Sky & Telescope magazine is pleased to make available in machine-readable form the programs that have been published in its monthly Astronomical Computing department, which first appeared in April 1984, and later in the Computers in Astronomy department. These are offered as-is and without support.
The table on the following three pages lists the programs in reverse chronological order. Each name is a hyperlink; if you select the name and your Web browser supports simple ASCII file transfers, you'll automatically download the BASIC program.
Whenever possible the programs are written in simple generic BASIC, but there are unavoidable variations from one interpreter to another. In case of difficulties, check your BASIC manual. A few programs require specific graphics adapters or printers. To run these programs, you will need a BASIC interpreter for your computer. If you do not know if your computer has one, see Stuart Goldman's article, "BASICally Speaking," adapted from the April 1996 issue of S&T.
At the end of each program is a block indicating the issue of the magazine in which the program appeared together with supporting text and instructions. If you have any questions, please consult the original articles.
BASIC Programs from Sky & Telescope Magazine |
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File Name | Issue | Brief Description |
ROCKET.BAS | Feb 02, p. 66 |
Travel time for a space trip at relativistic speed |
DAYSOLD.BAS | Nov 01, p. 63 |
Determine date after input number of days after birthday |
LOOKBAK2.BAS | Aug 01, p. 62 |
Cosmological quantities of an accelerating universe |
PILLAR.BAS | May 99, p. 71 |
Simulate the appearance of a Sun pillar |
MSACHART.BAS | Oct 98, p. 63 |
Millennium Star Atlas chart number |
SUPERNUM.BAS | Sep 98, p. 70 |
Emergence angles of supernumerary rainbows |
VISLIMIT.BAS | May 98, p. 57 |
Visual limiting magnitude from any site |
CCDLIMI2.BAS | May 98, p. 117 |
Limiting magnitude of a CCD camera |
LOOKBACK.BAS | Sep 97, p. 59 |
Age and distance of a galaxy of known redshift |
SOLAROSC.BAS | Jun 97, p. 92 |
Visualize global solar oscillation modes |
SUNDOG.BAS | Jan 97, p. 103 |
Simulate the appearance of sundogs |
CRATER.BAS | Nov 96, p. 90 |
Find the dimensions of an impact crater |
BLKHOLE1.BAS | May 96, p. 92 |
Determine the mass of a black hole |
BLKHOLE2.BAS | May 96, p. 92 |
Calculate black-hole tidal forces |
BLKHOLE3.BAS | May 96, p. 92 |
Generate a black-hole "accelergram" |
FACECIRC.BAS | Mar 96, p. 84 |
Print setting-circle disks on a LaserJet |
SCALES.BAS | Mar 96, p. 84 |
Print setting-circle strips on a LaserJet |
AGEUNIV.BAS | Jan 96, p. 92 |
Age of the universe since the Big Bang |
PULSAR.BAS | Oct 95, p. 86 |
Relativistic precession in binary orbits |
CHANCE.BAS | Jun 95, p. 86 |
Odds of witnessing certain astronomical events |
SATRINGS.BAS | May 95, p. 92 |
Saturn ring-plane crossings |
JACK.BAS | Sep 94, p. 78 |
Demo of perturbed planetary motion |
SUNUP.BAS | Aug 94, p. 84 |
Times of sunrise/set at any place on Earth |
MOONFX.BAS | Apr 94, p. 86 |
Moon phase and distance on any given date |
CAPTURE.BAS | Feb 94, p. 85 |
Best film/camera combos for capturing meteors |
SUNTAN.BAS | Jul 93, p. 83 |
Effects of ozone, haze, on suntanning time |
ASTEROID.BAS | Jun 93, p. 83 |
The size of an asteroid from its brightness |
CCDLIMIT.BAS | Feb 93, p. 84 |
Compute the signal-to-noise ratio of a CCD |
OCCVIS.BAS | Jan 93, p. 89 |
Compute the visibility of a star near the Moon |
ROTATE.BAS | Sep 92, p. 318 |
Field rotation in a misaligned telescope |
GFLASH.BAS | Feb 92, p. 200 |
Simulate the appearance of the "green flash" |
PRECESS.BAS | Oct 91, p. 408 |
Rigorous precession of a star's coordinates |
LIST.BAS | Aug 91, p. 182 |
Make index lists of objects on star atlases |
SOLARECL.BAS | Jul 91, p. 71 |
Predictions of July 11, 1991, solar eclipse |
FIREBALL.BAS | Jun 91, p. 640 |
Calculate descent of a fireball |
BASIC Programs from Sky & Telescope Magazine |
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File Name | Issue | Brief Description |
RONCHI.BAS | Apr 91, p. 416 |
Ronchi test simulation |
RAINBOW.BAS | Feb 91, p. 199 |
Graphic simulation of a rainbow |
SPIRAL.BAS | Dec 90, p. 654 |
Modeling spiral galaxies |
MARS.BAS | Sep 90, p. 296 |
Physical ephemeris of Mars |
MARCHE.BAS | Jul 90, p. 71 |
Astrometric positions of a comet or asteroid |
MALLAM.BAS | May 90, p. 543 |
Precession of a satellite's orbit |
ORIGAM.BAS | Apr 90, p. 424 |
Make a paper model of a comet orbit |
MIRROR.BAS | Feb 90, p. 195 |
Foucault mirror test analysis |
HARTLEY.BAS | Jan 90, p. 86 |
Globe- and grid-drawing program (Macintosh) |
JMERID.BAS | Dec 89, p. 640 |
Jupiter's central meridian for any date/time |
LIMMAG.BAS | Nov 89, p. 522 |
Limiting magnitude of a telescope |
GOSS.BAS | Oct 89, p. 410 |
Light curves of eclipsing binaries |
SHOWER.BAS | Aug 89, p. 195 |
Dates of meteor showers |
SINE.BAS | Aug 89, p. 139 |
Demonstration of chaotic behavior |
MOONUP.BAS | Jul 89, p. 78 |
Compute moonrise-moonset times for any place |
GALISA.BAS | Jun 89, p. 650 |
Plot Galilean moons of Jupiter (Apple II) |
SPACE.BAS | May 89, p. 531 |
Space motion of a star |
CHART.BAS | Apr 89, p. 420 |
Find atlas charts for any celestial coordinates |
REFR1.BAS | Mar 89, p. 311 |
Compute atmospheric refraction |
TAKI.BAS | Feb 89, p. 194 |
How to aim an alt-az (Dobsonian) telescope |
FRACTS.BAS | Jan 89, p. 80 |
Represent a decimal as a continued fraction |
PERIOD.BAS | Sep 88, p. 288 |
Period search by Fourier transform |
LUNAR.BAS | Jun 88, p. 640 |
Compute dates of lunar eclipses |
SHADOW.BAS | Apr 88, p. 417 |
Modeling mountain shadows |
CIRCLE.BAS | Mar 88, p. 304 |
Make setting circles and scales on a printer |
DIAL.BAS | Dec 87, p. 646 |
Design a vertical sundial |
PERIAP.BAS | Nov 87, p. 527 |
Compute lunar apogee and perigee |
STEREO.BAS | Oct 87, p. 407 |
Plot stars in stereographic projection |
DIFPAT.BAS | Sep 87, p. 294 |
Compute and display diffraction patterns |
BINARY.BAS | Jul 87, p. 71 |
Orbital ephemeris of a binary star |
CLOCK.BAS | May 87, p. 535 |
Add Moon to a real-time clock (Apple II) |
ORBITS.BAS | May 87, p. 535 |
Positions in near-parabolic orbits |
EXTINC.BAS | Apr 87, p. 426 |
Compute extinction of starlight |
PATH.BAS | Feb 87, p. 196 |
Interpolate comet positions |
BASIC Programs from Sky & Telescope Magazine |
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File Name | Issue | Brief Description |
METEOR.BAS | Jan 87, p. 83 |
Compute flight of meteors |
OBSCUR.BAS | Nov 86, p. 515 |
Obscuration at a solar eclipse |
SURF.BAS | Oct 86, p. 392 |
Surface brightness of an extended object |
SPHE.BAS | Sep 86, p. 278 |
Measure radius of curvature with a spherometer |
REACT.BAS | Aug 86, p. 174 |
Test your personal reaction time |
ALTAZ2.BAS | Jul 86, p. 70 |
How to correct altitudes for refraction |
MODEL.BAS | Apr 86, p. 398 |
Create model of star cluster |
EASTER.BAS | Mar 86, p. 294 |
Compute date of Easter |
TRACK.BAS | Feb 86, p. 190 |
Astrophoto tracking tolerances |
COMET.BAS | Dec 85, p. 590 |
Compute the ephemeris of a comet |
XYZ.BAS | Nov 85, p. 470 |
X,Y,Z coordinates of the Sun |
SAROS.BAS | Oct 85, p. 366 |
Saros numbers for solar eclipses |
HELIAC.BAS | Sep 85, p. 261 |
Heliacal rise and set times |
KEPLER.BAS | Aug 85, p. 158 |
Solve Kepler's equation (celestial mechanics) |
CALENDAR.BAS | Jul 85, p. 62 |
Perpetual calendar (Gregorian) |
SHUTTR.BAS | Jun 85, p. 158 |
Shutter speeds for astrophotography |
WAVEL.BAS | Jun 85, p. 544 |
Positions of absorption lines in a spectrum |
STEPPR.BAS | Apr 85, p. 350 |
Controlling a stepper motor |
MOONS.BAS | Mar 85, p. 254 |
Dates and times of new and full Moon |
PHOTOM.BAS | Feb 85, p. 158 |
Reducing photometric observations |
LHEIGHT.BAS | Jan 85, p. 62 |
Compute heights of lunar features |
GLOB1.BAS | Dec 84, p. 555 |
Distribution of globular clusters (Apple II) |
GLOB2.BAS | Dec 84, p. 555 |
Distribution of globular clusters (Apple II) |
LENS.BAS | Nov 84, p. 450 |
Calculate curves for an aplanatic lens |
GWMONTH.BAS | Oct 84, p. 347 |
Convert month number to name |
SUNSHINE.BAS | Sep 84, p. 254 |
Hours of sunshine for a specific latitude |
ANGSEP.BAS | Aug 84, p. 159 |
Angular separation of two celestial objects |
STAY.BAS | Jul 84, p. 62 |
Comet's time spent inside Earth's orbit |
ALTAZ.BAS | Jun 84, p. 558 |
Star altitude and azimuth at a given time |
GMST.BAS | Jun 84, p. 558 |
Sidereal time for Greenwich meridian |
CALJD.BAS | May 84, p. 454 |
Convert calendar date to Julian day |
JDCAL.BAS | May 84, p. 454 |
Convert Julian day to calendar date |
ADDMAG.BAS | Apr 84, p. 359 |
Combined magnitude of two or more stars |
INTERP.BAS | Apr 84, p. 359 |
Lagrange interpolation (multiple data points) |
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