When I was a kid my parents bought me a book called “practical astronomy with your calculator” that went over all the workings and formulae for calculating eclipses, moon phases, locations of the planets and heaps more. If you want to get into it I highly recommend this book or something similar.
I want to be among those who deeply thoroughly understands & can accurately predict the path of future eclipses because this is amazing.
Submitted 7 months ago by LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world to astronomy@mander.xyz
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/c3dfaaf8-aaf8-4ee2-88d6-2751e6356bae.jpeg
Comments
dellish@lemmy.world 7 months ago
dellish@lemmy.world 7 months ago
BTW the book was by Peter Duffett-Smith if that helps.
mipadaitu@lemmy.world 7 months ago
There are certain aspects of it that look more complicated than they are because you are seeing it as a representation on a flat map. It makes a lot more sense when you see it on a globe with all the pieces moving in 3d space.
It is complicated because there are tilts to the earths rotation and a tilt to the moon’s orbit, but people thousands of years ago figured it out, so it’s solvable.
sarchar@programming.dev 7 months ago
So you want to be a computer algorithm?
LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Are you so deeply entrenched in modern technology that you cannot fathom that a human could comprehend and map future astronomical patterns?
Humans have been doing this since early records of humankind on earth. Loooooong before computers existed. Computers have only been around the last few decades.
some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 7 months ago
No, it’s a mystical religious sign. Aren’t you paying attention?
maegul@lemmy.ml 7 months ago
Me too! Always wanted to get into, thinking it worthwhile to have a running solar system or celestial model on your own machine that you know how to operate etc. Just never really tried sadly!
marduk@lemmy.sdf.org 7 months ago
I used Stellarium today to see how the eclipse would look from my location, highly recommend it if you want to start playing
maegul@lemmy.ml 7 months ago
Oh yea I’ve used it and from memory it’s awesome as you say. I was more talking about getting into the technical details of running a model and calculating various things of personal interest.
Thanks for the recommendation though!
BoringHusband@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Math.
LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Yesss. I waaaaant it in my mind and in my souuuuuul.
Sprawlie@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Fun Fact:
They discovered Neptune by math. They studied the orbit of Uranus and noticed anomalies in the mavity, so they postulated there must be another planet. Using math, calculated it’s path, aimed their telescopes, and voila, Neptune.
JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee 7 months ago
Is London in the eclipse zone?
dave@feddit.uk 7 months ago
No—this is a good resource for finding the next one closest to you. www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/list.html
If you’re in Europe, northern Spain in 2026 is the next best opportunity.
JoMomma@lemm.ee 7 months ago
I’m pretty sure they just hold up a tennis ball and shine a flashlight on a globe, its not rocket surgery
LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 7 months ago
I like the way you think
JoMomma@lemm.ee 7 months ago
You’d be the first
dudinax@programming.dev 7 months ago
I’ve heard from a government authority that the eclipse path is determined by how gay we are.