Efecalc

This program, made by Mr. Sandro Batista, affiliated with the Astronomical Observatory - University of Coimbra (Portugal) is very useful for the calculation of events, not only planetary, but also stellar.

It is very easy to use and I have been able to verify, from Valencia (Spain) Lat. 39º 27' 9'', Long. 0º 22' 7'', the exactitude of the offered data, reason why the used mathematical algorithms are correct.

In the first place appear a series of useful startup «Tips», which can be cleared at user’s taste. Its first menu, «Dates and Time», immediately offers the Julian Day, Sidereal Apparent Mean Time in Greenwich and Dynamical Time, although for countries affected by summer time it is necessary to add or to remove the corresponding hour (indicated by the author for its correction, which facilitates the understanding of the warning). Also the menu location of the observer offers the possibility of choosing from a few hundred preset in the database or, if your place of observation is not included, to create your own.

The next menu is dedicated to the parameters of the Sun. Here it is also possible to change the date, the hour and place of observation (as in the menus of Moon and Stars). Offered, next to the typical ephemeris of rise, transit and set times, ecliptics, equatorials and horizontals coordinates (with miscellaneous), and parameters for Sun Physics (Sinodic Rotation and others. It also shows a very important data: The Equation of for Time with an illustrative graphic of month and current to year.

The same happens with the menu of the Moon and all planets of the Solar System. Check the Eclipses zone. You can see the event next to world map (moon and sun, with the position of the Central Eclipse Line).

The Stars menu offers (for 458 main stars), FK5 coordinates 2000, coordinates for the current to year and apparent coordinates for the current day, parallax, distance in parsec and Proper Motion of the star. Can one expect more?

The Calendar menu item showns the current year: seasons, religious to calendar and sun entrance into the signs. Graphics of the Sky menu: for the current day, all the planets positions (and Sun) by Geocentric, Heliographic, Plane of the Equator, North and South Pole. The cross position gives you the Right Ascension and Declination. You can choose planet by planet or to group all together. Also the possibility is offered of consulting an astronomical dictionary online (very useful).

Update menu: The creator of this wonderful program updates it continuously. In all menus there is an aid icon online.

Efecalc is and indispensable Software to program observations. If XEphem is the king of ephemeris in Linux, Efecalc is (I believe) the king in Windows . Great care as been taken as to the graphical presentation is concerned and the stars that circulate at full speed in the beginning screen, give you an expressive idea of the usefulness of this software.

Added:  Monday, July 12, 2004
Reviewer:  Ángel José Nicolás
Score:
Related Link:  Efecalc Homepage
Hits: 3464
Language: eng