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3 - Ephemerides

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2018

Dennis D. McCarthy  and
P. Kenneth Seidelmann
Dennis D. McCarthy
Affiliation:
United States Naval Observatory
P. Kenneth Seidelmann
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
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Summary

Ephemerides, the plural of ephemeris, are tables of positions of moving celestial bodies. By entering tables for the Sun, Moon, or planets with a specific date and performing arithmetical operations, the location of the body for the date can be determined. The timescales for the tables are the independent variables and should be uniform in rate. There is a long history of tables and theories for the solar system bodies. The motion of the Moon is the most complicated, due to its rapid motion and closeness to the Earth. Punched card equipment made it possible to compute ephemerides from the tables by machine, and computers made numerical integration of ephemerides more rapid and accurate. Historically, optical observations were used to produce ephemerides, but now radar, laser-ranging data, and spacecraft observations provide more accuracy. Reference systems have progressed from catalogs of nearby moving optical stars to the International Celestial Reference System (ICRS), which is based on observations of distant radio sources. Astronomical constants have been updated as observational accuracy improved and general relativistic concepts were developed.

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Time: From Earth Rotation to Atomic Physics , pp. 25 - 46
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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  • Ephemerides
  • Dennis D. McCarthy, United States Naval Observatory, P. Kenneth Seidelmann, University of Virginia
  • Book: Time: From Earth Rotation to Atomic Physics
  • Online publication: 01 October 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108178365.004
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  • Ephemerides
  • Dennis D. McCarthy, United States Naval Observatory, P. Kenneth Seidelmann, University of Virginia
  • Book: Time: From Earth Rotation to Atomic Physics
  • Online publication: 01 October 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108178365.004
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Ephemerides
  • Dennis D. McCarthy, United States Naval Observatory, P. Kenneth Seidelmann, University of Virginia
  • Book: Time: From Earth Rotation to Atomic Physics
  • Online publication: 01 October 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108178365.004
Available formats
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