Course / Planets and the Moon

Part IV · The fix · Page 2 of 3

The Moon

The Moon is the hardest body to reduce, because it is so close. Its parallax (the difference between its direction from you and from the Earth's center) is up to a degree, and changes with its distance, which the almanac gives as HP (horizontal parallax) every hour.

  • GHA: hour + increment from the Moon column (the Moon moves only about 14°19′ an hour) + v correction. v is large and given for every hour.
  • Dec: hour + d correction; d is given for every hour too, and can be over 15′.
  • Altitude: the two-part Moon table. The first correction by Ha; the second from the same column by HP, with the L figure for the lower limb or U for the upper. Add both; for the upper limb subtract 30′.

Ha 33°27′, HP 58.4′, lower limb: first correction 57.3′, second 5.9′; total +63.2′.

Upper limb, same sight: 57.3′ + 4.0′ − 30′ = +31.3′.

Moon: altitude correction

First correction by Ha, then the second from the same column by HP, L or U. Add both; subtract 30′ for the upper limb.

First correction, Ha 30°–34°
Ha00′10′20′30′40′50′
30°58.958.858.858.758.658.5
31°58.558.458.358.258.258.1
32°58.057.957.857.857.757.6
33°57.557.457.457.357.257.1
34°57.056.956.956.856.756.6
Second correction, same column
HPLU
54.00.91.5
54.31.31.7
54.61.61.9
54.91.92.0
55.22.32.2
55.52.62.4
55.83.02.6
56.13.32.7
56.43.62.9
56.74.03.1
57.04.33.2
57.34.63.4
57.65.03.6
57.95.33.8
58.25.63.9
58.56.04.1
58.86.34.3
59.16.64.4
59.47.04.6
59.77.34.8
60.07.65.0
60.38.05.1
60.68.35.3
60.98.65.5
61.29.05.6
61.59.35.8

The app's Moon table is built the way the Nautical Almanac's is, and matches every entry of the 2024 almanac from 5° up within 0.1′.