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MAXCLOCK 3.2 USER HANDBOOK
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| ( Part 1 of the software documentation for MAXCLOCK 3.2 ) |
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Copyright (c) 2010 Udo Mark
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Table of Contents:
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1. GENERAL INFORMATION
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2. USING THE PROGRAM
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3. TROUBLESHOOTING
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4. SOME IDEAS FOR EXPERIMENTS
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5. UPDATE HISTORY
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--- 1. GENERAL INFORMATION ------------------------------------WHAT IS MAXCLOCK ?

Essentially, MAXCLOCK is a HIGH-PRECISION DIGITAL ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK. It
will show:
* Civil date & time, day number in the year;
* Julian date and modified Julian date both in terms of ephemeris time
ET (TT) and universal time UT1;
* Delta-T, the difference between ET and UT1;
* Mean solar time, apparent solar time, equation of time;
* Mean sidereal time, apparent sidereal time, equation of equinoxes;
* Geocentric ecliptical and equatorial coordinates of Sun and Moon
(with/without nutation and aberration selectable, referenced to mean
dynamic equinox and ecliptic of date or to FK5);
* Constellation and zodiac sign for the Sun;
* Constellation, zodiac sign, phase, appearance, and illuminated
fraction of the Moon;
* Elongation between Sun and Moon;
* Earth distance to Sun and Moon;
* Announcements for equinoxes, solstices, and Moon phases;
Time informations are displayed for ITRF Greenwich zero meridian. Solar
and sidereal times are also displayed for any other freely user-selectable
location anywhere on planet Earth, e.g. for your home observation site.
Display is on the screen of your computer and is continuously updated as
the computer clock runs, the update interval can be selected between one
and 60 seconds (fully-automated clock mode).
Acoustic signalling (time beeps) can be selected and update can also be
initiated manually (semi-automated clock mode).

To do this, MAXCLOCK only uses the internal clock of the computer and an
easy-to-edit configuration file.
Computations may also be made for user-supplied date & time (typed through
keyboard or read from file, non-clock mode), and output may also be
directed to a protocol file.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS & AVAILABILITY:

MAXCLOCK runs on any PC/XT/AT (x86, x88, x286, x386, x486, Pentium) with a
working system clock (imperative), under any DOS or WINDOWS operating
system.
380 kB free RAM, (800 kB under newer WINDOWS systems) and monochrome
25-line text-mode-only screen will be sufficient, math coprocessor is used
when present, but not necessary. Computer loudspeaker may be used for time
signals.
(For fully-automated clock mode, a x286 processor, preferably with
coprocessor, is required at minimum.)
System requirements are intentionally moderate in order to enable the
usage of older surplus computers as standalone table-top clocks.
Copies are available for free from the author:
Udo Mark
Meisenweg 4
85667 Oberpframmern, Germany
E-Mail: admin@umark.de
or downloadable from the URL:
www.umark.de

--- 2. USING THE PROGRAM

------------------------------------

CONTENTS OF THE DISTRIBUTION PACKAGE:

Though computationally equivalent, MAXCLOCK comes in two flavours: A 16bit version for DOS and older WINDOWS systems, and a 32-bit version for
newer WINDOWS systems from WINDOWS VISTA onwards.
The packages include:
16-bit
the executable program:
the configuration file:
window generator for DOS:
window generator for WINDOWS:
the loader for ANSI-escape support:
a sample inputfile:
a sample batchscript to invoke MAXCLOCK:
a tool to force-set computer date:
a readme-file:

MAXCLOCK.EXE
MAXCLOCK.CFG
MAX_DOS.BAT
MAX_WIN.BAT
ANSI.COM
SAMPLE.DAT
SAMPLE.BAT
SDATE.EXE
README.TXT

32-bit
MAXCLOCK.EXE
MAXCLOCK.CFG
--MAX_WIN.BAT
--SAMPLE.DAT
SAMPLE.BAT
SDATE.EXE
README.TXT

this handbook file:

an information file on special topics:
total

HANDBOOK.TXT
SPECIALS.TXT
11 files

HANDBOOK.TXT
SPECIALS.TXT
9 files

INSTALLING AND RUNNING:

Copy the whole package into an empty harddisk directory where you want
MAXCLOCK to reside. (Do not copy into directories containing older
versions of MAXCLOCK !)
The 16-bit version uses the system support for the so-called "ANSI-escapesequences", which may be installed on some operating systems by default
and may be absent entirely on others.
To ensure proper function under any DOS or WINDOWS system, the following
procedures are recommended:
For DOS systems:
If you do not have ANSI support or are not sure about it, make
MAXCLOCK's directory your _current_ directory, start MAX_DOS.BAT, and
call MAXCLOCK from the prompt as described below in chapter "USING THE
COMMAND LINE".
If you have full ANSI support installed, call MAXCLOCK like any other
DOS program from the prompt. (Syntax see below in chapter "USING THE
COMMAND LINE".)
For WINDOWS systems up to WINDOWS XP:
If you do not have ANSI support or are not sure about it, start
MAX_WIN.BAT by doubleclicking it in the file explorer, and then call
MAXCLOCK from the prompt as described below in chapter "USING THE
COMMAND LINE".
You are of course free to work with desktop icons. Let any icons point
to MAX_WIN.BAT (not to MAXCLOCK.EXE itself), and insert the respective
working directory in the icon.
If you have full ANSI support installed, call MAXCLOCK by double
clicking on MAXCLOCK.EXE in the file explorer or by opening a DOS
(console) window and then proceeding as described below in chapter
"USING THE COMMAND LINE".
You are of course free to work with desktop icons. Let the icon point
to MAXCLOCK.EXE, and insert the respective working directory in the
icon.
You may change the appearance of MAXCLOCK's window by right-clicking
on the title bar of the window and then selecting appropriate
properties from the menu. By pressing ALT-ENTER (ALT-RETURN) you may
extend the window to fill the whole screen.
Note that properties menu may vary according to WINDOWS version and
that properties may not always work as desired.
For WINDOWS systems from WINDOWS VISTA onwards:
Start MAX_WIN.BAT by doubleclicking it in the file explorer, and then
call MAXCLOCK from the prompt as described below in chapter "USING THE
COMMAND LINE".
You may also call MAXCLOCK by doubleclicking on MAXCLOCK.EXE in the
file explorer or by opening a DOS (console) window and then proceeding

as described below in chapter "USING THE COMMAND LINE".

You are of course free to work with desktop icons. Let any icons point
to MAX_WIN.BAT or to MAXCLOCK.EXE, and insert the respective working
directory in the icon.
You may change the appearance of MAXCLOCK's window by right-clicking
on the title bar of the window and then selecting appropriate
properties from the menu. By pressing ALT-ENTER (ALT-RETURN) you may
extend the window to fill the whole screen.
Note that properties menu may vary according to WINDOWS version and
that properties may not always work as desired.
For any system, you may also use individually taylored batchscripts to run
MAXCLOCK. If you do not have ANSI support, any such script must invoke the
loader ANSI.COM before calling MAXCLOCK. For this, see the sample
batchscript SAMPLE.BAT

USING THE COMMAND LINE:

The command line syntax is:

MAXCLOCK /n [cfgfile] [outfile]

n = control parameter
n = 0
: clock mode, user controlled update.
n = 1...60: clock mode, auto update every n seconds.
n = 77
: non-clock mode, input by keyboard.
n = 88
: non-clock mode, input from file.
cfgfile = full path & name of configuration file (max. 60 character), when
not specified, the file MAXCLOCK.CFG will be searched in the
current directory.
outfile = full path & name of outputfile (max. 60 character), when not
specified, output will be sent to screen.
The normal mode is the fully-automated clock mode. For maximum convenience
and clock-like appearance, it is recommended to select just a few seconds
for the screen update interval "n": Then, every n seconds a new screen of
results will be computed and displayed.
For lowering processor workload, a user controlled update has also been
provided (semi-automated clock mode).
If you do not specify any arguments, title and user information will be
displayed upon starting the program.
If your current directory is not the same as MAXCLOCK's directory, specify
full path and filename of any file you want to use.
Initially, you will perhaps conveniently use the configuration file
MAXCLOCK.CFG which has come with the package.
To increase accuracy and fully exploit the capabilities of the program,
you may later edit MAXCLOCK.CFG with a text editor and build individual
configuration files from it. (See below in chapter "CONFIGURATION FILES".)
As a supplement to this clock mode, you can use MAXCLOCK for occasional
single computations with dates and times of your choice:
This is called the "non-clock mode", and is invoked by typing:
maxclock /77
With this option you may enter date & time through the keyboard, and you
will receive one single screen of results for every date/time entered.
In this non-clock mode, you also may direct the output to an outputfile
(protocol file) by specifying its name in the command line, like for

example:
maxclock /77 maxclock.cfg mytest.out
If you wish to additionally read dates & times from an inputfile, see
below in the section "WORKING WITH INPUTFILES IN THE NON-CLOCK MODE".

WHAT IS SHOWN ON THE SCREEN ?

On the top, a status line is displayed:
It shows program title and working mode such as "automatic update every
... seconds" for the fully-automated clock mode, "user controlled update"
for the semi-automated clock mode, or "non-clock mode".
Additionally, the time interval which is needed by your computer for
computing every new screen update is indicated ("lag", given in
milliseconds).
The next section deals with civil and ephemeris time details:
The date & time setting of the computer clock, resp. the user- or
file-supplied date & time are shown, accompanied by the time shift
specified in the configuration file.
A line below, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is given. This is what
formerly had been loosely reckoned as "Greenwich Mean Time".
On the right side, you will find the day number in the year.
Further, there is given:
- DUT1, the difference between Universal Time UT1 and UTC (as specified
via configuration file, keyboard, or inputfile).
- Julian date and modified Julian date in terms of Universal Time UT1.
- Delta-T, the difference between ephemeris time and Universal Time UT1
(here given as DT, resp. dt).
- Julian date and modified Julian date in terms of ephemeris time ET (TT).
Then, the section for the Sun and Moon follows:
Capital letters "N" and "A" indicate that nutation and aberration have
been included in the computation of coordinates, "n" and "a" indicate that
they have been omitted. "DED" says that coordinates are referenced to mean
dynamic ecliptic and equinox of date, "FK5" says that they are referenced
to FK5 catalog. "IAU80" and "LAS86" indicate the nature of polynomial used
for computing the obliquity of the ecliptic.
The positions are given in longitude, latitude, right ascension, and
declination.
For the Sun, the constellation and the zodiac sign, together with the
equation of time and the Earth-Sun distance in astronomical units are
displayed.
If an equinox or solstice is near (or has just appeared), program will
announce approximate time intervals, starting 7 days in advance. For
example, announcements will show up like "12-24 hours till equinox" or
"0-5 minutes till equinox", and so on.
For the Moon, the following items are displayed: Constellation, zodiac
sign, illuminated fraction, elongation from the Sun, phase, and Earth-Moon
distance as a fraction of mean distance.
The appearance is described in terms of "gibbous", "crescent", "waxing",
and "waning".
When quartermoon-positions are nearing (or have just appeared), the
program will announce approximate time intervals, starting 24 hours in
advance (5 days in advance for new and full Moon). The announcements will
be in the same style as with the Sun.

The phase is not computed according to the strict astronomical definition,

it is instead derived from the difference in ecliptical longitude compared
with the Sun, taking values of exact zero at full Moon, exact 90 degrees
at first quarter, and so forth. However, illumination and elongation are
computed rigorously.
In the last section you will find what one would mainly expect from a
clock: Instantaneous time, expressed in hours, minutes, and seconds.
Values are given for "mean solar", "apparent solar", "mean sidereal", and
"apparent sidereal", both for for Greenwich ITRF zero meridian, and for
the location which is selected through your configuration file.
To the left, equation of equinoxes is displayed, together with the options
for the computation model as selected in the configuration file.
As for the accuracy of these results, for further details, and for
algorithms used, please refer to the file SPECIALS.TXT

SENDING SCREEN CONTENT TO A PRINTER

With DOS systems, the "PRINT"-key of your keyboard will send any screen
content to the standard printer.
However, with most WINDOWS systems, you will first have to copy the
content of MAXCLOCK's window to the clipboard and then process/print it
with a text editor of your choice.
Note that for editing such clipboard content, a non-proportional fixedpitch (raster-type) font like "Courier", "Terminal", "MS-Linedraw",
"Lineprinter", "Draft", or "Lucida Console" will do better than a
proportional font.

CONFIGURATION FILES:
A standard configuration file named MAXCLOCK.CFG has come with the package
and will be used unless you specify another file on the command line. If
you received MAXCLOCK via e-mail, this configuration file usually contains
a rough longitude specification for your location. If you downloaded
MAXCLOCK from its webpage, it contains a longitude specification for
Copernicus' workplace in Fromborg, Poland, just to make an example.
In any case, you may modify the configuration data according to your
personal needs with any text editor on your computer.
Just refer to MAXCLOCK.CFG, it will provide all relevant information.
Beyond, to yield maximum computational accuracy for the given geographic
location, the longitude specification in the configuration file should
follow some rules. A detailed discussion of this topic may be found in the
information file SPECIALS.TXT

WORKING WITH INPUTFILES IN THE NON-CLOCK MODE:

As mentioned above, you may compute for any date & time of your choice in
the so-called non-clock mode.
To avoid repeated typing of dates & times through the keyboard, you may

conveniently use an inputfile holding a number of date/time strings.

Inputfiles must be ordinary ASCII/ANSI-textfiles and may contain any
number of date/time strings. Every string must occupy one line in the
form:
5-character
2-character
2-character
2-character
2-character
7-character
8-character
1-character
3-character
2-character
7-character

year (col. 1 to 5, integer, sign optional)

month (col. 7 to 8, integer)
day (col. 10 to 11, integer)
hour (col. 13 to 14, integer)
minute(col. 16 to 17, integer)
second(col. 19 to 25, decimal fraction)
DUT1 (col. 27 to 34, decimal fract., sign optional)
mandatory sign of Delta-T (col 36, plus or minus)
hour of Delta-T (col. 37 to 39, integer)
minute of Delta-T (col. 41 to 42, integer)
second of Delta-T (col. 44 to 50, decimal fraction)

Years may range from -9999 to +9999, years BC must carry a symbolic minus
sign (directly preceding it), years AD may carry a plus sign, no year zero
is allowed. (For some other calendrical restrictions, see the chapter on
input values in file SPECIALS.TXT.)
The items must be separated by any one character. (e.g. blank, tab, colon,
etc.) Any such string may be followed by additional text in its line.
Decimal fractions must be written with points (full stops), not with
commas.
This writing of date and time closely conforms to general conventions and
the ISO 8601 / EN 28601 international standards. For an example, see the
file SAMPLE.DAT
Note that DUT1 values (-99 to +99 seconds allowed) in such inputfile will
always override DUT1 value specified in any configuration file.
Also note, that Delta-T values in such inputfile (-999 to +999 hours
allowed) will override program internal ephemeris time model only if this
has been selected in the configuration file. (For details on this, see in
configuration file MAXCLOCK.CFG)
When invoked like:
maxclock /88
program will first ask you for the name of the inputfile, and then you
will receive one single screen of results for every date/time string in
this file.
You may try this with the sample inputfile SAMPLE.DAT, which has come with
the package. In this file, the strings cover the time span 45 BC till
AD 1583 and you will see the situation on every 21st of March.
You may go back and forth through inputfiles by giving appropriate
commands.
For building your own inputfiles, you may conveniently use SAMPLE.DAT as a
specimen.
Date/time strings already given in ISO 8601 / EN 28601 writing in a
textfile can be easily moulded into MAXCLOCK format with any text editor.
Make sure to save inputfiles as ordinary ASCII/ANSI ("text only", "plain
text", or "DOS Text"), without any formatting specific to your text
editor. Also, make sure that the last line (just like any other line) of
such inputfile is properly terminated with a carriage-return character.
You also may direct the output to an outputfile (protocol file) by
specifying its name in the command line, like for example:
maxclock /88 maxclock.cfg mytest.out

In this case, the inputfile will be processed straightforward from top to

bottom without any intervention from the user. All results will be
written to mytest.out where you may access them later. This way you may
process larger amount of input data in a "from-file-to-file" mode.

ACOUSTIC TIME SIGNALS:

In the configuration file you may choose whether and how acoustic time
signals (beeps) are issued.
Time signal beeps are sent to the computer loudspeaker or soundcard (if
available) instead of any output port, thus they do not disturb other
connected apparatus, and can be conveniently picked up electrically,
amplified by ordinary audio amplifier, rectified, and used for whatever
other purpose.
Time signal beeps are strictly synchronous with CPU time. They start at
that precise moment, when computer clock reaches the respective point of
time. Once the beep having terminated, computation for that point of time
and sending screen output are brought on their way.
The time lag shown in the upper right corner of the screen reflects the
accumulated time interval consumed for these actions.
Note that time beeps consume considerable CPU time (a significant fraction
of a second) and therefore may increase time lag in an undesirable way on
otherwise fast computers.
For precise timing (especially under WINDOWS systems) it is recommended to
close other windows and programs, since these could cause disturbances
according to execution priorities set by the WINDOWS operating system.

THE HARDWARE CLOCK OF YOUR COMPUTER:

In the clock mode, your computer clock itself must be "right on time",
since MAXCLOCK derives time information from it through BIOS and the
operating system.
To ensure this, you should at least check the computer clock from time to
time, since hardware clocks can run considerably wrong when left
unattended for longer.
The best way, of course, is to have your computer clock synchronized to a
zone time signal. From the technical point of view, you have mainly five
options to do this:
1) Local authority via analog modem:
You may use special software which interrogates the time service of
your country's timekeeping authority through analog modem and
telephone line.
2) Local authority via terrestrial radio:
You may directly receive time signals broadcast from ground-based
stations, by means of special receivers to be connected (serial, USB,
or parallel port) or inserted to the computer.
In Europe, for example, various mail-order stores sell very cheap
receivers and software (under 25 Euro) to synchronize with the DCF-77
long-wave time signal station near Frankfurt/Germany (which is sending
Central European Time).
Similar receivers are available for a number of non-European
countries.
3) Satellites:

On a worldwide basis, you may synchronize with time signals broadcast

from satellite-based transmitters.
For example, besides high-precision (and very expensive) professional
equipment, consumer-grade receivers for the US-owned GPS-NAVSTARsatellites sell at about 100 to 200 Euro worldwide.
Receivers are usually connected via serial or USB port, using the socalled NMEA-183 protocol.
4) Internet/NTP:
Also on a worldwide basis, you may receive time signals via internet
from internet time servers with NTP- (Network Time Protocol) or SNTP(Simple NTP) software.
5) By hand:
If you choose to only occasionally set your computer clock by hand
(watching for time beeps of local radio stations, for example), you
may improve accuracy by installing software which does no explicit
synchronizing, but continuously adjusts internal clock drift.
Besides commercial software, for any of these alternatives software may be
found for free on the internet or is available for free from the
respective timekeeping authorities of your country.

"YEAR-2000-COMPLIANCY" AND BEYOND

MAXCLOCK is fully "year-2000-compliant" and also properly handles future
millenniums up to its allowed range of values which ends in the year
AD 9999.
Besides, MAXCLOCK fully implements the presently adopted Gregorian rules,
mandating that the years 4000 and 8000 will become leap years, as have
been the years 1600 and 2000.
However, when MAXCLOCK is operated in the clock mode, it has no own
"knowledge" about time, instead it receives date & time from the operating
system of your computer.
Thus, if the operating system and/or the BIOS of your computer cannot
supply an error-free time signal, MAXCLOCK will be affected.
Experience has shown that this is the case for numerous older computers
when used after the year 1999. Due to manufacturer's poor design, these
computers are not "year-2000-compliant".
For details, see below in section "TROUBLESHOOTING".

COMPATIBILITY WITH FORMER PROGRAM VERSIONS

This version is 100% backwards compatible to version 3.1. Thus, you may reuse version 3.1 configuration files and input files. Additionally, you may
re-use version 3.0 input files, but no 3.0 configuration files.
Other files from former versions cannot be read.
However, files from former versions may be very easily modified with any
text editor.
The differences to former versions are:
1) Configuration files:
Arrangement of lines has been modified, additional configuration
parameters necessary. (see MAXCLOCK.CFG)
2) Inputfiles:
The writing of dates has been changed to conform to international

standards (which is "year-month-day").

Seconds must be given as decimal fraction. Further columns accommodate
for DUT1 and Delta-T.
For details, see above in section "WORKING WITH INPUTFILES IN THE
NON-CLOCK MODE"

--- 3. TROUBLESHOOTING --------------------------------1) MAXCLOCK "hangs up" or occasionally shows wrong time:
When you run MAXCLOCK in the clock mode, you should never use BIOS
options which perform "power management", "power saving", or "green"
functions.
These functions in some cases disable interrupts and hinder MAXCLOCK
from receiving correct time information from the hardware clock.
Consequently, as for your BIOS setup, do NOT allow that interrupts are
ignored, or that components of your computer are switched down for the
sake of power saving (as is very common with laptop or notebook
computers).
2) Clock mode: Screen does not update with new time telegram though
update interval has elapsed:
On older and slower computers, the computations take considerable time.
Make a few computations in the non-clock mode (invoke with "maxclock 77") and observe the time lag information given in the upper right
corner of the screen.
If time lag exceeds 60000 (sixtythousand) milliseconds, the fullyautomated clock mode cannot be used at all on your computer. If it
does not exceed this value, proceed as follows:
1) Suppress acoustic beeps by setting the respective option in the
configuration file to "noBEEP" or "BEEP0".
2) Choose an update interval which is longer than the longest time lag
observed.
3) If you now wish to additionally send acoustic beeps, you will
probably have to increase the update interval by some further
amount.
3) Obscure characters on the screen, screen jammed:
Probably you started MAXCLOCK by *not* using one of the batchscripts MAX_DOS.BAT and MAX_WIN.BAT *and* the ANSI support of your
operating system is not as extensive as one would wish.
Start MAXCLOCK by using the respective batchscript (as described above
in chapter "INSTALLING AND RUNNING") and follow any instructions
issued by that batchscript.
If you started from a self-built desktop icon or a self-built
batchscript, check the settings of these (paths, directories, etc.)
and refer to sample batchscript SAMPLE.BAT.
4) Data are read erroneously from configuration file or from input file:

Check writing: Decimal points must be written as full stops, not as

commas, signs must not be separated from numerical values.
Have items separated by spaces in input files.
Terminate every line (including the last one) with "ENTER" or
"RETURN".
Make sure to save any files as ordinary ASCII/ANSI "text only", "plain
text", or "DOS Text", without any formatting specific to your text
editor.
5) Computer clock cannot be set to years before 1980 or later than 2099
(or other dates):
These are peculiarities of the operating systems DOS
have nothing to do with MAXCLOCK.
In some cases, the utility tool "SDATE" (included in
software package) has proven successful to force-set
However, computations with user-supplied date & time
any year from 9999 BC until AD 9999 in the non-clock

and WINDOWS and

the MAXCLOCK
to other dates.
can be made for
mode.

6) MAXCLOCK (and operating system) display wrong date after power-on:

Since MAXCLOCK receives date and time from the operating system, this
indicates that the operating system itself or the BIOS of your
computer are not "year-2000-compliant" - a deficiency of many
computers built before year 2000.
As remedy, set date of your computer manually with:
a) the tools provided by DOS or WINDOWS (command "date"),
b) or the utility tool "SDATE" (which is a little more powerful and is
included in the MAXCLOCK software package)
c) or some other synchronizing software of your choice
With at least one of these methods, the computer should maintain
correct date until next power-off.
If it does not (or if you wish to maintain correct date across poweroff-power-on cycle), check with the manufacturer of the BIOS and/or
the operating system whether some remedy is available from their side.
7) Acoustic time signalling works irregularly:
This indicates processor overload or disturbances according to
execution priorities determined by the operating system. Close any
other open windows and programs and verify that no time-consuming
tasks are performed in the background by checking the CPU time
consumption in the WINDOWS task manager.

--- 4. SOME IDEAS FOR EXPERIMENTS --------------------------------------------1) Watch the Sun passing through the thirteen constellations of the
zodiac:
Times and positions considerably differ from what mythologically is

said for the so-called twelve "signs" of the zodiac. (In late
December, for example, the Sun is in the 13th constellation, the
Ophiuchus.)
2) Verify that sidereal days are shorter than solar days:
From one civil midnight to the next, sidereal time will have increased
by more than 24 hours.
3) When aiming your telescope at a celestial object of known right
ascension RA, you can conveniently use the sidereal time shown by
MAXCLOCK to find hour angles:
Start MAXCLOCK in the clock mode and simply find hour angle according
to:
HourAngle = LocalSiderealTime - RAofObject
4) See the consequences of precession:
In the non-clock mode, for example, compute for your birthday, and
then for the same date appr. 2000 years later. Mostly the Sun will be
in another constellation, while still being at approximately the same
longitude and as such in the same mythological "sign".
5) See how seasons begin to shift across the year when there are slight
calendar imperfections accumulating, as was the case in the calendar
introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC:
The sample inputfile SAMPLE.DAT gives date/time strings for every 21st
of March, ranging from 45 BC till AD 1583. You may notice an equinox
shift amounting to more than 12 days, until, in the year 1583, the
Gregorian reform brought the equinox back to the point where it had
been observed at appr. AD 300.
(Regarding the usage of inputfiles, see above in the section "WORKING
WITH INPUTFILES IN THE NON-CLOCK MODE".)
6) In the clock mode, watch the moment, when seasons change:
This happens when the Sun reaches apparent longitudes of integer
multiples of 90 degrees.
MAXCLOCK gives announcements one week in advance, so you may observe
the respective event approaching. Alternatively, you may wish to run
MAXCLOCK for a short time interval near the following moments only:
Event:
first equinox 2010 :
first solstice 2010 :
second equinox 2010 :
second solstice 2010:
first equinox 2011 :
first solstice 2011 :
second equinox 2011 :
second solstice 2011:
first equinox 2012 :

Appr. occurence in Universal Time:

Sat. March 20 17:32
Mon. June 21 11:28
Thu. Sept. 23 03:09
Tue. Dec. 21 23:38
Sun. March 20 23:21
Tue. June 21 17:16
Fri. Sept. 23 09:05
Thu. Dec. 22 05:30
Tue. March 20 05:14

first solstice 2012 :

second equinox 2012 :
second solstice 2012:
first equinox 2013 :
first solstice 2013 :
second equinox 2013 :
second solstice 2013:
first equinox 2014 :
first solstice 2014 :
second equinox 2014 :
second solstice 2014:
first equinox 2015 :
first solstice 2015 :
second equinox 2015 :
second solstice 2015:
first equinox 2016 :
first solstice 2016 :
second equinox 2016 :
second solstice 2016:

Wed.
Sat.
Fri.
Wed.
Fri.
Sun.
Sat.
Thu.
Sat.
Tue.
Sun.
Fri.
Sun.
Wed.
Tue.
Sun.
Mon.
Thu.
Wed.

June
Sept.
Dec.
March
June
Sept.
Dec.
March
June
Sept.
Dec.
March
June
Sept.
Dec.
March
June
Sept.
Dec.

20
22
21
20
21
22
21
20
21
23
21
20
21
23
22
20
20
22
21

23:09
14:49
11:12
11:02
05:04
20:44
17:11
16:57
10:51
02:29
23:03
22:45
16:38
08:21
04:48
04:30
22:34
14:21
10:44

7) You can use the program to layout sundials without need for
geometrical constructions (clock mode):
First, to find perfect north-south alignment of the gnomon (which is
difficult with ordinary compasses), just wait for the moment, when the
Sun is due south of your location: This is, when apparent solar time
for your location is exactly 12:00:00.
At this moment, adjust the gnomon in a way that its shadow strikes a
vertical plumb line, hanging from its upper end. (Respectively in a
way, that its shadow appears right under itself.) For this, turn
azimutally only and leave elevation unchanged, since elevation usually
should have been matched to your latitude before.
Then, if you want your sundial to show the civil (zone) time of your
time zone as accurate as possible, you must take into account the
equation of time (EQT): This means, simply do not draw the hour lines
on the full civil hours, but on full civil hours minus EQT: When
EQT = -12 min, you will have to draw the 9 o'clock line at 9:12 zone
time, when EQT = +3 min, draw the 9 o'clock line at 8:57 zone time.
However, if you want your sundial to show the local time of your
location (instead of zone time), you may use MAXCLOCK's local time
display instead: Draw the 9 o'clock line at exactly 9:00 local
apparent time, and so on.
You can apply any procedure on any sunny day of the year.
As usual, when compared to mean time, your sundial reading will always
be "fast" when EQT is positive, and "slow" when EQT is negative.
8) Extremes and zeros of the equation of time:
Watch the four days in a year, when the equation of time is zero. On
these days, readings from ordinary uncompensated sundials agree with
mean time - mean solar time equals apparent solar time.
While the days of agreement vary slightly from year to year as we
adjust for leap years, this usually happens at about April 16,
June 14, September 2, and December 25.
You may also watch the extreme values of the equation of time (up to
appr. 17 minutes), which appear at about February 12 and November 3.
Note that for epochs in the far past or far future these days of
occurence will wander considerably through the calendar year: This is

because obliquity of ecliptic, eccentricity of Earth's orbit, and

longitude of Earth's perihelion all undergo slow changes, and because
Julian calendar (used before 1582) does not approximate the tropical
year closely enough.
9) You may wish to compare results of MAXCLOCK against other data tables
or against other programs:
This version of MAXCLOCK not only uses high-precision algorithms for
the celestial mechanics part, but also allows for separate handling of
nutation, aberration, ephemeris time correction Delta-T, and UTC
versus UT1 deviation.
With these features given, results may be conveniently taylored to
become comparable to other sources.
For example, by setting the ephemeris time correction Delta-T to zero
(in the configuration file), you may interpret input time data as
ephemeris time (not as solar zone time) and directly compare Sun and
Moon positions thus computed against other Sun and Moon positional
data (which usually are given referred to ephemeris time).
For all these subtleties, it is recommended to thoroughly read the
chapters on time and positions in the file SPECIALS.TXT
10)You may use MAXCLOCK displays as an assistance or for exercising
celestial navigation:
a) To determine the UT (GMT) moment of Greenwich transit of the Sun,
you may use MAXCLOCK's display of the equation of time.
b) To estimate in advance the UT (GMT) moment of local transit of the
Sun, you may use your last dead-reckoning longitude together with
MAXCLOCK's display of equation of time.
c) For determinimg your latitude with the Sun at local Sun transit,
you may use MAXCLOCK's display of the instantaneous declination of
the Sun.
d) To determine Greenwich hour angle of Aries (GHA), use the display
of Greenwich sidereal time.
e) To determine the local hour angle (LHA) of Aries (to be used as
entrance point in integer degrees for the H.O. tables or for the
Polaris table), you may use the display of local sideral time.
f) To determine the local hour angle (LHA) of the Sun (to be used in
the same way), you may use the display of local apparent solar time.
g) To find Greenwich hour angle of the Moon, you may subtract the
Moon's right ascension from Greenwich sidereal time (both read from
the display and converted into same units). The declination of the
Moon may also be taken from MAXCLOCK's display.
For all these tasks, you will preferably put the last dead-reckoned
longitude in the configuration file, set the time shift in the
configuration file to zero, invoke with "MAXCLOCK -77", and key in
date and time as UT (GMT) ship chronometer time.

--- 5. UPDATE HISTORY

--------------------------------Mar.1.,1997 - Version 1.0

- First release
Oct.1.,1997 - Version 2.0
- Modified Julian date and day number displayed;
- Improved algorithm for Sun yields 3-arcsec-accuracy;
- Zodiac sign, distance, and equinox/solstice messages for the Sun
displayed;
- Equation of time computed by iteration to improve accuracy;
- Precession incorporated in finding the constellation for Sun;
- Display of position and appearance of the Moon included;
- Positions of Sun and Moon can now be computed with/without
nutation/aberration;
- Apparent solar time displayed, true solar time discontinued;
- Non-clock mode added to enable single computations;
- Screen buildup improved for slower computers, minor flaws corrected;
Jan.1.,1998 - Version 2.1
- Announcements for phases of Moon, solstices, and equinoxes are issued
more precisely;
- Non-clock mode modified to go back and forth in input files;
- Documentation supplemented;
- Minor screen cosmetics;
June 1.,1998 - Version 2.2
- DUT incorporated in configuration file, JD and MJD computations strictly
based upon UT1;
- Delta-T displayed, most recent IERS/NEOS values adopted for years from
1996 on;
- Date writing follows international standards ISO 8601 / EN 28601;
- Documentation supplemented;
Apr.7.,2002 - Version 3.0
- New algorithm for Sun coordinates (VSOP87) and Moon coordinates (ELP2000
82) considerably increases accuracy from arcsec to milliarcsec domain;
coordinates displayable both in mean dynamical ecliptic and equinox of
date and FK5 catalog equinox, latitude of Sun displayed;
- Illuminated fraction of the Moon, Sun-Moon elongation, and constellation
for Moon displayed;
- Equation of time computed by dynamically subtracting hour angles of mean
and apparent Sun (no more by iteration) - improves accuracy;
- DUT terminologically corrected to DUT1, DUT1 handling according to
common definition (DUT1=UT1-UTC), values may also be read from inputfile
and keyboard and then override configuration settings;
- Extended announcement intervals for solstices and equinoxes
(7days...1sec), new and full Moon (5days...1sec), 1st and 3rd quarter
(1day...1sec);
- Equation of equinoxes and apparent sidereal time displayed, various
computational alternatives for these items;
- Julian date and modified Julian date displayed both in terms of UT1 and
ET;
- Display of configuration file name discontinued;
- Display numerical resolution extended, screen cosmetics, some
announcements in color;
- Internal ephemeris time model updated: Taking regard of historical
eclipse data and most recent value for Moon's tidal acceleration yields
improved extrapolation for ancient and future times;
- Both clock and non-clock mode allow to override internal ephemeris time
model with user-supplied Delta-T values;
- Comes with window generators which supply the necessary support for ANSIescape-sequences under any DOS or WINDOWS operating system (no more

modifications in system configuration files necessary);

- Includes SDATE, a tool to force-set computer date;
- Documentation supplemented;
Jan.2004 - Version 3.1
- Acoustic time signalling enabled;
- Obliquity polynomial can be selected;
- Delta-T values updated;
- Display modified, bug in file output graphics fixed, documentation
supplemented;
Jan.2010 - Version 3.2
- Delta-T values updated with latest IERS C04 data up to Dec. 2009;
- documentation supplemented;
End of MAXCLOCK 3.2 USER HANDBOOK -------------------------------