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Clearance Offers: I have a number of V1.xx CDs of LunarPhase Pro which are available for $24.95 (same price as LunarPhase V2.70). The Pro version offers more features than LunarPhase V2.70 and includes the interactive Moon Atlas. All can be upgraded to V1.78 (latest V1.xx Pro version) release for free via the LunarPhase Pro Support Page. Items are sold "as is". Upgrades to V3 can be bought later (if you want). |
LunarPhase News | |||||
The Daily View screen has been improved, now proving Sun and twilight information as well as data for the Moon. A new Sun Rise/Set Positions screen has been added which gives information and compass directions for the rising and setting sun (and displays a graphic representation of each). Upgrade options to the more comprehensive LunarPhase Pro software are also available through LunarPhase V2.70. If you are running a previous version of the LunarPhase, download and install V2.70 over your existing version. If you are a registered user, you can use V2.70 straight away. If you're using the evaluation version, your evaluation period will not be changed.
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LunarPhase can now be registered by Credit Card at:![]() Please remember to include LunarPhase's Product ID on the order/registration form |
Requesting New Registration Codes | |||||
Due to the number of requests for new Registration Keys for LunarPhase and the time involved in preparing them, there is now a $1.50 fee for new keys. Payment can be made through PayPal or StormPay. Both accept all major credit cards: |
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Please enter your original Order No., Product ID or Registration Code in the box below before clicking the button. |
Other Items Of Interest | ||||||
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09 Jan 2000 | Softseek | top pick |
19 Jan 2000 | ZDNET | ![]() |
20 Jul 2000 | Yippee | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Introduction |
LunarPhase is a utility for Win 95/98/NT which provides a range of information on the Moon and, to a lesser degree, the Sun, graphically displaying the current phase of the moon (in real time). It uses the user's geographic location, Timezone and Daylight Savings Time (set on the Configuration screen) for its calculations, so these must be set up correctly. All times displayed (and printed) are in local time. Click the mini screenshots to see larger views of the screens. |
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Features |
Moon
![]() | Graphically displays the current phase of the moon in real time
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![]() | Displays the times and dates of the major lunar phases for the month
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![]() | Displays the illuminated fraction of the lunar disk as a percentage in real time |
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![]() | Displays the current age of the moon (since the last New Moon) and its distance from Earth in real time
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![]() | Provides realtime position of the moon in both RA/Dec and Alt/Az coordinates
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![]() | Provides the moon's parallax and its visible diameter (in arcminutes) in real time
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![]() | Displays a calendar of lunar phases for each day in the selected month
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![]() | Displays a Lunar Visiblility diagram for the month showing when the moon is above the horizon
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![]() | Displays a Daily View diagram for the moon showing when the moon is above the horizon and hourly Azimuth and Altitude figures
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![]() | Calculates the times and dates of the next Apogee and Perigee
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![]() | Calculates the Position Angle of the moon's bright limb in real time
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![]() | Calculates the moon's Phase Angle in real time
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![]() | Calculates and displays Moon's Rise, Set and Transit times
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![]() | Calculates the circumstances of lunar eclipses and whether they're visible from your location
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![]() | Calculates the dates of lunar eclipses between two given years
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![]() | Displays the names of Full Moons throughout the year, including Blue Moons [second full moon in a month]
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![]() | Set the time and date to that of a major lunar phase (New Moon, First Quarter, etc.) by clicking on the phase icon or phase data and time
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![]() | Set the time and date to that of an eclipse by clicking on the eclipse date in the eclipse details window
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![]() | Blue moons are indicated by a blue full-moon icon in the major phases window.
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![]() | Displays lunar librations in latitude and longitude corrected for your location (Topocentric)
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![]() | Displays Selenographic CoLongitide and Position Angle of the moon's Axis
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![]() | Displays a list of sunrise and sunset times at various lunar features (both near-side and far-side) for the month
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![]() | Provides a database of lunar features which is used in the calculation of sunrise and sunset at those lunar features. 1961 lunar features are provided with the software
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Sun
![]() | Provides realtime position of the Sun in Alt/Az and RA/Dec corordinates in real time
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![]() | Calculates and displays Sun's Rise, Set and Transit times
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![]() | Shows the (compass) positions of the rising and setting sun for your location
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Twilight
![]() | Calculates and displays Start and End times for Civil, Nautical and Astronomical Twilight
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Printouts
![]() | Calendar printout for the selected month which includes for each day: the lunar phase (graphically), lunar rise/set/transit times, solar rise/set/transit times and the times and dates of the major lunar phases in the month. The user selects which of these appears on the printout.
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![]() | Tabular printout of all lunar, solar and twilight data.
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![]() | Printout of Lunar Visibility diagram. | |
![]() | Printout of Daily View diagram and data. |
Other Features
![]() | Data for any date can be generated using inbuilt calendar
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![]() | Selection of any time during the day, including reset to current time and date
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![]() | Can synchonise your PC's clock with an online atomic clock
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![]() | View moon as seen through binoculars, an astronomical telescope or a telescope that uses a diagonal
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![]() | Day order on calendar can be changed
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![]() | Tabular function provides a list of lunar rise/set/transit times, moon's illuminated fraction, solar rise/set/transit times and Start/End times for Civil, Nautical and Astronomical Twilight for the selected month on one comprehensive screen
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![]() | Displays Local Sidereal Time
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![]() | Provides links to online lunar websites
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![]() | Popup window displays Day Number, Week Number (and Day No./Week No. in ISO format), Julian Day and number of days until Christmas
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![]() | A new toolbar item pops up a window with the times and dates of the Equinoxes and Solstices of the the selected year, and their durations.
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![]() | Displays the date of Easter Sunday for the selected year.
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Main Screen Layout |
NOTE: The various windows in this application can be moved around the screen by clicking on the window title and dragging the window to the desired position on screen.
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LunarPhase does not use the conventional Windows' look and feel. Instead, a unique (and hopefully pleasing) interface has been designed for the application.
Across the top is the screen is the menu bar offering icons for printing, changing optical view, calling up the Tabular data screen, activating web links, changing the time, viewing eclipse details, displaying a menu of additional functions, calling up the Configuration screen, Help, About, Minimise and Exit functions.
Below this are two clocks and two windows - the Current Phase and Major Phases Windows.
Clock
The clock, which increments in realtime (i.e. it's updated every second), displays the time for which the calculations are done (in realtime). That time can be Now (as set from your PC's clock) or any time you wish. This, in conjunction with the calendar, lets you get the lunar circumstances for any date and time. See Selecting a Different Time on how to change the time.
Local Sidereal Time Clock
Sidereal time is the hour angle of the vernal equinox, the ascending node of the ecliptic on the celestial equator. The daily motion of this point provides a measure of the rotation of the Earth with respect to the stars, rather than the Sun. Local mean sidereal time is computed from the current Greenwich Mean Sideral Time plus a sidereal offset in longitude (the lonitude you specify on the Configuration Screen). Astronomers use local sidereal time (LST) because it corresponds to the right ascension of a celestial body that is presently on the local meridian.
LunarPhase's Local Sidereal Clock always displays the LST of the current date and time (read directly from the PC's clock) and is not affected by your selection of date or time within LunarPhase itself.
Current Phase Window
This graphically displays the current phase of the moon. It is updated in realtime. Additional information in this window are the percentage illuminated, current age of the moon (Since last New Moon), distance from Earth (in kilometres), the moon's RA and Dec, Parallax and visible diameter, all updated in realtime. The dates, times and distances of the next apogee and perigee round off the information displayed in this window. This window is automatically updated if the date, month or year is changed.
Major Phases Window:
Here the times, dates and phases of the major phases (New moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, Last Quarter) for the month are displayed. The number of phases displayed can range from 3 (as in Feb. 1999) to 5 (as in Jan. 1999). This window is automatically updated if the month or year is changed. All times are displayed in local time. Blue moons (using the definition of a second full moon in a month) are represented in this window by a blue full-moon icon.
Below the Current Phase Window are four more windows: Rise/Set times for the Sun and Moon, positional data for the Sun, Start/End times for Civil, Nautical and Astronomical Twilight and a window containing further lunar data.
Rise/Set Times Window
This window displays the Rising, Transit and Setting times of both the Sun and the Moon for your location (in local time). Since the moon doesn't execute a single Rise/Transit/Set cycle every day, the chronological order of these events will change from day to day. The times (for the moon) are consequently displayed chronologically. On some days, the moon may not rise, transit or set. In such cases, the relevant heading will display a time of ***** to indicate that that event will not occur on the selected date. All times are in local time.
Solar Coordinates
Displays the Sun's Right Ascension/Declination and Azimuth/Altitude (in realtime). A negative Altitude indicates that the Sun is below the horizon.
Twilight Times
Displays the Start and End times of Civil, Nautical and Astronomical twilight for your location. During the summer months, there is, usually, no astronomical twilight at all (depending on your latitude). The word None will appear in the Start and/or End time slot when this happens. The further North or South your location, the longer the Sun stays above the horizon during the Summer months and at extreme north or south locations, there may not be any Nautical or Civil twilight. In such cases, again None will appear for the appropriate Start and/or End twilight times. All times are in local time.
More Lunar Data
Here the moon's Azimuth and Altitude are displayed, along with the Position Angle (PA) of the moon's bright limb and the moon's Phase Angle (Ph.A). All figures are displayed in real time. In V2.50, this window can alternatively display libration and selenographic colongitude figures. See Libration and CoLongitude.
At bottom right of the screen is the calendar, showing the dates for the selected month and year. Days are arranged (e.g. Monday to Sunday) according to the value selected on the Configuration Screen.
Menu Icons |
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Clicking this icon will print out a calendar for the selected month and year. The printout includes a graphical representation of the moon's phase for each day in the month, the Sun's rise/transit/set (SR/ST/SS) times and the Moon's rise/transit/set (MR/MT/MS) times. An icon representing any major phases during the month will be printed in the appropriate date box along with the time when that phase occurs. The printout also shows the correct 'inverted' lunar phases for Southern hemisphere users.
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Set display as viewed through binoculars or the naked eye | ||
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Set display as viewed through an astronomical telescope | ||
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Set display as viewed through an astronomical telescope that uses a diagonal | ||
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Call up the Tabular screen | ||
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Display menu of online lunar sites | ||
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Lets you change the time, reset the time to Now or syncronise your PC clock | ||
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Displays a menu of report options | ||
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This icon only appears on the menu bar if there is a lunar eclipse during the selected month | ||
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Link to the Night Sky Observer astronomy site | ||
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Call up the Configuration screen | ||
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Display LunarPhase Help. This calls up the help file in the default web browser | ||
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Display About window. Contains application version number, copyright and contact details | ||
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Minimise LunarPhase | ||
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Exit LunarPhase |
Selecting a Different Time |
Clicking the clock icon (
) brings up the time edit window. Place the cursor over the required area (hour, minute or second) and click to edit. You can delete and type in new numbers as required. Pressing the ENTER key sets LunarPhase's clock to the time you entered.
Clicking on the Now button returns LunarPhase's clock to the current time and date on your PC.
If you're online, clicking on the Sync button will synchronise your PC's clock with an online atomic clock.
Selecting a Different Date |
Calculations for any date can be performed. The screens update automatically.
To select a different date in the month, simply click on the date in the calendar.
To select a different month, click on the month name and select the required month from the popup list.
To change the year, click on the year and edit/enter the new year. Press the ENTER key to have the year accepted.
Viewing Date Information |
The Julian Day, Day Number, Week Number (and Day/Week numbers in ISO format) and the number of days till Christmas for any date on the calendar can be viewed by right-clicking on the date in question. The information window will automatically close as soon as you do anything else within LunarPhase. It can be also be moved, as with all other windows in the application, by clicking on the window title and dragging the window to the desired location. |
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Changing Optical View |
When viewing the moon through binoculars, the moon is 'the right way up'; i.e. it's orientation is the same in binoculars as it appears in the sky. When looking through an astronomical telescope, however, the moon is inverted (upside down). Three icons on the toolbar represent the view that LunarPhase is displaying, binoculars represent the 'normal' view, a telescope icon represents the view through an astronomical telescope and an icon of a Star Diagonal represents the view through a telescope that uses a diagonal. The view can be cycled by clicking the currently active icon.
Tabular List Screen |
Web Links |
LunarPhase provides a number of links to online sites dedicated to the moon and lunar phenomena as well as to sites detailing previous and current lunar space missions. If anyone has suggestions for links they think would be useful, please email me at [email protected]
Display Lunar Visibility Diagram |
Introduced in V2.40, this screen, which is called from the Reports menu, (
), displays the moon's visibility for each day in the month (the month that's selected on the main LunarPhase window). The days are numbered down the side of the digram.
This diagram is especially useful for getting an instant view of what nights in the month will be suitable for deep sky observing or lunar observing (depending on your preferences). It also shows how the days lengthen or shorten during the month in question, over the course of the month.
The black area down the centre of the diagram represents night, the light blue areas, day. The three dark stripes of blue on either side of the diagram represent Civil (dark blue), Nautical (darker blue) and Astronomical (darkest blue) Twilight.
The moon is represented by the cream coloured horizontal lines, the thickness of which indicates the phase of the moon (thick = full moon, no line = new moon). The lines only appear when the moon is above the horizon at your location.
The diagram defaults to the nighttime view where the single vertical line down the centre of the diagram indicates midnight. The dates down the side of the diagram therefore start at this position rather than the left hand side of the diagram. So, day 1 comprises the right half of the line marked as '1' and the left half of the day marked as '2'. This may take a bit of getting used to, but just remember that each line on the diagram covers from midday on one day to midday on the next.
The diagram can also be switched into daytime mode by clicking on the () icon. The icon will change to (
). In this mode, each line on the diagram represents a day running from midnight to midnight. Clicking the (
) icon will return the diagram to nighttime mode.
The diagram is also capable of displaying an overlay grid with divisions for each hour in the day (labelled at the top of the diagram). The hour numbering will depend on whether daytime or nighttime view is in effect. The hour grid is there just to give some idea of when the sun rises/sets, twilight start and end times and moon rise/set times.
The diagram, as it appears on screen (in day/night mode, with or without grid) can be printed out as well.
Icons
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Print Lunar Visibility Diagram |
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Indicates diagram is in night-time mode. Click to switch diagram to day-time view |
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Indicates diagram is in day-time mode. Click to switch diagram to night-time view |
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Indicates no grid overlaid on diagram. Click to turn grid on |
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Indicates grid overlays diagram. Click to turn grid off |
Display Daily View Diagram |
Introduced in V2.60, this screen, which is called from the Reports menu, (
), displays the moon's visibility for the selected date - the times when it's locally above the horizon, it's elevation on an hourly basis and it's Azimuth.
The screen is broken into two windows. The top one presents the diagram and the bottom one displays the hourly time, altitude and azimuth data.
There are several items in the diagram. Down the left side is the angle of altitude/elevation, ranging from 0 degrees to 90 degrees. Across the bottom of the diagram are the hours of the day. The thick green line just above represents the horizon. The moon is plotted for every half hour on the day (00:30, 01:00, 01:30, etc.). The diagram give a quich view of when the moon is highest in the sky and how high it gets. There are also divisions marked onthe diagram to show when the moon reaches the four cardinal compass directions (North, South, East and West) in Azimuth.
The actual figures for Azimuth and Altitude are listed in the lower window. These are displayed for hourly increments (rather than half-hourly increments).
The diagram and data can be printed out as well.
Sunrise & Sunset Positions |
This screen, which is called from the Reports menu, (
), shows the (compass) positions of the rising and setting sun. This screen of of great use for photographers.
The screen is broken into two panes. The top pane displays the data for sunrise, the bottom pane displays data for sunset. The sun, represented by a cream-coloured semi-circle, is placed at its rising and setting positions in both panes.
Compass directions are displayed on both diagrams. Below each diagram are the numeric compass directions (azimuth) in degrees. Each major tick is 5 degrees, each minor one is 1 degree.
Each pane also includes the time of sunrise or sunset, the azimuth (compass direction) in degrees at time of rise or set and the start and end times of nautical and civil twilight. If you're a photographer, the twilight hours to just after sunrise are the best times of the day for shooting landscapes. Likewise, sunset and the twilight hours after it are also good for photography.
If you're interested in landscape photography, check out: Great Landscape Photography
Display Phases for Month |
Introduced in V2.30, this screen which is called from the Reports menu (
), displays the moon's phase for each day in the month (the month that's selected on the main LunarPhase window). The phases are displayed in a calendrical format, with each day being numbered.
The day order (Sunday-Saturday, etc.) depends on the current selection of the "Day Order" on the Configuration screen and can be changed as required.
The window provides an option to save the image as a .BMP graphic. A save dialog allowing you to specify a filename and directory path will appear. The save option is provided as a means of allowing you to use the image within your own web pages if you so wish. Please remember that the image is saved as a .BMP and that it will need to be converted to a .GIF or .JPG for use in webpages.
Equinoxes and Solstices |
LunarPhase provides a menu of report options, one of which brings up a window displaying the times and dates of the Equinoxes and Solstices for the selected year. This window also lists the duration (in days) of each of the seasons. |
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Easter Sunday |
Another option on the Reports menu ( |
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Finding Lunar Eclipses |
LunarPhase can calculate the dates of Lunar Eclipses between two (inclusive) years. This window is displayed when the Find Lunar Eclipses option is selected from the Reports menu (
icon).
The window allows you to specify a range of years over which to perform the calculations. Both years default to the current year when the window is activated. The Calculate button must be clicked to start off the calculations.
The resulting display provides three pieces of information for each eclipse listed - the type of eclipse (total, partial, penumbral); the date of the eclipse (including the local time, not Universal Time, at which the eclipse reaches maximum); and whether or not the eclipse is visible from your location.
The scroll bar at the side of the display can be used to scroll up and down through the list.
Double clicking any listed eclipse will call up the Eclipse Details window which will list all details for the selected eclipse. The time and date on the main LunarPhase window will also be set to the (maximum) time and date of the selected eclipse.
Eclipse Details Screen |
Each time a new month is selected on LunarPhases's calendar, a check is made to see if any lunar eclipses occur during that month. If one does, then the Lunar Eclipse icon () will appear on LunarPhase's menu bar. Clicking on this icon will bring up the Eclipse Details window.
The Moon's orbit is inclined at 5 degrees to the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon such that the three bodies are in line and the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow. Lunar eclipses can only occur when the moon is near full and can be seen from anywhere on Earth where the moon is above the horizon. The Moon doesn't normally completely disappear since it is illuminated by light scattered from Earth's atmosphere, but it usually becomes a reddish, coppery colour.
The full shadow of the Earth, called the umbra, is surrounded by a partial shadow, called the penumbra. At the beginning and end stages of an eclipse, the Moon moves into the penumbra. This shadow is barely discernable on the lunar disk and eclipses where the Moon only passes through the Earth's penumbra are known as Penumbral Eclipses. There are two other types of eclipse: Partial where only a part of the moon passes though the Earth's umbral shadow and Umbral where the Moon is totally enveloped by the umbra. These eclipses are better known as Total Lunar Eclipses.
The Eclipse Details screen lists the times at which various events in an eclipse occur. The amount of information presented will depend on the type of eclipse, with total (umbral) eclipses having the most information. All times are presented in local time (not UT).
Below these times, for reference, are the times of moonrise, moonset and sunrise and sunset for the day in question.
This window also shows whether or not the eclipse is visible from your location.
The right half of the screen is taken up by the eclipse diagram. This shows the position of the moon in the umbra and/or penumbra at the time of maximum eclipse. The horizontal line represents the plane of the Earth's orbit and the slanted line, the path of the moon in it's orbit (going from left to right).
Libration and CoLongitude |
While the moon always presents the same face in the sky, apparent oscillations known as optical librations actually allow about 59% of the lunar surface to be seen during its orbital motion. These librations are due to variations in the geometric position of the Earth relative to the moon. In addition, the moon also has physical librations which stem from its actual rotation during its orbital movement. LunarPhase now calculates the sum of these librations and presents the figures on the main LunarPhase display (as an alternative to the lunar Altitude/Azimuth display). The two displays can be toggled by clicking the (
) icon. The figures presented are Topocentric values (i.e. corrected for the user's location).
LunarPhase V2.50 also calculates the selenographic position of the Sun, which determines what part of the lunar surface is illuminated. From this, the Selenographic CoLongitude is calculated. It is this figure that is displayed in the alternative data window. The figure is typically used for calculating sunrise and sunset times at various lunar features. LunarPhase V2.50 now does this for you. See Sunrise/Sunset at Lunar Features.
The final figure presented in this alternative data window is the Position Angle of the Moon's Axis of rotation.
Deinitions:
Co | Selenographic CoLongitude |
lo | Libration in Logitude |
bo | Libration in Latitude |
PAA | Position Angle of the moon's Axis of rotation |
Sunrise/Sunset at Lunar Features |
Lunar Features Database |
1961 features are provided in the database, broken down into the following 17 types of features, which are selected from the dropdown box:
This does mean, however, that if you entered data into the database in V2.50, that data won't be accessible in V2.61.
All the features included in V2.61 have been taken from the United States Geological Survey. It is the complete list as provided by the USGS, and includes features that are on the moon's far side. Any feature with a longitude greater than 90 degrees East or 90 degrees West is a far-side feature.
The data provided includes the feature name, its lunar Latitude and Longitude (near-side and far-side features), its diameter (in kilometres) and comments about the feature - typically who it's named after and a little bit about the person. The screen can be scrolled right and left to read long comments that don't fit within the screen border.
Configuration Screen |
This screen allows you to enter your latitude and longitude and the name of your location. New in V2.60, many locations can now be entered and stored to let you switch between the specifics of different observing locations. The Timezone and Daylight Savings Time setting are stored along with the location information.
If this is the first time you run LunarPhase, you will need to add a location so LunarPhase knows what latitude and longitude to base its calculations upon. If no location has been added, the screen won't let you exit until you add one!
Four buttons allow you to add/edit/delete locations. Add adds whatever data is on screen as a new location, Update updates the existing location with the data onscreen, overwriting the previous data for that location. Delete permanently removes a location. Cancel resets everything to blanks and zeros.
You can change locations simply by selecting a different location from the dropdown box. The contents of this box are automatically updated whenever a new location is added or an existing location is deleted.
The screen also allows you to change the day order on the calendar, the date format for the Tabular screen and the lunar feature type that automatically appears when you access either the Features Rise/Set Times screen or the Features Database screen.
This screen also displays your application's Product ID. You'll need this if you want to register the program. If you register, you will receive a Registration Code which you should enter on this screen. More on registration below.
New in V2.40 is the option to set the type of printer you have on this screen (Laser, B&W Inkjet or Colour Inkjet). This setting has nothing to do with the settings specified for your individual printer. Based on your choice here, LunarPhase merely uses different colour or grey shade selections to achieve the best possible printout (shades of grey aren't nearly as appealing as colour on a colour printer
Exit the screen by clicking the Exit icon. It is at this point that any changes you have made are committed. Currently, there is no way of simply escaping from the screen).
Revision History |
Version | Changes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
V2.61 |
Bug Fix: Fixed bug in time calculation for LST clock (another one). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: Fixed 'floating point' error that appears on some (Asian) PCs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: LunarPhase will now notify you when a new version is available. (You will have to be online for this feature to work). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
V2.60 |
New: Added Time Synchronisation feature to Clock Bar which synchronises the PC clock with an online atomic clock. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: Diagram of mid-eclipse is now presented on Lunar Eclipse details screen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: Daily View screen which shows the half-hourly position of the moon in the sky for the selected date and details hourly azimuth and altitude. This screen can also be printed out. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: Multiple observing locations can now be stored and edited on the Configuration screen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: The lunar feature database now includes all named Lunar Features (both near-side and far-side) - the list is from the United States Geological Survey. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: The editing facilities for the lunar features have been removed from the Lunar Features Database screen as the features database contains the most up-to-date listing of features available. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: Features are broken into subsections (such as craters, Sinus, Rima, etc) and any section can be viewed in either the lunar sunrise/set screen or the database screen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: A new option has been added to the configuration screen to let the user define the default feature startup screen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: Calling the database screen from the Lunar Sunrise/Set screen brings up the list of features matching those selected on the rise/set screen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: Added an option to display moon as seen through a telescope using a diagonal. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: Features on shadowed portion of moon now visible instead of being overwritten by solid lump of grey. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: Lunar Features Rise/Set and database screens now load correctly on European PCs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: Hours now displayed correctly for 'Night View' of Lunar Visibility screen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: Fixed bug in time calculation for LST clock. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: Calendar was 2 days out for dates before 1582 (due to a bug in one of Delphi's functions). Now fixed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: Fixed bug where LunarPhase went into infinite iterative loop when calculating moon rise/transit/set times at very high latitudes. This bug only appeared on some dates, not all. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: Lunar Altitude and Azimuth data are now Topocentric (corrected for user's location) rather than Geocentric. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: The minus sign on lunar declination is now correctly erased when going from negative to positive. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
V2.50 |
New: Lunar libration, Selenographic CoLongitude and Position Angle of the Moon's Axis figures displayed on the main LunarPhase screen. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: Added tooltips to explain abbreviations used on CoLongitude display panel. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: New screen displaying sunrise and sunset times at various lunar features (as seen from Earth). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: New screen which allows edit/insert/delete of the latitude and longitude of lunar features (50 features are provided with V2.50). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: Calendar date is now correctly updated when the clock ticks past midnight. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: LST is now correct during summer months when Daylight Savings Time is in effect (in earlier versions it's out by one hour). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: The hours are now displayed correctly on the Lunar Visibility diagram in both day and night time views. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: The Lunar Visibility, Easter Sunday and nag screens are now displayed correctly on systems running Windows with the "Large Fonts" setting. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: Removed dead links from the Website menu and updated broken links. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
V2.40 |
New: Lunar Visibility diagram which displays when moon is above horizon at user's location. Useful for planning observing sessions. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: Added printer selection to Configuration screen for better results on BW/Colour printers (colour support for tabular and lunar visibility printouts) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: Reports now show location text (as specified on Configuration screen) instead of "Northern/Southern Hemisphere" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: Daynames were not being printed on calendar printout in the order specified on the Configuration screen. This bug only occurred in non-english locales. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: Fixed bug where major phases and phase legend on calendar printout were not inverted for Southern hemisphere users. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: Fixed bug where Equinox and Solstice dates and Seasonal durations were not correctly reported for Southern hemisphere users. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: Possibly fixed printout problem on tabular printout where black rectangles printed in place of numeric data. Needs confirmation from users who previously experienced this problem (some HP printers). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
V2.30 |
New: New option added to Reports menu which provides a calendar of lunar phases for the selected month. The image generated can be saved to disk for use in your own webpages. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bug Fix: Lunar phases on the calendar printout are now correctly oriented for Southern Hemisphere users. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
V2.21 |
Bug Fix: Fixed bug where First Quarter and Last Quarter icons were being displayed the wrong way around in the major phases window.
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V2.20 |
New: Facility to generate a list of eclipse dates between two specified years. See Finding Lunar Eclipses for more information on this new facility. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New: Eclipse Details screen now indicates if eclipse is visible from your location
| New: Can set LunarPhase's time and date to date of eclipse by clicking on eclipse date (in Eclipse Details window)
| New: Added LST at Midnight time column to tabular printout
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| New: Added tooltips (they appear after 3-4 seconds)
| Bug Fix: Calendar and Tabular printouts now print correctly on Hewlett-Packard (HP) printers (at last).
| Bug Fix: Fixed bug in calculation of times of First and Last Quarter moons for 2000 and later.
| Bug Fix: Major phase icons are now correctly inverted for Southern Hemisphere users.
| Bug Fix: Solstice and Equinox times are now displayed in local time rather than Universal Time.
| Bug Fix: Date Data and Solstice/Equinox windows now appear correctly sized on systems using Windows' Large Fonts setting. V2.11 Bug Fix: Fixed minor bug in Local Sidereal Time (LST) calculation. V2.10 New: Date information window displaying Julian Day, Day Number, Week Number (Day/Week Numbers in ISO format) and number of days till Christmas.
| New: Window displaying dates and times of Equinoxes and Solstices for the selected year. The duration of the seasons is also displayed.
| Bug Fix: Year 2000 is a leap year. However, V2.00 was not calculating that correctly and was only displaying 28 days in Feb. 2000. This has now been fixed (I'm red-faced over this one!)
| Bug Fix: Fixed Local Sidereal Time (LST) bug which showed incorrect LST in non-GMT timezones.
| Bug Fix: Fixed floating point error in lunar eclipse calculations which occurred when calculating certain eclipses.
| Bug Fix: Fixed transposed 'Astronomical' and 'Civil' twilight end times labels on the tabular printout. V2.00 New: Complete rewrite of LunarPhase.
| New: Better accuracy in calculation of lunar and solar positional data.
| New: Better accuracy in calculation of lunar and solar rise/transit/set times and start/end times for twilight.
| New: The time can now be set for any time of day and the time and date can be reset to the PC's default values if required.
| New: The Sun's Right Ascension and Declination are now calculated and displayed.
| New: The date and time can be set for the major lunar phases by clicking on either the lunar phase icons or times.
| New: The North/South hemisphere toolbar icons (which appeared in V1.14) have been replaced with binoculars/telescope icons to indicate the view of the moon as seen through the selected instrument.
| New: Blue moons (using the second full moon in a month definition) are represented in the major phases window by a blue-coloured full-moon icon.
| New: Added more weblinks for online clickable lunar maps and other online lunar resources.
| Bug Fix: LunarPhase now runs correctly on Windows NT and printouts are printed correctly. (V1.14 caused floating point errors during some months and produced scrambled printouts).
| Bug Fix: Times of next Apogee and Perigee are now calculated from the selected date on the calendar. V1.14 assumed that there would always be one of each in every month (which is not correct).
| Bug Fix: Local Sidereal Time is no longer affected when the Daylight Savings Time setting is changed.
| Bug Fix: LunarPhase now opens centred on your screen (regardless of screen resolution) rather than at bottom right.
| Bug Fix: Fixed bug where LunarPhase would start clocking up through one day per second when the date was set < Jan 1 1900. V1.14 New: Added a new window which displays the circumstances of a lunar eclipse should one occur in the selected month. [The Lunar Eclipse icon ( ![]()
| New: Each full moon in a year has a specific name. These names are now displayed as part of the lunar phase description when the date of a full moon is clicked. Blue moons (using the second full moon in a month rule) are also named.
| New: Timezones can now be selected by the half-hour.
| New: Added a couple of more links to online lunar resources.
| Bug Fix: Fixed bug which caused controls and fonts to be oversized on systems running with 'Large Fonts' installed. Systems using 'Small Fonts' were not affected.
| Bug Fix: Fixed problem which occurs on systems using AMD chips which prevents Civil and Nautical twilight times from appearing on screen.
| Bug Fix: The list of months can now be closed by clicking anywhere off the list, rather thab always having to select one.
| Bug Fix: Fixed bug in calculation of Perigee distance. V1.13 New: Added links to online lunar websites.
| New: Added local Sidereal Time clock.
| New: Lunar RA and Dec now Topocentric instead of Geocentric.
| New: Added user selectable timezone and Daylight Savings Time to Configuration screen.
| Bug Fix: Solar and Lunar Azimuth and Altitude coordinates are now correct.
| Bug Fix: Fixed bug where the date and time sometimes remained on "today's date" regardless of what was selected on the calendar.
| Bug Fix: Apogee and Perigee times are are now displayed in local time rather than UT.
| Bug Fix: The Age of moon now calculated correctly for non GMT timezones.
| Bug Fix: The clock now always displays the current local time. V1.12 Bug Fix: Rise and Set times for non-GMT timezones are now calculated correctly.
| Bug Fix: All parts of display now update correctly when hemisphere is changed.
| Bug Fix: Southern hemisphere printouts now include correct sun and moon rise/set times.
| Bug Fix: Fixed bug which caused application to continually increment the day and update the display accordingly. (Only a problem in the 1st hour after midnight in non-GMT timezeones).
| Bug Fix: Major moon phase window now cleaned up correctly. (previously, changing from a month with 5 phases to one with 3 or 4 left the 5th phase icon still in the window).
| Bug Fix: New Moon daily phase on Calendar printout is now printed at the same dendity as other daily phases. V1.11 New: Added Up/Down scrolling arrows to Tablular List screen as an alternative to the existing method of dragging the required data into view.
| Bug Fix: Fixed bug which caused application to hang on equinoxes (this also affected the Tabular List screen).
| Bug Fix: Fixed bug which prevented further action with the application when the list of months appears off screen. This was only a problem if the application was moved beyond the right-hand edge of the screen. The list of months will always appear onscreen now. V1.10 New: Added Print Options window to allow customisation of calendar printout
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License and Registration |
In order to purchase LunarPhase, you must first download the installation file to your computer and install an evaluation version. You need the Product ID that is generated by LunarPhase (and displayed on the Configuration Screen) in order to purchase the License Key that removes the nag screens which appear after the evaluation period has expired.
If you have downloaded and installed the evaluation version of LunarPhase and have your Product ID, you can proceed to purchase a License Key using one of the following methods.
Pay on-line using your credit card:
Please remember to include the Product ID on the order form (if you don't, it takes longer for you to get your Licence Key as I have to email a request to you after I'm notified of your order).
The other thing to beware of is that you enter your email address correctly onto the Order form. If you don't, I won't be able to email a request or a Licence key to you.
Alternatively, you can send me your order and registration fee by snail mail (to the address below). Again, please remember to include the Product ID and a valid email address (if you have one).
PLEASE NOTE: A License Key only works on the computer that generated the corresponding Product ID. If, after purchasing a License Key, you want to install LunarPhase on another computer that you own, a different Product ID will be generated by LunarPhase for the second computer and you must then request a License Key for that computer. You may be granted additional License Keys without further payment. I reserve the right to limit the number of additional License Keys granted.
The single-user price for LunarPhase V2.70 is US$24.95.
Versions of LunarPhase are available on CDROM upon request. The primary deployment method for LunarPhase is across the Internet (you download it on your time), so if you require a copy on CDROM, I have to create one (on my own time). The turnaround time is therefore much slower for this medium. There is also an additional charge of $6.00 US to cover materials/production and shipping charges (per CDROM). For those ordering the software on CDROM, new versions of LunarPhase will NOT be automatically forwarded to you on CDROM. If you have Internet access, the latest version of the software can always be downloaded from this page. If you do not have internet access, a specific request (with the $6.00 fee) must be made before a CDROM with a later version of the software will be sent.
LunarPhase is a shareware application. You may use it freely for 30 days or 100 times (whichever happens sooner). After that, you will be presented with nag screens which will take increasingly longer to disappear the more you use the program.
Registering the software will remove the Splash and nag screens. Please note that registering is also a one-off thing, so getting future releases of LunarPhase won't cost you another cent (except where later versions are supplied on CDROM).
Contacting the Author |
The author welcomes comments or suggestions on LunarPhase (and reports of any bugs you might find) and can be contacted via his web page:
Downloading LunarPhase |
Download the latest version of LunarPhase (V2.70) here [File size: 2357K]:
Alternative sites
Click here |
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