input

Apparent geocentric position of the Moon

formulae from Astronomical Algorithms by Jean Meeus

Input
Date and time
Year
Month
Day
Hour (TDT)
Minute

1904
1
1
0
0

Output
Geocentric apparent coordinates
Longitude
68.501
Latitude
-4.621
Right ascension
4.501
Declination
17.165
Distance 0.0024723
Parallax
0.9881
Semi-diameter
0.2693

d
68
-4
4
17

m
30
-37
30
9

0
0

59
16

Time
JD
Days to J2000
Julian centuries from J2000

2416481
-35064.5
-0.96001

Page 1

s
3.2
-16.4
5.3
54.7

degrees
degrees
hours
degrees
au
17.2 degrees
9.3 degrees

series

Geocentric longitude and latitude of moon (mean equinox and ecliptic)

formulae from Astronomical Algorithms by Jean Meeus
Date and time

Results

Year
Month
Day
Hour (UT)
Minute

1904
1
1
0
0

68.500636
-4.618481
369852.8
0.988119

JD
Days to J2000.0
T

2416480.5
-35064.5
-0.960013689

Arguments
Symbol
L'
D
M
M'
F
A1
A2
A3
E
E^2

Degrees
Radians
74.560948
1.301334
155.326270
2.710955
357.947888
6.247369
297.526268
5.192813
252.717462
4.410752
353.173155
6.164034
32.810829
0.572657
171.037181
2.985162
1.00240857
1.00482295

Totals and additive terms - longitude and radius vector

Additional
Terms

Totals
A1
L'-F
A2
Final total

-6059950.6
-470.48426
-63.116271
172.31373
-6060311.9

Totals and additive terms - latitude

Additional
Terms

Total
L'
A3
A1-F
A1+F
L'-M'
L'+M'
Final total

-4616509
-2154.3482
59.513114
172.09422
-159.73428
86.557557
24.081045
-4618480.8

Periodic Terms (longitude and radius vector)

lamda (degs)
beta (degs)
distance (km)
pi (degs)

-15147755.58

-15147755.58

line
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60

D
0
2
2
0
0
0
2
2
2
2
0
1
0
2
0
0
4
0
4
2
2
1
1
2
2
4
2
0
2
2
1
2
0
0
2
2
2
4
0
3
2
4
0
2
2
2
4
0
4
1
2
0
1
3
4
2
0
1
2
2

M
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
-1
0
-1
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
-1
0
0
0
1
0
-1
0
-2
1
2
-2
0
0
-1
0
0
1
-1
2
2
1
-1
0
0
-1
0
1
0
1
0
0
-1
2
1
0
0

M'
1
-1
0
2
0
0
-2
-1
1
0
-1
0
1
0
1
1
-1
3
-2
-1
0
-1
0
1
2
0
-3
-2
-1
-2
1
0
2
0
-1
1
0
-1
2
-1
1
-2
-1
-1
-2
0
1
4
0
-2
0
2
1
-2
-3
2
1
-1
3
-1

F
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-2
2
-2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
-2
2
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
-2
0
0
0
0
-2
-2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-2

L coeff R coeff
L eccen
R eccen
L term
R term
6288774 -20905355
6288774
-20905355 -5576878.779 -9661519.072
1274027 -3699111
1274027
-3699111 289328.8196 -3602460.408
658314 -2955968
658314
-2955968 -499445.8731 -1925725.013
213618
-569925
213618
-569925 -175097.8953 326467.3414
-185116
48888 -185561.8657 49005.75039 6644.682904 48974.32162
-114332
-3149
-114332
-3149 -64865.33639 2593.145854
58793
246158
58793
246158 56945.91063
61216.9916
57066
-152138 57203.44771 -152504.4357 14977.29683 -147184.3713
53322
-170733
53322
-170733 -49501.39342 63463.37536
45758
-204586 45868.21155 -205078.7606 -33706.69293 -139088.3787
-40923
-129620 -41021.56609 -129932.1994 -35675.68702 -64136.31799
-34720
108743
-34720
108743 -14493.88089 -98814.72828
-30383
104755 -30456.17972 105007.3102
27495.211 45164.05715
15327
10321
15327
10321 3910.660832 -9979.39433
-12528
0
-12528
0 -12433.58118
0
10980
79661
10980
79661
5139.33514 -70396.02222
10675
-34782
10675
-34782 -6307.900862 -28060.09453
10034
-23210
10034
-23210 1296.015992 23015.58022
8548
-21636
8548
-21636 3781.023926 -19404.31397
-7888
24208 -7906.998835 24266.30677 -1518.771447 23814.45338
-6766
30824 -6782.296414
30898.2419 5300.471929 19276.96285
-5163
-8379
-5163
-8379 3164.439235 6620.708702
4987
-16675 4999.011561 -16715.16298 2248.164932
14929.4594
4036
-12831 4045.721006 -12861.90442 -3807.28008 4350.283662
3994
-10445
3994
-10445 -397.035118
10393.2635
3861
-11650
3861
-11650 -3816.626648 1761.167807
3665
14403
3665
14403 2448.856545 -10715.90876
-2689
-7003 -2695.476657 -7019.867247 -2263.294506 3812.534399
-2602
0
-2602
0 -951.0499755
0
2390
10056 2395.756493 10080.22062 2340.335921 2155.623701
-2348
6322
-2348
6322 -2345.090651 -314.6181802
2236
-9884 2246.784116 -9931.670038 -1595.446507 -6992.874432
-2120
5751 -2125.106178 5764.851711 1697.194725 -3469.34028
-2069
0 -2078.978684
0 148.7945237
0
2048
-4950 2057.877402 -4973.873603 609.5771214 -4750.650335
-1773
4130
-1773
4130 -1729.323692 -911.0504338
-1595
0
-1595
0 -1586.006072
0
1215
-3958 1217.926418 -3967.533138 -684.0324462 -3282.672677
-1110
0
-1110
0 -388.5026117
0
-892
3258
-892
3258 -178.5601627 -3192.055567
-810
2616 -811.9509453 2622.300831 742.4825506 -1061.285976
759
-1897
760.828108 -1901.569066 360.7540517 -1674.21526
-713
-2117 -716.4387634 -2127.210185 -610.0103231 -1115.592201
-700
2354 -703.376065 2365.353224 -110.2995802 2336.089242
691
0 692.6643249
0 664.3044296
0
596
0 597.4355103
0 131.6518407
0
549
-1423
549
-1423 -177.2081739 1346.830804
537
-1117
537
-1117 504.2772749 383.9607349
520
-1571 521.2524587 -1574.78387 -517.7530881 182.1699528
-487
-1739
-487
-1739 479.1918821 -310.1526492
-399
0 -399.9610212
0 -115.8319552
0
-381
-4421
-381
-4421 -380.9915149 -29.5051502
351
0 351.8454096
0 351.8110766
0
-340
0
-340
0 263.9540772
0
330
0
330
0 329.9184597
0
327
0 327.7876038
0 -44.24320437
0
-323
1165 -324.5578129 1170.618737 297.8148191 465.3220772
299
0 299.7201637
0 -175.1024468
0
294
0
294
0 245.9206064
0
0
8752
0
8752
0 -5891.182923

Page 2

Periodic Terms (latitude)

line
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60

D
0
0
0
2
2
2
2
0
2
0
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
0
4
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
4
4
0
4
2
2
2
2
0
2
2
2
2
4
2
2
0
2
1
1
0
2
1
2
0
4
4
1
4
1
4
2

M
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-1
0
0
1
-1
-1
-1
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-1
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
-1
-2
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
-1
1
0
-1
0
0
0
-1
-2

M'
0
1
1
0
-1
-1
0
2
1
2
0
-2
1
0
-1
0
-1
-1
-1
0
0
-1
0
1
1
0
0
3
0
-1
1
-2
0
2
1
-2
3
2
-3
-1
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
-2
-1
1
-2
2
-2
-1
1
1
-1
0
0

F B coeff
B eccen
B term
1 5128122
5128122 -4896594.386
1 280602
280602 -49901.09528
-1 277693
277693 195702.2712
-1 173237
173237 146809.1927
1
55413
55413 -55267.26869
-1
46271
46271 39905.76929
1
32573
32573 -12920.64441
1
17198
17198 13594.60364
-1
9266
9266 -733.233796
-1
8822
8822 -2677.034294
-1
8216 8235.788847 7131.481486
-1
4324
4324 -217.448011
1
4200
4200 2649.050644
-1
-3359 -3367.090401 -2787.592661
1
2463 2468.932319 -2467.267601
1
2211 2216.325358 -951.4324219
-1
2065 2069.973706 1746.556281
-1
-1870 -1874.504034 -399.1933839
-1
1828
1828 1729.044205
1
-1794 -1798.320982 1696.897291
3
-1749
-1749 -1080.453667
1
-1565 -1568.769419 1144.724837
1
-1491
-1491 -1108.790089
1
-1475 -1478.552647 210.6702866
-1
-1410 -1413.39609 -959.5355842
-1
-1344 -1347.237124 -1299.918282
-1
-1335
-1335 1323.907419
1
1107
1107
1005.6884
-1
1021
1021 152.4574007
1
833
833 -495.4438121
-3
777
777 -763.6755365
1
671
671 -662.7937391
-3
607
607 -606.422199
-1
596
596 -548.6712232
-1
491
492.18261 -21.35321024
1
-451
-451 236.8707401
-1
439
439 -432.5138201
1
422
422 413.4141003
-1
421
421 -382.6545423
1
-366 -366.8815382 364.7298365
1
-351 -351.8454096 127.9106215
1
331
331 144.9838021
1
315 315.7587009 190.2554455
-1
302 303.4565309 268.0338721
3
-283
-283 116.5546547
-1
-229 -229.5515635 26.34725229
-1
223 223.5371121 -220.5078354
1
223 223.5371121 160.7764268
-1
-220 -220.5298864 169.3749934
-1
-220 -220.5298864 -194.0680159
1
-185
-185 46.10144804
-1
181
181.435952 -15.60703274
1
-177 -177.4263177 -144.0526627
-1
176
176 127.5916875
-1
166 166.3998234 159.2249715
-1
-164
-164 56.45446418
-1
132
132 -106.6358139
-1
-119
-119 68.11509707
-1
115 115.2769861 21.28392106
1
107 107.5160557 -49.60248149

nutation

Low precision nutation corrections

formulae from Astronomical Algorithms by Jean Meeus

JD
2416480.5
Days to J2000
-35064.5
T -0.960013689
mean lambda
68.5006
mean beta
-4.6185
quantity
ecliptic of date
long asc lunar node (omega)
mean long sun (L)
mean long moon (L')
delta phi
delta e

true lambda
true beta
true ecliptic

degs
23.4518
181.8418
279.2347
74.5623
arcsec
0.87
-9.91

note

radians
0.409311
3.173738
4.873564
1.301357
degs
0.000241
-0.00275

degs
radians
68.5009 1.195566
-4.6212 -0.08066
23.4490 0.409263

Page 3

low precision formulas are good to

about 0.5 arcsec in delta phi and 0.1
arcsec in delta e, so the error in lunar
position from the truncation of the series
is still the most important error term

nutation

s are good to
elta phi and 0.1
he error in lunar
cation of the series
rtant error term

Page 4

equatorial

Conversion to geocentric equatorial coordinates

formulae from Astronomical Algorithms by Jean Meeus
radians
JD
Days to J2000
T
true lambda
true beta
distance

true ecliptic of date

nutation in longitude

2416480.5
-35064.5
-0.960013689
68.5009
-4.6212
369852.8044

sin

cos

1.195566 0.930423 0.366487

-0.080656 -0.080568 0.996749

degrees
hours
23.44902149
0.000240679

radians
sin
cos
0.409263 0.397933 0.917414

geocentric equatorial
alpha
delta

degrees
hours
radians
a
b
67.52221491 4.50148099 1.178484968 0.885749 0.366487
17.16520468
0.299589338 0.295128 0.955458

Page 5

equatorial

tan

2.538762
-0.080831

tan
0.433755

tan
2.416864
0.308886

Page 6

notes

Notes
Lunar position spreadsheet
Keith Burnett,
keith@xylem.demon.co.uk,
http://www.xylem.demon.co.uk/kepler/
This spreadsheet produces the apparent geocentric coordinates of the moon for a given date and
dynamic time, and was produced to demonstrate the modern series methods used to find planet
positions. The lunar series used is taken from;
Astronomical Algorithms
Jean Meeus
Willmann-Bell
1991, corrected re-printing
ISBN 0-943396-35-2
Meeus claims 10" in the geocentric ecliptic longitude of the moon, and 4" in the latitude. The
simple one line formula used to find the number of days from J2000 is only good for years from
1901 to 2099.
This spreadsheet gives results consistent with Meeus' worked example in Chapter 45, bearing in
mind that an approximate nutation theory (see Meeus Chapter 21, formulae on page 132) has
been used.
Results for the RA and DEC have been checked with the Interactive Computer Ephemeris and
with Dr Ahmed Monsur's Mooncalc 4.0, and are within the expected limits. Below are some values
from the ICE to check the spreadsheet with;
Date
Julian Date
Year
2416480.50000 1904
2425977.50000 1930
2436247.50000 1958
2436247.50000 1958
2451034.31528 1998
2460769.08333 2025

Mon
Jan
Jan
Feb
Feb
Aug
Apr

Apparent Places of MOON

Time
RA
Da h m s
h m
s
1 0 00 00
4 30 05.063
1 0 00 00
19 33 28.093
13 0 00 00
17 12 03.334
13 0 00 00
17 12 03.334
8 19 34 00
21 50 31.006
3 14 00 00
5 36 40.644

+
+

17
26
19
19
12
28

Dec
'
"
10 03.67
32 07.84
25 55.90
25 55.90
29 25.14
35 59.09

Dist
AU
.0024723
.0027169
.0025736
.0025736
.0024763
.0024906

Times must be in UT (strictly TDT), and I am seeing up to 10" error on the declination. There are
'notes' embedded in various cells of the spreadsheet to explain aspects of the implementation.
Enjoy!

Page 7