Goodgulf's telescope

Through Goodgulf's telescope:

Notes

This is the "game date" version, also available is the "now" version

The output of the javascript largely matches that of my BBC BASIC program and that of my java program.

Given the restructuring and the change of language, I feel this is pretty good. It's worth noting that the planet positions do not correct for either perturbations or the speed of light!

However the algorithm for the moons is a indirect copy of the BBC BASIC code and must be wrong. I KNOW the algorithm is rubbish because, for example, it does not correct for parallax between the centre of the planet and the surface. This is quite a significant factor given Senemora's orbit at 24,137 miles and the surface of the planet is probably at 8,000 miles or so.

The drawback with rewriting the algorithm to be more accurate is that it will, of necessity, change the behaviour!

Last updated: January 12, 2023 at 9:06 am