Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site calgary.UUCP
Path: utzoo!decvax!harpo!whuxlm!whuxl!houxm!ihnp4!alberta!calgary!west
From: west@calgary.UUCP (Darrin West)
Newsgroups: net.astro
Subject: Re: More on astronomical software
Message-ID: <248@calgary.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 12-Aug-85 12:12:50 EDT
Article-I.D.: calgary.248
Posted: Mon Aug 12 12:12:50 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 15-Aug-85 01:09:52 EDT
References: <1117@teddy.UUCP>
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta
Lines: 18

> In the most recent issue of "Astronomy" magazine, (August, 1985) there is
> an article about plotting start maps with home computers. 
>
> Dick Pierce

If anyone else tried the program given in this article, please note
that it is possible to speed the thing up by about 1/3 simply by putting
the first two sin/cos calculations before the loop.  They always give the
same answer anyways.  (They were observation point ra and dec calculations
I think.)

I wrote it in C on a Commodore 64 and typed in many stars from an observers
handbook.  It plots approx 10 to 15 stars per second, which according to the
article would be very fast.  Try compiling the code.

Darrin West
University of Calgary
Computer Science.