Continuing at least four centuries into the future, these tables are also useful to those who wish to predict future sky happenings. Students of the moon will find tables of the four principal lunar phases and of the sun's selenographic colongitude. Tables giving the dates of equinoxes and solstices of Mars will aid in interpreting observations as far back as the telescopic drawings by Huygens and Cassini. Sky events for the next several decades are especially well covered. A listing of all occultations of planets and bright stars through the year 2000 is supplied, with data and calculator programs for computation of local circumstances and graze limits.
Mathematical procedures are clearly outlined, so PC users can write their own programs.
Lunar distances are given for each perigee and apogee until the year 2005. Eclipse buffs will appreciate the listing of solar eclipses through the year 2050. Additional data for the same period enable the reader to obtain the times of principal stages of all eclipses of the moon. Data on past and future transits of Mercury and Venus enable the calculation of the four contact times of the planetary and solar disks. Jean Meeus' books and articles on celestial phenomena have been enthusiastically received world-wide.