George Rupp's Celestial Navigation Freeware Programs
Sailors,
In the interest of maintaining and supporting the art of celestial
navigation, I make the following offer of celestial navigation freeware.
I have written celestial programs that I tailored to my own methods
and capabilities. They are for PCs only. They run in all versions of Windows.
Here are the programs:
- 1. Planning: This program gives Morning Twilight, Rise, Azimuth,
Meridian passage, Set, and Evening Twilight for the Sun as presented in
the Nautical Almanac for any date, place, and time. Similar information
for the Moon is presented. You also may get a listing of the visible stars
and planets at twilight or any other time for your geographical position
with their Hc's and Zn's. It has a star and planet finder capability for
300 stars of magnitude 3.5 or greater if you can input the Hs within 1
degree and Azimuth within 30 degrees.
- 2. Sky Charts: Presents the sky as seen from any position or time
in North or South Polar as well as an equatorial charts. Your position
is also plotted.
- 3. Single LOPs or up to 3 star fixes when known bodies are entered.
- 4. Same as 3, above, but for unknown bodies entered as Hs and
Azimuth.
My only goal at the moment is to help keep alive interest in the
art of celestial navigation.
The only caveats are that you may not modify the programs nor sell them.
I am not responsible for their use should you come to grief for any reason.
Over 20,000 copies of these programs have been downloaded around
the world. How many are in use is unknown.
Installation Instructions
Download the Programs
Email me if you have questions at George Rupp.
Last updated on December 31, 2005.