method
This function is a MATLAB implementation of Goodyear’s two body propagation algorithm.
Goodyear’s method uses a change of variables that allows one to use a single set of equations
to predict elliptic, hyperbolic and parabolic motion. This change of variables is defined by
1/ r
where r is the distance of the spacecraft or celestial body.
The relationship between this generalized anomaly and the classical eccentric anomaly E
and hyperbolic anomaly F is given by
E E0 F F0
/a / a
The equations used to calculate the final position vector r and the final velocity vector r
from the initial position and velocity vectors r0 and r0 are as follows:
r0 r0 r0
0 r0 r0
r0 r0 2
r0
The generalized eccentric anomaly and the four transcendental functions given by
2 2 4 3 6
s0 1
2! 4! 6!
3 2 5 3 7
s1
3! 5! 7!
2 4 2 6 3 8
s2
2! 4! 6! 8!
3 5 2 7 3 9
s3
3! 5! 7! 9!
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can be obtained by solving the next equation
t t0 r0 s1 0 s2 s3
for the value of which satisfies all these equations.
The position magnitude at the final time is given by
r r0 s0 0 s2 s3
The f and g functions and their derivatives are calculated with the four equations given by
s2
f 1
r0
s1
f
rr0
g t t0 s3
s2
g 1
r
Finally, the position and velocity vectors at the final time t are computed from the f and g
functions with the next two equations:
r t f r0 g r0
r t f r0 g r0
The two-body gravity acceleration vector at the final time is given by
r
r t 3
r
This function requires initialization the first time it is called. The following statement in the
main MATLAB script will accomplish this:
tbcoef = 1;
This variable should also be placed in a global statement at the beginning of the main script
that calls this function.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [rf, vf] = twobody1 (tau, ri, vi)
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% solve the two body initial value problem
% Goodyear's method
% input
% tau = propagation time interval (seconds)
% ri = initial eci position vector (kilometers)
% vi = initial eci velocity vector (km/sec)
% output
% rf = final eci position vector (kilometers)
% vf = final eci velocity vector (km/sec)
twobody2.m – Sheppard’s method
This function is a MATLAB implementation of Stanley Shepperd’s two body propagation
algorithm. The derivation of this algorithm is described in “Universal Keplerian State
Transition Matrix”, Celestial Mechanics, 35 (1985) 129-144. This algorithm uses a
combination of universal variables and continued fractions to propagate two-body orbits.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [rf, vf] = twobody2 (tau, ri, vi)
% solution of the two body initial value problem
% Shepperd's method
% input
% tau = propagation time interval (seconds)
% ri = initial eci position vector (kilometers)
% vi = initial eci velocity vector (km/sec)
% output
% rf = final eci position vector (kilometers)
% vf = final eci velocity vector (km/sec)
twobody3.m – Stumpff/Danby method
This function is a MATLAB implementation of the Stumpff/Danby two body propagation
algorithm. It is based on a universal variable technique and Stumpff functions. This function
is valid for elliptic and hyperbolic orbits. The derivation of this algorithm can be found in
Professor Danby’s classic text Fundamentals of Celestial Mechanics.
The algorithm begins by computing an initial guess for s according to
x s2
where
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r0 position vector at initial time t0
v 0 velocity vector at initial time t0
r0 r0 r02x r02y r02z
v0 v 0 v02x v02y v02z
2
v02
r0
This algorithm uses a universal variable form of Kepler’s equation defined by
f s r0 sc1 s 2 r0r0 s 2c2 s 2 s3c3 s 2 t t0 0
The first three derivatives of this form of Kepler’s equation are given by
f s r0c0 s 2 r0 r0 sc1 s 2 s 2c2 s 2
f s r0 sc1 s 2 r0r0c0 s 2
f s r0 c0 s 2 r0r0 sc1 s 2
The c functions used in these equations are called Stumpff functions. They are named after
the German astronomer Karl Stumpff and are defined by the series
1 x k
k
cn x k 0,1,2,
k 0 2k n !
for x real and x 0
c0 x 2 cos x c0 x 2 cosh x
c1 x 2 c1 x 2
sin x sinh x
x x
1 cos x cosh x 1
c2 x 2 c2 x 2
x x
The Stumpff functions also satisfy the recursion relationship defined by
1
xck 2 x ck x k 0,1,2,
k!
For x 0,
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1
cn x
n!
It is most efficient to compute c2 and c3 by series, and then compute c0 and c1 by recursion
according to the following:
c0 x 1 xc2
c1 x 1 xc3
The equations for the f and g functions and derivatives are as follows:
f 1 s 2c2 s 2
r0
g t t0 s 3c3 s 2
f sc1 s 2
rr0
g 1 s 2c2 s 2
r
Finally, the position and velocity vectors at the final time t are given by
r t f r0 g r0
r t f r0 g r0
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [rf, vf] = twobody3 (tau, ri, vi)
% solve the two body initial value problem
% Danby/Stumpff method
% input
% tau = propagation time interval (seconds)
% ri = initial eci position vector (kilometers)
% vi = initial eci velocity vector (km/sec)
% output
% rf = final eci position vector (kilometers)
% vf = final eci velocity vector (km/sec)
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21. Time and Date Functions
This section describes several MATLAB functions that can be used for time and date
conversions and manipulations.
julian.m – calendar date to Julian date
This MATLAB function converts a calendar date to its corresponding Julian date. Be sure to
pass this routine all digits of the calendar year.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function jdate = julian (month, day, year)
% Julian date subroutine
% Input
% month = calendar month [1 - 12]
% day = calendar day [1 - 31]
% year = calendar year [yyyy]
% Output
% jdate = Julian date
gdate.m – julian date to calendar date
This MATLAB function converts a Julian date to its corresponding calendar date.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [month, day, year] = gdate (jdate)
% convert Julian date to Gregorian (calendar) date
% input
% jdate = Julian date
% output
% month = calendar month [1 - 12]
% day = calendar day [1 - 31]
% year = calendar year [yyyy]
jd2str.m – julian date to calendar date and universal time strings
This function converts a Julian date to its equivalent calendar date and universal time strings.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [cdstr, utstr] = jd2str(jdate)
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% convert Julian date to string equivalent
% calendar date and universal time
% input
% jdate = Julian date
% output
% cdstr = calendar date string
% utstr = universal time string
utc2tdt.m – convert UTC Julian date to TDT Julian date
This function converts a Julian date on the coordinated universal time (UTC) time scale to a
Julian date on the terrestrial dynamic time (TDT) scale. It is valid between January 1, 1940
and the near future.
This function requires initialization the first time it is called. The following statement in the
main MATLAB script will accomplish this:
itime = 1;
This variable should also be placed in a global statement at the beginning of the main script
that calls this function.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function jdtdt = utc2tdt(jdutc)
% convert utc julian date to tdt julian date
% input
% jdutc = universal time julian date
% output
% jdtdt = terrestrial dynamic time julian date
tdt2tdb.m – convert TDT Julian date to TDB Julian date
This function converts a Julian date on the terrestrial dynamic time (TDT) also called
terrestrial time TT) time scale to a Julian date on the barycentric dynamic time (TDB) scale.
TDB is the fundamental time argument for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Bureau
of Longitudes (BDL) ephemerides. The difference between these two time scales can be as
much as 1.6 milliseconds. This difference is periodic with an average of zero.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function jdtdb = tdt2tdb(jdtdt)
% convert terrestrial dynamic time julian
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% date to barycentric dynamic time julian date
% input
% jdtdt = tdt julian date
% output
% jdtdb = tdb julian date
hrs2hms.m – convert hours function
This function can be used to convert a floating point argument in hours into its equivalent
degrees, minutes, seconds, and string representation.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [h, m, s, hmsstr] = hrs2hms (hrs)
% convert decimal hours to hours,
% minutes, seconds and equivalent string
% input
% dd = angle in hours
% output
% h = integer hours
% m = integer minutes
% s = seconds
% hmsstr = string equivalent of input
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22. Numerical Methods and Utility Routines
This section describes several fundamental MATLAB functions that can be used to create
custom applications.
TRIGONOMETRY AND VECTOR ROUTINES
atan3.m – four quadrant inverse tangent
This function calculates the four quadrant inverse tangent.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function y = atan3 (a, b)
% four quadrant inverse tangent
% input
% a = sine of angle
% b = cosine of angle
% output
% y = angle (radians; 0 =< c <= 2 * pi)
modulo.m – modulo 2 pi
This function will modulo an angle (in radians) between 0 and 2 .
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function y = modulo (x)
% modulo 2 pi function
% input
% x = argument (radians)
% output
% y = x modulo 2 pi
uvector.m – unit vector
This function calculates a unit vector from a user provided three component vector.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function vhat = uvector(x)
% unit vector
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% input
% x = 3-component input vector
% output
% vhat = 3-component unit vector
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
rkf45.m – Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg 4(5) method for first-order systems
This function is a MATLAB implementation of the 4(5) version of the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg
algorithm. It can be used to solve systems of first order, nonlinear vector differential
a f
equations of the form y f y, t .
This function requires initialization the first time it is called. The following statement in the
main MATLAB script will accomplish this:
rkcoef = 1;
This variable should also be placed in a global statement at the beginning of the main script
that calls this function. After the first call, the function will set this value to 0.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function xout = rkf45 (deq, neq, ti, tf, h, tetol, y)
% solution of first order system of differential equations
% Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg 4(5)
% fourth-order solution with fifth-order error control
% input
% neq = number of equations in system
% ti = initial simulation time
% tf = final simulation time
% h = guess for step size
% tetol = truncation error tolerance
% y = initial integration vector
% output
% xout = final integration vector
rkf78.m – Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg 7(8) method for first-order systems
This function is a MATLAB implementation of the 7(8) version of the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg
algorithm. It can be used to solve systems of first order, nonlinear vector differential
equations of the form y f y, t .
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This function requires initialization the first time it is called. The following statement in the
main MATLAB script will accomplish this:
rkcoef = 1;
This variable should also be placed in a global statement at the beginning of the main script
that calls this function. After the first call, the function will set this value to 0.
Near the end of this function is the following code:
if (xerr > 1)
% reject current step
ti = twrk;
x = xwrk;
else
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
% accept current step %
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
% perform graphics, additional %
% calculations, etc. at this point %
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
end
When the processing reaches the else statement, a successful integration step has been
completed and additional processing such as graphics or other calculations can be performed
here. For example, the following code performs the rectification required for Encke’s
method.
if (xerr > 1)
% reject current step
ti = twrk;
x = xwrk;
% compute new step size
dt = 0.7 * dt * (1 / xerr) ^ (1 / 8);
else
% rectify and re-initialize
ytbf = twobody4(dt, ytbi);
for i = 1:1:6
ytrue(i) = ytbf(i) + x(i);
ytbi(i) = ytrue(i);
x(i) = 0;
end
tsaved = ti;
end
The following is the syntax for this MATLAB function.
function xout = rkf78 (deq, neq, ti, tf, h, tetol, x)
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% solve first order system of differential equations
% Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg 7(8) method
% input
% deq = name of function which defines the
% system of differential equations
% neq = number of differential equations
% ti = initial simulation time
% tf = final simulation time
% h = initial guess for integration step size
% tetol = truncation error tolerance (non-dimensional)
% x = integration vector at time = ti
% output
% xout = integration vector at time = tf
nym4.m – Nystrom fourth-order method for second-order systems
This function is a MATLAB implementation of a fourth-order Nystrom algorithm. It can be
b g
x f x, x , t .
used to solve systems of second order differential equations of the form
This function requires initialization the first time it is called. The following statement in the
main MATLAB script will accomplish this:
nycoef = 1;
This variable should also be placed in a global statement at the beginning of the main script
that calls this function.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [rf, vf] = nym4(deq, n, tp, dt, rs, vs)
% solve a system of second order differential equations
% fourth order Nystrom method (fixed step size)
% input
% deq = function name of systems of
% differential equations
% n = number of equations in user-defined
% system of differential equations
% tp = current simulation time
% dt = integration step size
% rs = position vector at initial time
% vs = velocity vector at initial time
% output
% rf = position vector at time = tp + dt
% vf = velocity vector at time = tp + dt
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ceqm1.m – first-order heliocentric equations of orbital motion
This MATLAB function evaluates the first-order form of the heliocentric equations of orbital
motion. It includes the point-mass gravity perturbations due to Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter
and Saturn. The fundamental coordinate system used in this algorithm is the true-of-date
ecliptic and equinox.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function yddot = ceqm1 (time, y)
% first order form of the heliocentric
% equations of motion
% includes point mass gravity
% perturbations of Venus, Earth,
% Mars, Jupiter and Saturn
% input
% time = current simulation time
% y = current state vector
% output
% yddot = equations of motion
The second-order heliocentric equations of motion of a satellite or celestial body subject to
the point-mass gravitational attraction of the Sun and planets are given by
d 2r r p bi rpi
9
rs b
r 2 r, t s 3
pi 3
3
dt rs b i 1 r p b rpi
i
where
s gravitational constant of the Sun
p gravitational constant of planet i
i
rp position vector from the Sun to planet
rs b position vector from the Sun to the body
rp b position vector from the planet to the body
These position vectors are related according to
rsb rp rpb
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meeeqm.m – modified equinoctial equations of motion
This MATLAB function evaluates the modified equinoctial orbital elements form of the
equations of heliocentric orbital motion.
The syntax for this MATLAB function is
function ydot = meeeqm(t, y)
% modified equinoctial equations of motion
% input
% y(1) = semilatus rectum of orbit (kilometers)
% y(2) = f equinoctial element
% y(3) = g equinoctial element
% y(4) = h equinoctial element
% y(5) = k equinoctial element
% y(6) = true longitude (radians)
% output
% ydot = first time derivatives of
% modified equinoctial elements
The perturbation vector used in these calculations is computed in a MATLAB function called
ceqm2.m. The syntax of this function is as follows:
function ywrk = ceqm2 (t, r, v)
% eci perturbation vector
% support function for cowell4.m
% includes perturbations due to:
% non-spherical earth gravity
% aerodynamic drag (us 76 model)
% solar radiation pressure
% sun and moon
% input
% t = current simulation time
% r = current eci position vector
% v = current eci velocity vector
% output
% ywrk = eci perturbation vector
The equations of orbital motion expressed in terms of modified equinoctial orbital elements
are as follows:
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dp 2 p p
p t
dt w
df p g
f r sin L w 1 cos L f t h sin L k cos L n
dt w w
dg p g
g r cos L w 1 sin L g t h sin L k cos L n
dt w w
dh p s 2n
h cos L
dt 2w
dk p s 2n
k sin L
dt 2w
2
dL w 1 p
L p h sin L k cos L n
dt p w
where r , t , n are external perturbations in the radial, tangential and orbit normal
directions, respectively.
ROOT-FINDING AND OPTIMIZATION
broot.m – bracket a single root of a nonlinear function
This function can be used to bracket a single root of a single nonlinear equation of the form
y f x . It uses a combination of geometric acceleration and rectification to bracket roots.
The basic idea is to find the endpoints of an interval x1 and x2 such that f x1 f x2 0 .
The user must supply this function with an initial guess for x1 and x2 . Typically x1 is the
time of an objective function minimum or maximum and x2 is a time 10 seconds after
(forward root) or 10 seconds before (backward root) the value of x1
The following diagram illustrates this process. The acceleration factor for this example is
0.25 and the rectification interval is 300 seconds. The acceleration factor increases the size of
each step geometrically and the rectification interval monitors the length of the current
bracketing interval. When necessary the rectification logic reinitializes the search and
prevents the interval from becoming too large and skipping one or both ends of the
bracketing interval completely. The process starts at the bottom left, labeled minimum, which
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is the time of the function minimum for this example. The x-axis is the number of steps taken
in the search for the bracketing interval and the y-axis is the elapsed simulation time. The
size of each step increases geometrically until the length of the current step reaches the value
of the rectification interval. At that point, labeled rectification on the plot, the step size is
reset and the process begins again. Eventually, the process will bracket the root, labeled root
on this plot, and the function will return the endpoints x1 and x2 of this bracketing interval.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [x1out, x2out] = broot (f, x1in, x2in, factor, dxmax)
% bracket a single root of a nonlinear equation
% input
% f = objective function coded as y = f(x)
% x1in = initial guess for first bracketing x value
% x2in = initial guess for second bracketing x value
% factor = acceleration factor (non-dimensional)
% dxmax = rectification interval
% output
% x1out = final value for first bracketing x value
% x2out = final value for second bracketing x value
brent.m – solve for a single root of a nonlinear function
This function uses Brent’s method to find a single root of a single nonlinear equation of the
form y f x . Derivatives are not required for this algorithm. However, the user should
ensure that a root is bracketed f x1 f x2 0 before calling this routine.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
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function [xroot, froot] = brent (f, x1, x2, rtol)
% solve for a single real root of a nonlinear equation
% Brent's method
% input
% f = objective function coded as y = f(x)
% x1 = lower bound of search interval
% x2 = upper bound of search interval
% rtol = algorithm convergence criterion
% output
% xroot = real root of f(x) = 0
% froot = function value at f(x) = 0
minima.m – one-dimensional minimization
This function uses Brent’s method to find a single minimum or maximum of a single user-
defined nonlinear “objective” function.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [xmin, fmin] = minima (f, a, b, tolm)
% one-dimensional minimization subroutine
% Brent's method
% input
% f = objective function coded as y = f(x)
% a = initial x search value
% b = final x search value
% tolm = convergence criterion
% output
% xmin = minimum x value
% fmin = minimum function value
oevent1.m – find minimization/root finding orbital event
This MATLAB function is a combined one-dimensional minimization and root-finding
algorithm. It first finds minima or maxima within a user-defined search interval, and then
calculates the corresponding “reverse” and “forward” root.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function oevent1 (objfunc, prtfunc, ti, tf, dt, dtsml)
% predict minimization/root-finding orbital events
% input
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% objfunc = objective function
% prtfunc = display results function
% ti = initial simulation time
% tf = final simulation time
% dt = step size used for bounding minima
% dtsml = small step size used to determine whether
% the function is increasing or decreasing
ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION
refract.m – refraction correction function
This MATLAB function corrects a topocentric elevation angle for atmospheric refraction.
The correction to be added to the “true” or calculated topocentric elevation angle is as
follows:
1.02
E
10.3
tan E
E 5.11
where E is the true topocentric elevation angle in degrees.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function elev2 = refract(elev1)
% refraction correction
% input
% elev1 = uncorrected angle (radians)
% output
% elev2 = angle corrected for refraction (radians)
refract1.m – NOVAS refraction correction function
This MATLAB function determines the effect of atmospheric refraction using the algorithm
included in the NOVAS software suite from the Naval Observatory.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function refr = refract1 (height, zdobs)
% this subroutine computes atmospheric refraction in zenith
% distance. this version computes approximate refraction for
% optical wavelengths. it can be used for planning observations
% or telescope pointing, but should not be used for the reduction
% of precise observations. basic algorithm is described in the
% explanatory supplement to the astronomical almanac, p. 144,
% and is an adaptation of a formula in bennett (1982), journal
% of navigation (royal institute) 35, 255-259.
% height = height of observer in meters (in)
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% zdobs = observed zenith distance in degrees (in)
% refr = atmospheric refraction in degrees (out)
refract2.m – refraction correction function including temperature/pressure effects
This MATLAB function determines the effect of atmospheric refraction using an algorithm
that includes the effects of ambient pressure and temperature. The code is based on the
numerical method described in “A New Angular Tropospheric Refraction Model”, by A. L.
Berman and S. T. Rockwell, JPL Deep Space Network Progress Report 42-24.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function elev2 = refract2(press, temp, elev1)
% optical refraction correction
% input
% press = atmospheric pressure (mm of Hg)
% temp = atmospheric temperature (degrees C)
% elev1 = uncorrected elevation angle (radians)
% output
% elev2 = elevation angle corrected
% for refraction (radians)
UTILITY ROUTINES
oeprint1.m – formatted classical orbital elements screen display
This function prints a formatted display of the six classical orbital elements with the orbital
period displayed in days. There is also a version of this function called oeprint2.m that
prints the semimajor axis in astronomical units.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function oeprint1(oev)
% print six classical orbital elements
% (orbital period in days)
% input
% oev(1) = semimajor axis (kilometers)
% oev(2) = orbital eccentricity (non-dimensional)
% (0 <= eccentricity < 1)
% oev(3) = orbital inclination (radians)
% (0 <= inclination <= pi)
% oev(4) = argument of periapsis (radians)
% (0 <= argument of periapsis <= 2 pi)
% oev(5) = right ascension of ascending node (radians)
% (0 <= raan <= 2 pi)
% oev(6) = true anomaly (radians)
% (0 <= true anomaly <= 2 pi)
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svprint.m – formatted state vector screen display
This function prints a formatted display of the components and scalar magnitudes of a state
vector (position and velocity vectors and magnitudes).
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function svprint(r, v)
% print position and velocity vectors and magnitudes
% input
% r = position vector (kilometers)
% v = velocity vector (kilometers/second)
deg2dms.m – convert degrees function
This function can be used to convert a floating point argument in degrees into its equivalent
degrees, minutes, seconds, and string representation. For example, the command
[d,m,s,degstr]=deg2dms(22.12345)
produces the following screen output:
+22d 07m 24.42s
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [d, m, s, dmsstr] = deg2dms (dd)
% convert decimal degrees to degrees,
% minutes, seconds and equivalent string
% input
% dd = angle in decimal degrees
% output
% d = integer degrees
% m = integer minutes
% s = seconds
% dmsstr = string equivalent of input
INTERACTIVE REQUEST OF PROGRAM INPUTS
getdate.m – request calendar date
This function interactively requests the calendar date. Please note that all digits of the
calendar year are required.
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The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [m, d, y] = getdate
% interactive request and input of calendar date
% output
% m = calendar month
% d = calendar day
% y = calendar year
The following is the screen display for this function. Please note the valid range of inputs.
please input the calendar date
(1 <= month <= 12, 1 <= day <= 31, year = all digits!)
?
The calendar date should be input with individual elements separated by commas.
getobs.m – request observer coordinates
This function interactively requests the geodetic coordinates of a ground site. Please note that
geodetic latitude and longitude are returned in the units of radians.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [obslat, obslong, obsalt] = getobs
% interactive request of ground site coordinates
% output
% obslat = geographic latitude (radians)
% obslong = geographic longitude (radians)
% obsalt = geodetic altitude (kilometers)
The following is a typical user interaction with this function. Please note the sign
conventions and range of valid inputs. North latitudes are positive and south latitudes are
negative. East longitude is positive and west longitude is negative.
please input the geographic latitude of the ground site
(-90 <= degrees <= +90, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(north latitude is positive, south latitude is negative)
? 40,35,10
please input the geographic longitude of the ground site
(0 <= degrees <= 360, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
(east longitude is positive, west longitude is negative)
? -105,30,45
please input the altitude of the ground site (meters)
(positive above sea level, negative below sea level)
? 100
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getoe.m – request classical orbital elements
This function interactively requests six classical orbital elements. Please note that all angular
elements are returned from this function in the units of radians. The user can control which
orbital elements are requested by setting the corresponding value of the ioev vector. For
example, the following statement will request all six orbital elements:
oev = getoe([1;1;1;1;1;1])
If the orbital eccentricity input by the user is 0, this function will bypass the prompt for
argument of periapsis (if requested via ioev) and set its value to 0.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function oev = getoe(ioev)
% interactive request of classical orbital elements
% NOTE: all angular elements are returned in radians
% input
% ioev = request array (1 = yes, 0 = no)
% output
% oev(1) = semimajor
% oev(2) = orbital eccentricity
% oev(3) = orbital inclination
% oev(4) = argument of perigee
% oev(5) = right ascension of the ascending node
% oev(6) = true anomaly
gettime.m – request universal time
This function interactively requests the universal time in hours, minutes and seconds.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [uthr, utmin, utsec] = gettime
% interactive request and input of universal time
% output
% uthr = universal time (hours)
% utmin = universal time (minutes)
% utsec = universal time (seconds)
The following is the screen prompt displayed by this function. Please note the range of valid
inputs. If invalid data is input the function will redisplay this request.
please input the universal time
(0 <= hours <= 24, 0 <= minutes <= 60, 0 <= seconds <= 60)
?
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RECTANGULAR AND ORTHOGRAPHIC GRAPHICS
demomwdb.m – MicroWorld Database map files
This MATLAB application demonstrates how to read and plot the MicroWorld Database
binary map files. The Celestial Computing with MATLAB software package includes versions
of these maps for IBM-PC compatible computers. The map features that are plotted by this
utility are defined in the code as follows:
% define plot features
% (set to 1 to activate);
allfeatures = 0;
coastlines = 1;
countries = 0;
states = 0;
islands = 1;
lakes = 0;
rivers = 0;
The following is a typical plot created with this script.
pltortho.m – plot orthographic view of the Earth
This MATLAB function will plot an orthographic view of the Earth. The map coordinates
are contained in a file called xyzmap.dat. The Celestial Computing with MATLAB CD ROM
contains a script called demoplot.m that demonstrates how to interact with both the
pltortho and pltrect mapping functions.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
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function pltortho(vplat, vplong, dlat, dlong)
% plot orthographic world map
% input
% vplat = viewpoint latitude (degrees)
% (-90 <= vplat <= 90)
% vplong = viewpoint longitude (degrees)
% (-180 <= vplong <= 180)
% dlat = latitude grid spacing (degrees)
% (0 <= dlat <= 90)
% dlong = longitude grid spacing (degrees)
% (0 <= dlong <= 360)
% note
% east longitudes are positive,
% west longitudes are negative
The following is a typical plot created with this function. The viewpoint is 40 degrees north
latitude and 105 degrees west longitude. The latitude and longitude grid spacing for this
example was 30 degrees.
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pltrect.m – plot rectangular map of the Earth
This function will plot the major features of the Earth on a rectangular map. The map
coordinates are contained in a file called gmapll.dat. The syntax of this function is simply
function pltrect.
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23. Astronomical Coordinates
This section describes several MATLAB functions that can be used to calculate and convert
different types of astronomical coordinates.
In the following discussions
right ascension
declination
ecliptic longitude
ecliptic latitude
A topocentric azimuth
h topocentric altitude
H hour angle
observer's local sidereal time
observer's geodetic latitude
obliquity of the ecliptic
Also, equations involving a two argument inverse tangent denote calculations that are
performed with the four quadrant inverse tangent function atan3.m.
rec2pol.m – rectangular to polar coordinate conversion
The scalar distance can be determined from the three components of the rectangular position
vector as follows:
rx2 ry2 rz2
The longitudinal polar coordinate is computed using a four quadrant inverse tangent function
as follows:
tan 1 ry , rx
The latitudinal polar coordinate is calculated using the expression given by
rz
tan 1
rx2 ry2
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [rmag, lambda, phi] = rec2pol(r)
% rectangular to polar coordinate conversion
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% input
% r = rectangular position vector
% output
% rmag = vector scalar magnitude
% lambda = longitudinal polar coordinate (radians)
% (0 <= lambda <= 2*pi)
% phi = latitudinal polar coordinate (radians)
% (-pi/2 <= phi <= pi/2)
pol2rec.m – polar to rectangular coordinate conversion
The three components of the rectangular position vector are determined from the scalar
distance , the longitudinal polar coordinate and the latitudinal polar coordinate
as follows:
cos cos
r sin cos
sin
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function r = pol2rec(rmag, lambda, phi)
% polar to rectangular coordinate conversion
% input
% rmag = vector scalar magnitude
% lambda = longitudinal polar coordinate (radians)
% (0 <= lambda <= 2*pi)
% phi = latitudinal polar coordinate (radians)
% (-pi/2 <= phi <= pi/2)
% output
% r = rectangular position vector
ecl2equ.m – ecliptic to equatorial coordinate conversion
The conversion from ecliptic to equatorial coordinates is given by the following two
equations:
tan 1 sin cos tan sin ,cos
sin 1 sin cos cos sin sin
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [rasc, decl] = ecl2equ(lat, lon, obliq)
% ecliptic to equatorial coordinate conversion
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% input
% lat = ecliptic latitude (radians)
% lon = ecliptic longitude (radians)
% obliq = obliquity of the ecliptic (radians)
% output
% rasc = geocentric right ascension (radians)
% decl = geocentric declination (radians)
equ2ecl.m – equatorial to ecliptic coordinate conversion
The following two equations convert equatorial coordinates to ecliptic coordinates:
tan 1 sin cos tan sin ,cos
sin 1 sin cos cos sin sin
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [lat, long] = equ2ecl(decl, rasc, obliq)
% equatorial to ecliptic coordinate conversion
% input
% rasc = geocentric right ascension (radians)
% decl = geocentric declination (radians)
% obliq = obliquity of the ecliptic (radians)
% output
% lat = ecliptic latitude (radians)
% lon = ecliptic longitude (radians)
equ2hor.m – equatorial to local horizontal coordinate conversion
The conversion from equatorial to local horizontal coordinates is given by the following two
expressions:
A tan 1 sin H ,cos H sin tan cos
h sin 1 sin sin cos cos cos H
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [azimuth, elevation] = equ2hor(obslat, obslst, decl, rasc)
% equatorial to local horizontal coordinate conversion
% input
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% obslat = observer's geodetic latitude (radians)
% obslst = observer's local sidereal time (radians)
% decl = object's declination (radians)
% rasc = object's right ascension (radians)
% output
% azimuth = object's topocentric azimuth angle (radians)
% elevation = object's topocentric elevation angle (radians)
% notes
% (1) azimuth positive clockwise from north
% (2) elevation positive above the local horizontal
hor2equ.m – local horizontal to equatorial coordinate conversion
The conversion from local horizontal to equatorial coordinates is as follows:
H tan 1 sin A,cos A cos tanh cos
sin 1 sin sinh cos cosh cos A
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [decl, rasc] = hor2equ(obslat, obslst, azimuth, elevation)
% local horizontal to equatorial coordinate conversion
% input
% azimuth = object's topocentric azimuth angle (radians)
% elevation = object's topocentric elevation angle (radians)
% obslat = observer's geodetic latitude (radians)
% obslst = observer's local sidereal time (radians)
% output
% decl = object's declination (radians)
% rasc = object's right ascension (radians)
% notes
% (1) azimuth positive clockwise from north
% (2) elevation positive above the local horizontal
oepreces.m – transform angular orbital elements from one equinox to another
This MATLAB function can be used to transform angular orbital elements from one equinox
to another. The orbital inclination i , argument of periapsis , and longitude of ascending
node are the only orbital elements that depend on the position of the equinox.
In the equations which follow, i0 , 0 , and 0 are the orbital inclination, longitude of
ascending node and argument of periapsis with respect to the initial equinox. Orbital
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elements without a subscript are with respect to the final equinox. It is important to
remember that these transformed orbital elements are still valid for the same epoch as the
original orbital elements. In other words, this MATLAB function performs a coordinate
transformation, not an epoch transformation.
The spherical trigonometry relationships among these elements are summarized below:
cos i cos i0 cos A sin i0 sin A cos A 0
sin i sin pA A sin i0 sin A 0
sin i cos pA A sin A cos i0 cos A sin i0 cos A 0
The correction to the argument of perapsis can be calculated from the following two
expressions:
sin sin i sin i0 cos A cos i0 sin A cos A 0
cos sin i sin i0 cos A cos i0 sin A cos A 0
The argument of periapsis corrected for precession is as follows:
0
In these expressions A , A , and p A are fundamental precessional quantities which are
functions of time. They are described in “Precession Matrix Based on IAU (1976) System of
Astronomical Constants”, Astronomy and Astrophysics, 73, 282-284 (1979) by J. H. Lieske.
This function will accept initial and final equinoxes in the form of Besselian (B1950 for
example) and Julian years (J2000 for example) as well as Julian ephemeris dates (2451545
for example). These equinoxes should be passed to this function as strings.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function oev2 = oepreces (eqnx1, eqnx2, oev1)
% transform angular orbital elements
% from one equinox to another equinox
% input
% eqnx1 = initial equinox
% eqnx2 = final equinox
% oev1 = orbital elements referred to eqnx1
% oev1(1) = orbital inclination
% oev1(2) = longitude of ascending node
% oev1(3) = argument of periapsis
% output
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% oev2 = orbital elements referred to eqnx2
% oev2(1) = orbital inclination
% oev2(2) = longitude of ascending node
% oev2(3) = argument of periapsis
gsite.m – ground site position vector
This MATLAB function calculates either the Earth-centered-inertial (ECI) or Earth-centered-
fixed (ECF) position vector of a ground site located on an oblate Earth.
rx G1 cos cos
ry G2 cos sin
rz G2 sin
For ECI site coordinates is equal to the local sidereal time, and for ECF coordinates is
equal to the east longitude of the ground site. In these equations is the geodetic latitude of
the ground site. It is positive in the northern hemisphere and negative in the southern
hemisphere.
The geodetic constants G1 and G2 are calculated as follows:
req
G1 h
1 2 f f 2 sin 2
req 1 f
2
G2 h
1 2 f f 2 sin 2
where
f Earth flattening factor
req Earth equatorial radius
geodetic latitude
h geodetic altitude
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function rsite = gsite (lat, alt, angle)
% ground site position vector
% input
% lat = geodetic latitude (radians)
% (+north, -south; -pi/2 <= lat <= -pi/2)
% alt = geodetic altitude (meters)
% (+ above sea level, - below sea level)
% angle = local sidereal time or east longitude
% (radians; 0 <= angle <= 2*pi)
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% output
% rsite = ground site position vector (kilometers)
geodet1.m – convert geocentric coordinates to geodetic coordinates - series solution
This MATLAB function uses a series solution to convert geocentric distance and declination
to geodetic altitude and latitude. The following diagram illustrates the geometric relationship
between geocentric and geodetic coordinates.
In this diagram, is the geocentric declination, is the geodetic latitude, r is the geocentric
distance, and h is the geodetic altitude. The exact mathematical relationship between
geocentric and geodetic coordinates is given by the following system of two nonlinear
equations
c h cos r cos 0
s h sin r sin 0
where the geodetic constants c and s are given by
req
c
1 2 f f 2 sin 2
s c 1 f
2
and req is the Earth equatorial radius (6378.14 kilometers) and f is the flattening factor for
the Earth (1/298.257).
The geodetic latitude is determined using the following expression:
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sin 2 1 1
f 2 sin 4 f 2
4
The geodetic altitude is calculated from
1 cos 2
1 1
hˆ rˆ 1 f 1 cos 4 f 2
2 4 16
In these equations, is the geocentric distance of the object, hˆ h / req and rˆ / req .
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [alt, lat] = geodet1 (rmag, dec)
% geodetic latitude and altitude
% series solution
% input
% rmag = geocentric radius (kilometers)
% dec = geocentric declination (radians)
% (+north, -south; -pi/2 <= dec <= +pi/2)
% output
% alt = geodetic altitude (kilometers)
% lat = geodetic latitude (radians)
% (+north, -south; -pi/2 <= lat <= +pi/2)
geodet2.m – convert geocentric coordinates to geodetic coordinates – exact solution
This MATLAB function uses the exact solution of K. M. Borkowski (“Accurate Algorithms
to Transform Geocentric to Geodetic Coordinates”, Bullentin Geodesique, 63 No. 1, 50-56)
to convert geocentric distance and declination to geodetic altitude and latitude. The
calculation steps for this numerical method are as follows:
brz a 2 b2
E
ar
brz a 2 b2
F
ar
r rx2 ry2
where a is the equatorial radius of the Earth and b is determined from
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a
b sign rz a
f
The calculations continue with
4
P EF 1
3
Q 2E2 F 2
D P3 Q 2
v D1/ 2 Q
1/ 3
1 2
G E vE
2
F vG
t G 2
2G E
The geodetic latitude is determined from the expression
1 t2
arctan a
2bt
and the geodetic altitude is calculated from
h r at cos rz b sin
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [xlat, alt] = geodet2(decl, rmag)
% geocentric to geodetic coordinates
% exact solution (Borkowski, 1989)
% input
% decl = geocentric declination (radians)
% rmag = geocentric distance (kilometers)
% output
% xlat = geodetic latitude (radians)
% alt = geodetic altitude (kilometers)
geodet3.m – convert geodetic coordinates to ECF position vector
This function converts geodetic latitude, longitude and altitude to an Earth-centered-fixed
(ECF) position vector. The components of this vector are given by
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N h cos cos
e
rgeocentric N h cos sin e
N 1 e h sin
2
where
req
N
1 e 2 sin 2
e2 2 f f 2
f Earth flattening factor
req Earth equatorial radius
geodetic latitude
e east longitude
h geodetic altitude
The geocentric distance is determined from the components of the geocentric position vector
as follows:
r rx2 ry2 rz2
The geocentric declination can be computed from the z component of the geocentric position
vector with
r
sin 1 z
r
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function r = geodet3 (lat, long, alt)
% ecf position vector
% input
% lat = geodetic latitude (radians)
% (+north, -south; -pi/2 <= lat <= +pi/2)
% long = geodetic longitude (radians)
% alt = geodetic altitude (kilometers)
% output
% r = ecf position vector (kilometers)
geodet4.m – convert geodetic coordinates to geocentric coordinates
This MATLAB function converts geodetic latitude and altitude to geocentric position
magnitude and geocentric declination.
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The equations for this method are as follows:
sin 2 sin 2 1 1
f sin 4 f 2
ˆ
h 1 2 hˆ 1
2
ˆ
4 h 1
2
ˆ
4 h 1
and
cos 2 1 1
ˆ
ˆ h 1
1
f
1 cos 4 f 2
2
4 hˆ 1 16
where the geocentric distance r and geodetic altitude h have been normalized by ˆ r / req
and hˆ h / r , respectively, and r is the equatorial radius of the Earth.
eq eq
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [rmag, dec] = geodet4 (lat, alt)
% geodetic to geocentric coordinates
% input
% lat = geodetic latitude (radians)
% (+north, -south; -pi/2 <= lat <= +pi/2)
% alt = geodetic altitude (kilometers)
% output
% rmag = geocentric position magnitude (kilometers)
% dec = geocentric declination (radians)
% (+north, -south; -pi/2 <= dec <= +pi/2)
triaxial.m – geodetic altitude to a triaxial ellipsoid
This MATLAB function calculates the geodetic altitude relative to a triaxial ellipsoidal
planet. The algorithm is based on the numerical method described in “Geodetic Altitude to a
Triaxial Ellipsoidal Planet”, by Charles C. H. Tang, The Journal of the Astronautical
Sciences, Vol. 36, No. 3, July-September 1988, pp. 279-283.
This function solves for the real root of the following nonlinear equation:
2
f z p 1
cy cx
z c2 0
2 p
cz b c z p cz a c z p
2
2 2 2 2
where
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cx acxs
2
c y bcy s
2
cz c 2 z s
a, b, c semi-axes a b c
xs , ys , zs geocentric coordinates of satellite
z p z coordinate of subpoint
The bracketing interval used during the root-finding is z p 0 10 z p z p 0 10 (kilometers)
where
zs
z p0
xs / a y s / b z s / c
2 2 2
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function alt = triaxial(rsc)
% geodetic altitude relative
% to a triaxial ellipsoid
% input
% rsc = geocentric position vector (km)
% output
% alt = geodetic altitude (km)
The semi-axes in this function are “hardwired” to the values a 6378.138 and b 6367
(kilometers), and the flattening factor is f 1/ 298.257 . These are representative values for
the Earth and can be easily changed for other planets or the Moon.
orb2eci.m – convert classical orbital elements to inertial state vector
This MATLAB function converts the six classical orbital elements to an inertial state vector
(position and velocity vectors). The rectangular components of the object’s inertial position
vector are determined from
rx p cos cos sin cos i sin
ry p sin cos cos cos i sin
rz p sin i sin
The components of the inertial velocity vector are computed using the following equations:
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vx cos sin e sin sin cos i cos e cos
p
vy sin sin e sin cos cos i cos e cos
p
vz sin i cos e cos
p
where
a semimajor axis
e orbital eccentricity
i orbital inclination
argument of periapsis
right ascension of the ascending node
true anomaly
p a 1 e 2
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [r, v] = orb2eci(oev)
% convert classical orbital elements to inertial state vector
% input
% oev(1) = semimajor axis (kilometers)
% oev(2) = orbital eccentricity (non-dimensional)
% (0 <= eccentricity < 1)
% oev(3) = orbital inclination (radians)
% (0 <= inclination <= pi)
% oev(4) = argument of periapsis (radians)
% (0 <= argument of periapsis <= 2 pi)
% oev(5) = right ascension of ascending node (radians)
% (0 <= raan <= 2 pi)
% oev(6) = true anomaly (radians)
% (0 <= true anomaly <= 2 pi)
% output
% r = eci position vector (kilometers)
% v = eci velocity vector (kilometers/second)
eci2orb.m – convert inertial state vector to six classical orbital elements
This MATLAB function converts an inertial state vector (position and velocity vectors) to six
classical orbital elements. The following diagram illustrates the geometry of these orbital
elements.
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where
a semimajor axis
e orbital eccentricity
i orbital inclination
argument of periapsis
right ascension of the ascending node
true anomaly
The semimajor axis defines the size of the orbit and the orbital eccentricity defines the shape
of the orbit. The angular orbital elements are defined with respect to a fundamental x-axis,
the vernal equinox, and a fundamental plane, the ecliptic or the equator. The z-axis of this
system is collinear with either the spin axis of the Earth or the north ecliptic pole, and the y-
axis completes a right-handed coordinate system.
The orbital inclination is the angle between the fundamental plane and the orbit plane. Orbits
with inclinations between 0 and 90 degrees are called direct orbits and objects with
inclinations greater than 90 and less than 180 degrees are called retrograde orbits. The right
ascension of the ascending node (RAAN) is the angle measured from the x-axis (vernal
equinox) eastward along the fundamental plane to the ascending node. The argument of
periapsis is the angle from the ascending node, measured along the orbit plane in the
direction of increasing true anomaly, to the argument of perigee. The true anomaly is the
angle from the argument of perigee, measured along the orbit plane in the direction of
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motion, to the object’s location. Also shown is the argument of latitude, u, which is the angle
from the ascending node, measured in the orbit plane, to the object’s location in the orbit. It
is equal to u .
The orbital eccentricity is an indication of the type of orbit. For values of 0 e 1 , the orbit
is circular or elliptic. The orbit is parabolic when e 1 and the orbit is hyperbolic if e 1
The semimajor axis is calculated using the following expression:
1
a
2 v2
r
where r r rx2 ry2 rz2 and v v vx2 v 2y vz2 . The angular orbital elements are
calculated from the equinoctial orbital elements that are calculated from the ECI position and
velocity vectors.
The scalar orbital eccentricity is determined from h and k as follows:
e h2 k 2
The orbital inclination is determined from p and q using the following expression
i 2 tan 1 p 2 q2
For values of inclination greater than a small value , the right ascension of the ascending
node (RAAN) is given by
tan 1 p, q
Otherwise, the orbit is equatorial and there is no RAAN. If the value of orbital eccentricity is
greater than , the argument of perigapsis is determined from
tan 1 h, k
Otherwise, the orbit is circular and there is no argument of periapsis. In the MATLAB code
for these calculations, 108 .
Finally, the true anomaly is found from the expression
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In these equations, all two argument inverse tangent functions use the four quadrant function
atan3.m and angular orbital elements which can range from 0 to 360 degrees are also
processed with the modulo 2 function, modulo.m.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function oev = eci2orb (r, v)
% convert inertial state vector to six
% classical orbital elements via
% equinoctial elements
% input
% r = inertial position vector (kilometers)
% v = inertial velocity vector (kilometers/second)
% output
% oev(1) = semimajor axis (kilometers)
% oev(2) = orbital eccentricity (non-dimensional)
% (0 <= eccentricity < 1)
% oev(3) = orbital inclination (radians)
% (0 <= inclination <= pi)
% oev(4) = argument of periapsis (radians)
% (0 <= argument of periapsis <= 2 pi)
% oev(5) = right ascension of ascending node (radians)
% (0 <= raan <= 2 pi)
% oev(6) = true anomaly (radians)
% (0 <= true anomaly <= 2 pi)
mee2coe.m – convert modified equinoctial orbital elements to classical orbital elements
This MATLAB function can be used to convert modified equinoctial orbital elements to
classical orbital elements.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function coev = mee2coe(mee)
% convert modified equinoctial elements
% to classical orbit elements
% input
% mee(1) = semilatus rectum of orbit (kilometers)
% mee(2) = f equinoctial element
% mee(3) = g equinoctial element
% mee(4) = h equinoctial element
% mee(5) = k equinoctial element
% mee(6) = true longitude (radians)
% output
% coev(1) = semimajor axis (kilometers)
% coev(2) = eccentricity
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% coev(3) = inclination (radians)
% coev(4) = right ascension of ascending node (radians)
% coev(5) = argument of periapsis (radians)
% coev(6) = true anomaly (radians)
The relationship between modified equinoctial and classical orbital elements is given by
p a 1 e 2
f e cos
g e sin
h tan i 2 cos
k tan i 2 sin
L
where
p semiparameter
a semimajor axis
e orbital eccentricity
i orbital inclination
argument of perigee
right ascension of the ascending node
true anomaly
L true longitude
The relationship between classical and modified equinoctial orbital elements is as follows:
semimajor axis
p
a
1 f 2 g2
orbital eccentricity
e f 2 g2
orbital inclination
i 2 tan 1 h2 k 2
argument of periapsis
tan 1 g f tan 1 k h
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right ascension of the ascending node
tan 1 k h
true anomaly
L L tan 1 g f
mee2eci.m – convert modified equinoctial orbital elements to ECI state vector
This MATLAB function can be used to convert modified equinoctial orbital elements to ECI
position and velocity vectors.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function [r, v] = mee2eci(mee)
% convert modified equinoctial orbital
% elements to eci position and velocity vectors
% input
% mee(1) = semilatus rectum of orbit (kilometers)
% mee(2) = f equinoctial element
% mee(3) = g equinoctial element
% mee(4) = h equinoctial element
% mee(5) = k equinoctial element
% mee(6) = true longitude (radians)
% output
% r = eci position vector (kilometers)
% v = eci velocity vector (kilometers/second)
The relationship between ECI position and velocity vectors and modified equinoctial
elements is defined by the following series of equations:
position vector
r
s 2 cos L cos L 2hk sin L
2
r 2 sin L sin L 2hk cos L
r 2
s
r
h sin L k cos L
s2
velocity vector
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1
2
s p
sin L 2 sin L 2hk cos L g 2 f h k 2 g
1
v 2 cos L 2 cos L 2hk sin L g f 2 gh k 2 f
s p
2
h cos L k sin L f h gk
s2 p
where
2 h2 k 2
s2 1 h2 k 2
p
r
w
w 1 f cos L g sin L
eci2mee.m – convert ECI state vector to modified equinoctial elements
This MATLAB function can be used to convert an ECI state vector (position and velocity
vectors) to modified equinoctial orbital elements.
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function mee = eci2mee(reci, veci)
% convert eci state vector to
% modified equinoctial elements
% input
% reci = eci position vector (kilometers)
% veci = eci velocity vector (kilometers/second)
% output
% mee(1) = semiparameter of orbit (kilometers)
% mee(2) = f equinoctial element
% mee(3) = g equinoctial element
% mee(4) = h equinoctial element
% mee(5) = k equinoctial element
% mee(6) = true longitude (radians)
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rotmat.m – fundamental rotation matrix
This MATLAB function computes the elementary rotation matrix for a user-defined rotation
angle about a user-defined rotation axis. All calculations follow the right-handed rule and
counterclockwise rotation angles are positive.
The three rotation matrices for the x, y and z axes are defined by
1 0 0
Rx 0 cos sin
0 sin cos
cos 0 sin
Ry 0 1 0
sin 0 cos
cos sin 0
Rz sin cos 0
0 0 1
where is the rotation angle.
Transformations between fundamental astronomical coordinate systems can also be
accomplished using various combinations of these matrices. For example, to transform a
position vector between the ecliptic and equatorial coordinate systems, the following matrix-
vector relationships can be used:
x x
y R y
x
z z
, ,
x x
y R y
x
z z
, ,
The matrix-vector form of the transformation between the equatorial and local horizontal
coordinate systems are as follows:
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x x
y R 180 R 90 y
z y
z z
A, a h ,
x x
y R 90 R 180
y z y
z z
h , A,a
The syntax of this MATLAB function is
function rmatrix = rotmat(iaxis, theta)
% rotation matrix
% input
% iaxis = 1 ==> x-axis
% = 2 ==> y-axis
% = 3 ==> z-axis
% theta = rotation angle (radians)
% output
% rmatrix = rotation matrix
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24. NOVAS Routines
The Celestial Computing with MATLAB software suite includes MATLAB versions of
several of the Fortran subroutines contained in the NOVAS (Naval Observatory Vector
Astrometry Subroutines) software package. This section documents the purpose and calling
arguments for these routines. Additional information about NOVAS can be found at the
Naval Observatory web site located at
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/AA/software/novas/novas_info.html
An excellent discussion about the algorithms used in the NOVAS software can be found in
“Mean and Apparent Place Computations in the New IAU System. III. Apparent,
Topocentric, and Astrometric Places of Planets and Stars”, G.H. Kaplan, J.A. Hughes, P.K.
Seidelmann, C.A. Smith and B.D. Yallop, The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 97, No. 4, pages
1197-1210, 1989.
aberat.m – correction for the aberration of light
function pos2 = aberat (pos1, ve, tlight)
% this function corrects position vector for aberration of light.
% algorithm includes relativistic terms. see murray (1981)
% mon. notices royal ast. society 195, 639-648.
% input
% pos1 = position vector, referred to origin at center of
% mass of the earth, components in au
% ve = velocity vector of center of mass of the earth,
% referred to origin at solar system barycenter,
% components in au/day
% tlight = light time from body to earth in days
% if tlight = 0, this function will compute tlight
% output
% pos2 = position vector, referred to origin at center of
% mass of the earth, corrected for aberration,
% components in au
etilt1.m – orientation quantities based on DE405
function [oblm, oblt, eqeq, dpsi, deps] = etilt1 (tjd)
% this function computes quantities related to the orientation
% of the earth's rotation axis at julian date tjd
% nutation parameters obtained from jpleph
% input
% tjd = tdb julian date for orientation parameters
% output
% oblm = mean obliquity of the ecliptic at date tjd (degrees)
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% oblt = true obliquity of the ecliptic at date tjd (degrees)
% eqeq = equation of the equinoxes at date tjd (arc seconds)
% dpsi = nutation in longitude at date tjd (arc seconds)
% deps = nutation in obliquity at date tjd (arc seconds)
etilt2.m – orientation quantities based on IAU 1980 nutation
function [oblm, oblt, eqeq, dpsi, deps] = etilt2 (tjd)
% this function computes quantities related to the orientation
% of the earth's rotation axis at julian date tjd
% nutation parameters obtained from function nutation
% input
% tjd = tdb julian date for orientation parameters
% output
% oblm = mean obliquity of the ecliptic at date tjd (degrees)
% oblt = true obliquity of the ecliptic at date tjd (degrees)
% eqeq = equation of the equinoxes at date tjd (arc seconds)
% dpsi = nutation in longitude at date tjd (arc seconds)
% deps = nutation in obliquity at date tjd (arc seconds)
geocen.m – move coordinates origin to the Earth center-of-mass
function [pos2, tlight] = geocen (pos1, pe)
% this function moves the origin of coordinates from the
% barycenter of the solar system to the center of mass of the
% earth, i.e., this function corrects for parallax.
% input
% pos1 = position vector, referred to origin at solar system
% barycenter (au)
% pe = position vector of center of mass of the earth,
% referred to origin at solar system barycenter (au)
% output
% pos2 = position vector, referred to origin at center of
% mass of the earth (au)
% tlight = light time from body to earth in days
nutate1.m – nutation transformation
function pos2 = nutate (tjd, pos1)
% this function nutates equatorial rectangular coordinates from
% mean equator and equinox of epoch to true equator and equinox of
% epoch. see pages 41-45 of the explanatory supplement to the ae.
% source ephemeris is jpleph via etilt1
% input
% tjd = tdb julian date of epoch
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% pos1 = position vector, geocentric equatorial rectangular
% coordinates, referred to mean equator and equinox
% of epoch
% output
% pos2 = position vector, geocentric equatorial rectangular
% coordinates, referred to true equator and equinox
% of epoch (out)
% note:
% if tjd is negative, inverse nutation (true to mean) is applied
nutate2.m – nutation transformation
function pos2 = nutate2 (tjd, pos1)
% this function nutates equatorial rectangular coordinates from
% mean equator and equinox of epoch to true equator and equinox of
% epoch. see pages 41-45 of the explanatory supplement to the ae.
% uses nutation function via etilt2
% input
% tjd = tdb julian date of epoch
% pos1 = position vector, geocentric equatorial rectangular
% coordinates, referred to mean equator and equinox
% of epoch
% output
% pos2 = position vector, geocentric equatorial rectangular
% coordinates, referred to true equator and equinox
% of epoch (out)
% note:
% if tjd is negative, inverse nutation (true to mean) is applied
pnsw.m – Earth-fixed to space-fixed transformation
function vecs = pnsw (tjd, gast, x, y, vece)
% transforms a vector from earth-fixed system to space-fixed system
% by applying rotations for wobble, spin, nutation, and precession.
% (combined rotation is symbolized p n s w.) specifically,
% it transforms a vector from earth-fixed geographic system to
% space-fixed system based on mean equator and equinox of j2000.0.
% input
% tjd = tdt julian date
% gast = greenwich apparent sidereal time (hours)
% x = conventionally-defined x coordinate of rotational
% pole with respect to cio (arc seconds)
% y = conventionally-defined y coordinate of rotational
% pole with respect to cio (arc seconds)
% vece = vector in geocentric rectangular
% earth-fixed system, referred to geographic
% equator and greenwich meridian
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% output
% vecs = vector in geocentric rectangular space-fixed system,
% referred to mean equator and equinox of j2000.0
% note
% tjd = 0 means no precession/nutation transformation
% gast = 0 means no spin transformation
% x = y = 0 means no wobble transformation
propmo.m – apply proper motion correction
function pos2 = propmo (tjd1, pos1, vel1, tjd2)
% this function applies proper motion, including
% foreshortening effects, to a star's position.
% input
% tjd1 = tdb julian date of first epoch
% pos1 = position vector at first epoch
% vel1 = velocity vector at first epoch
% tjd2 = tdb julian date of second epoch
% output
% pos2 = position vector at second epoch
solsys.m – interface to JPL ephemerides
function [pos, vel, ierr] = solsys (tjd, body, origin)
% purpose
% this is solsys version '2-da'. it is intended to provide
% an interface between the jpl direct-access solar system
% ephemerides and the 'novas' astrometric function library
% references
% standish, e.m. and newhall, x x (1988). "the jpl
% export planetary ephemeris"; jpl document dated 17 june 1988.
% kaplan, g.h. (1988). "novas: naval observatory vector astrometry
% subroutines"; usno document dated 20 october 1988
% input
% tjd = julian date of the desired time, on the tdb time scale
% body = body identification number for the
% solar system object of interest;
% mercury = 1,...,pluto = 9, sun = 10, moon = 11
% origin = origin code; solar system barycenter = 0,
% center of mass of the sun = 1
% output
% pos = position vector of 'body' at tjd;
% equatorial rectangular coordinates in
% au referred to the mean equator and
% equinox of j2000.0
Page 145
Celestial Computing with MATLAB
% vel = velocity vector of 'body' at tjd;
% equatorial rectangular system referred
% to the mean equator and equinox of
% j2000.0, in au/day
% ierr = 0 ... everything ok .
% = 1 ... invalid value of 'body'
% = 2 ... invalid value of 'origin'
% = 3 ... error detected by jpl software;
% tjd out of range
spin.m – rotating to non-rotating transformation
function pos2 = spin (st, pos1)
% this subroutine transforms geocentric rectangular coordinates
% from rotating system based on rotational equator and orthogonal
% reference meridian to non-rotating system based on true equator
% and equinox of date.
% input
% st = local apparent sidereal time at reference meridian (hours)
% pos1 = vector in geocentric rectangular rotating system, referred
% to rotational equator and orthogonal reference meridian
% output
% pos2 = vector in geocentric rectangular non-rotating system,
% referred to true equator and equinox of date
sunfld.m – correct for the deflection of light
function pos2 = sunfld (pos1, pe)
% this function corrects position vector for the deflection
% of light in the gravitational field of the sun. see murray (1981)
% mon. notices royal ast. society 195, 639-648. this function valid
% for bodies within the solar system as well as for stars.
% input
% pos1 = position vector, referred to origin at center of mass
% of the earth, components in au
% pe = position vector of center of mass of the earth,
% referred to origin at center of mass of the sun,
% components in au
% output
% pos2 = position vector, referred to origin at center of mass
% of the earth, corrected for gravitational deflection,
% components in au
tdtimes.m – compute TDT julian date
function [tdtjd, secdif] = tdtimes (tdbjd)
% this function computes the terrestrial dynamical
% time (tdt) julian date corresponding to a barycentric
% dynamical time (tdb) julian date. expressions used in
Page 146
Celestial Computing with MATLAB
% this version are approximations resulting in accuracies
% of about 20 microseconds.
% input
% tdbjd = tdb julian date
% output
% tdtjd = tdt julian date
% secdif = difference tdbjd-tdtjd, in seconds (out)
terra.m – position and velocity vectors of a terrestrial observer
function [pos, vel] = terra (glon, glat, ht, st)
% this functions computes the position and velocity vectors of
% a terrestrial observer with respect to the center of the earth.
% input
% glon = longitude of observer with respect to reference
% meridian (east +) in degrees
% glat = geodetic latitude (north +) of observer in degrees
% ht = height of observer in meters
% st = local apparent sidereal time at reference meridian
% in hours
% output
% pos = position vector of observer with respect to center
% of earth, equatorial rectangular coordinates,
% referred to true equator and equinox of date,
% components in au
% vel = velocity vector of observer with respect to center
% of earth, equatorial rectangular coordinates,
% referred to true equator and equinox of date,
% components in au/day
% note: if reference meridian is greenwich and st=0, pos
% is effectively referred to equator and greenwich
vectrs.m – convert angular quantities to vectors
function [pos, vel] = vectrs (ra, dec, pmra, pmdec, parllx, rv)
% this function converts angular quantities to vectors
% input
% ra = right ascension (hours)
% dec = declination (degrees)
% pmra = proper motion in ra (seconds of time per julian century)
% pmdec = proper motion in dec per julian century (seconds of arc)
% parllx = parallax (seconds of arc)
% rv = radial velocity (kilometers per second)
% output
% pos = position vector, equatorial rectangular coordinates (au)
Page 147
Celestial Computing with MATLAB
% vel = velocity vector, equatorial rectangular coordinates (au/day)
wobble.m – polar motion correction
function pos2 = wobble (x, y, pos1)
% this subroutine corrects earth-fixed geocentric rectangular
% coordinates for polar motion. it transforms a vector from
% earth-fixed geographic system to rotating system based on
% rotational equator and orthogonal greenwich meridian through
% axis of rotation.
% input
% x = conventionally-defined x coordinate of rotational
% pole with respect to cio (arc seconds)
% y = conventionally-defined y coordinate of rotational
% pole with respect to cio (arc seconds)
% pos1 = vector in geocentric rectangular earth-fixed system,
% referred to geographic equator and greenwich meridian
% output
% pos2 = vector in geocentric rectangular rotating system,
% referred to rotational equator and orthogonal greenwich meridian
Page 148
Celestial Computing with MATLAB
25. Bibliography and References
Bonavito, N. L. and Der, G. J., Orbital and Celestial Mechanics, AIAA Progress in
Astronautics and Aeronautics, Volume 177, 1998.
Bretagnon, P., and Simon, J., Planetary Programs and Tables from –4000 to +2800,
Willmann-Bell, 1986.
Brouwer, D., and Clemence, G., Methods of Celestial Mechanics, Academic Press, 1961.
Brumberg, V. A., Analytical Techniques of Celestial Mechanics, Springer-Verlag, 1995.
Chapront, J., and Chapront-Touze, M., Lunar Tables and Programs from 4000 B.C. to A.D.
8000, Willmann-Bell, 1991.
Chebotarev, G. A., Analytical and Numerical Methods of Celestial Mechanics, American
Elsevier Publishing Company, 1967.
Danby, J. M. A., Fundamentals of Celestial Mechanics, Willmann-Bell, 1988.
Dormand, J. R., Numerical Methods for Differential Equations, CRC Press, 1996.
Dubyago, A. D., The Determination of Orbits, The Macmillian Company, 1961.
Escobal, P. R., Methods of Orbit Determination, Robert E. Krieger Publishing, 1976.
Escobal, P. R., Methods of Astrodynamics, Robert E. Krieger Publishing, 1979.
Forsythe, G. E., Malcolm, M. A., and Moler, C. B., Computer Methods for Mathematical
Computations, Prentice-Hall, 1977.
Heafner, P. J., Fundamental Ephemeris Computations, Willmann-Bell, 1999.
Meeus, J., Astronomical Algorithms, Willmann-Bell, 1991.
Meeus, J., Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets, Willmann-Bell, 1995.
Meeus, J., Transits, Willmann-Bell, 1989.
Meeus, J., Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, Willmann-Bell, 1997.
Montenbruck, O., and Pfleger, T., Astronomy on the Personal Computer, Springer-Verlag,
1994.
Moulton, F. R., An Introduction to Celestial Mechanics, Dover, 1970.
Page 149
Celestial Computing with MATLAB
Seidelmann, P. K. (Editor), Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Alamanac,
University Science Books, 1992.
Szebehely, V. G., Adventures in Celestial Mechanics, University of Texas Press, 1989.
Page 150
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