input

Apparent geocentric position of the Moon

formulae from Astronomical Algorithms by Jean Meeus

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

2013
7
20
13
30

Output
Geocentric apparent coordinates
Longitude
266.763
Latitude
3.427
Right ascension
17.771
Declination
-19.969
Distance 0.0024057
Parallax
1.0155
Semi-diameter
0.2767

d
266
3
17
-19

m
45
25
46
-58

1
0

0
16

Time
JD 2456494
Days to J2000 4949.063
Julian centuries from J2000 0.135498

Page 1

s
45.7
38.9
14.8
-10.0

degrees
degrees
hours
degrees
au
55.8 degrees
36.2 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

2013
7
20
13
30

266.759084
3.429458
359881.6
1.015500

JD
Days to J2000.0
T

2456494.063
4949.0625
0.135497947

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

Degrees
Radians
269.126127
4.697137
150.629479
2.628980
195.326501
3.409091
354.430266
6.185975
46.153211
0.805525
137.615269
2.401840
192.417179
3.358313
4.070355
0.071041
0.99965895
0.99931802

Totals and additive terms - longitude and radius vector

Additional
Terms

Totals
A1
L'-F
A2
Final total

-2368305.6
2668.1099
-1337.4024
-68.378955
-2367043.3

Totals and additive terms - latitude

Additional
Terms

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

3427273.9
2234.74
27.114879
174.94303
-11.501868
-126.5737
-114.27352
3429458.3

Periodic Terms (longitude and radius vector)

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

-25118956.93

-25118956.93

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 -610370.561 -20806656.82
1274027 -3699111
1274027
-3699111 -1019771.097 -2217337.733
658314 -2955968
658314
-2955968 -562747.0561
-1533872.2
213618
-569925
213618
-569925 -41270.54354 -559187.5072
-185116
48888 -185052.8664 48871.32681 48913.01718 -47133.23113
-114332
-3149
-114332
-3149 -114239.3787 126.7276311
58793
246158
58793
246158 -43417.0947 165979.9298
57066
-152138 57046.53772 -152086.1135
53076.3016 55745.15648
53322
-170733
53322
-170733 -48051.57732 -74010.97926
45758
-204586 45742.39429 -204516.2262 43985.24436 56140.51693
-40923
-129620 -40909.04326 -129575.7933 14591.29861 121053.3234
-34720
108743
-34720
108743 -17028.61323 -94765.85609
-30383
104755 -30372.63792 104719.2734 5147.126497 -103204.6192
15327
10321
15327
10321 -7419.569566 -9031.091977
-12528
0
-12528
0 -12507.68548
0
10980
79661
10980
79661 -10876.42103 -10916.13061
10675
-34782
10675
-34782 -9903.793426 12980.21788
10034
-23210
10034
-23210 -2884.918868 -22229.98871
8548
-21636
8548
-21636 -8202.628833
6087.94971
-7888
24208 -7885.309808 24199.74389 -4837.833178 -19109.94357
-6766
30824 -6763.692465 30813.48752 -4648.495753 -22382.92537
-5163
-8379
-5163
-8379 -2083.569298 7666.400578
4987
-16675
4985.29919 -16669.31301 -1209.769127 -16171.06008
4036
-12831 4034.623527
-12826.624 3968.813616
2307.24265
3994
-10445
3994
-10445 -3750.275333 -3592.861857
3861
-11650
3861
-11650 -3425.306085 5376.140085
3665
14403
3665
14403 -2453.87691 10698.15737
-2689
-7003 -2688.08292 -7000.611636 1197.987636 6266.942138
-2602
0
-2602
0 -1642.255596
0
2390
10056 2389.184894 10052.57041 2127.416055 -4575.01158
-2348
6322
-2348
6322 -1344.75116 -5182.457553
2236
-9884
2234.47509 -9877.259299 -2234.350128 -104.4591757
-2120
5751 -2119.276977 5749.038629 154.7336866 -5733.694597
-2069
0 -2067.588981
0 -1054.13425
0
2048
-4950 2046.603303 -4946.624194 -2034.726247 -532.1456102
-1773
4130
-1773
4130 703.6547734 -3790.818753
-1595
0
-1595
0 -881.8565902
0
1215
-3958 1214.585626 -3956.650129 966.9556097 -2394.323721
-1110
0
-1110
0 -1096.835377
0
-892
3258
-892
3258 -884.453583 -422.8959798
-810
2616 -809.7237506 2615.107817 -610.9604595 -1716.206676
759
-1897
758.741144 -1896.353031 645.7601908 -995.6100009
-713
-2117 -712.5137475 -2115.556246 -421.0427766
-1706.674
-700
2354 -699.5226132 2352.394617 267.9022014 2173.041485
691
0 690.7643354
0
368.857504
0
596
0
595.796735
0 140.3600304
0
549
-1423
549
-1423 -460.1595264 776.1003876
537
-1117
537
-1117 -203.5852819 -1033.615015
520
-1571 519.8226547 -1570.464212 381.3564731 -1067.210923
-487
-1739
-487
-1739 -152.3578274 1651.706773
-399
0 -398.8639216
0 -278.4681973
0
-381
-4421
-381
-4421 370.5567738
1028.00157
351
0 350.8802919
0 -117.782693
0
-340
0
-340
0 -331.2485348
0
330
0
330
0 -324.184021
0
327
0 326.8884771
0 325.7453779
0
-323
1165 -322.7797201 1164.205492 -136.8376041 1054.412346
299
0 298.8980264
0 -44.04727073
0
294
0
294
0 -284.5713743
0
0
8752
0
8752
0 -7210.825071

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 3698374.726
1 280602
280602 182547.0978
-1 277693
277693 -217995.8086
-1 173237
173237 -167416.5598
1
55413
55413 -6770.518832
-1
46271
46271 -45659.59668
1
32573
32573 -7098.828798
1
17198
17198 9867.746342
-1
9266
9266 -8681.24243
-1
8822
8822 -7423.199007
-1
8216 8213.197944 7096.963058
-1
4324
4324 -4314.718348
1
4200
4200 -1308.851344
-1
-3359 -3357.854417 -3357.758863
1
2463 2462.159997
936.054707
1
2211 2210.245941 1034.728585
-1
2065 2064.295734 1876.166272
-1
-1870 -1869.362239 -797.6173427
-1
1828
1828 -682.8409798
1
-1794 -1793.388159 1575.757086
3
-1749
-1749
-1159.8451
1
-1565 -1564.466259 1440.625775
1
-1491
-1491 430.5151378
1
-1475 -1474.496953 1221.116376
-1
-1410 -1409.519121 -836.3648446
-1
-1344 -1343.541631 -688.4888167
-1
-1335
-1335 -1292.615438
1
1107
1107 544.1710794
-1
1021
1021 -287.6671945
1
833
833 -759.5523572
-3
777
777 -456.3869068
1
671
671 -582.2089588
-3
607
607 179.5016103
-1
596
596 -535.5273913
-1
491 490.8325451 398.1441796
1
-451
-451 11.39949375
-1
439
439 -390.6721404
1
422
422 -169.8060561
-1
421
421 -420.7887975
1
-366 -365.8751762 52.86944293
1
-351 -350.8802919 16.76526518
1
331
331 -313.5800442
1
315 314.8925697 173.7278278
-1
302 301.7940417 -211.352636
3
-283
-283 -207.3436038
-1
-229 -228.9218998 -228.0022501
-1
223 222.9239461 -193.440345
1
223 222.9239461 118.4917562
-1
-220 -219.9249693 -74.08955862
-1
-220 -219.9249693 -218.7194022
1
-185
-185 35.97438828
-1
181 180.9382702
170.99675
1
-177 -176.9396344 136.2166282
-1
176
176 -81.27912209
-1
166 165.9433859 19.09589504
-1
-164
-164 -162.0225233
-1
132
132 -24.72295078
-1
-119
-119 -111.7907081
-1
115 114.9607794
2.08298271
1
107
106.927028 -73.2521202

nutation

Low precision nutation corrections

formulae from Astronomical Algorithms by Jean Meeus

JD
Days to J2000
T
mean lambda
mean beta

2456494.063
4949.0625
0.135497947
266.7591
3.4295

quantity
ecliptic of date
long asc lunar node (omega)
mean long sun (L)
mean long moon (L')

degs
23.4375
222.9730
118.4969
269.1262
arcsec
13.03
-7.15

delta phi
delta e

true lambda
true beta
true ecliptic

note

radians
0.409062
3.891613
2.068161
4.697138
degs
0.003621
-0.00199

degs
radians
266.7627 4.655888
3.4275 0.059821
23.4355 0.409027

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

2456494.063
4949.0625
0.135497947
266.7627
3.4275
359881.6031

sin

cos

4.655888 -0.998404 -0.056471

0.059821 0.059785 0.998211

degrees
hours
23.43554346
0.003620521

radians
sin
cos
0.409027 0.397717 0.917508

geocentric equatorial
alpha
delta

degrees
hours
radians
a
b
266.5615364 17.7707691 4.652376469 -0.93986 -0.056471
-19.96944503
-0.34853257 -0.34152 0.939875

Page 5

equatorial

tan

17.679816
0.059892

tan
0.433475

tan
16.64318
-0.36337

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