P. Kenneth Seidelmann’s research while affiliated with University of Virginia and other places

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Publications (98)


A HISTORY OF WESTERN ASTRONOMICAL ALMANACS
  • Article

February 2023

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5 Reads

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4 Citations

Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage

P. Kenneth Seidelmann

Before the Nautical Almanacs

June 2020

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44 Reads

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1 Citation

From the earliest times astronomical information was used for calendars, time, climate, farming, seasons, and phenomena predictions. The Sun, Moon, five planets, and star patterns were known. Treatises and tables were used to calculate positions of planets. There are records of astronomical data in different forms from different countries. Ptolemy created accurate geometrical models for compiling positions of planets. The Chinese had records of celestial phenomena. The Mayan had their codices containing almanacs. The Islamic cultures had astronomical zijes of astronomical tables. In the 15th and 16th centuries there were a number of almanacs printed with the printing presses. In 1628 Kepler produced the Rudolphine Tables, the first real improvement since Ptolemy. With the printing press many almanacs were published with astronomical data and other information. The Royal Observatory at Greenwich was founded in 1675. The Connaisance des Temps was first published in 1678. In 1700 the Calendar Edict introduced the Gregorian Calendar to Germany and required a stamp tax on calendars, which supported the astronomers of the Berlin Observatory. Navigators could determine latitude by angular measurements of Polaris or the Sun. Different navigational instruments were developed for measuring celestial angles with increasing precision.


International Cooperation

June 2020

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67 Reads

The different countries initiated their own almanacs independently. The need for a standard meridian led to the adoption of the Greenwich meridian as the prime meridian. Cooperation and the adoption of international standards began in 1896 and continued thereafter. The establishment of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) provided a continuing forum for communication and cooperation. International standards for reference systems, ephemerides, and time scales were adopted and improved over the years. The international exchange of data continued through World War II and the Cold War. Punched Card equipment and computers provided improved methods and changes in the cooperative arrangements. The British and United States Nautical Almanac Offices (HMNAO and USNAO, respectively) established joint publications. Scientific collaboration of astronomical observations and data was also established. A number of international organizations were established for international communication and cooperation. Three editions of the Explanatory Supplement documented the international standards and publication methods over the years.


The History of Celestial Navigation Rise of the Royal Observatory and Nautical Almanacs: Rise of the Royal Observatory and Nautical Almanacs

January 2020

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95 Reads

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6 Citations

This edited volume charts the history of celestial navigation over the course of five centuries. Written by a group of historians and scientists, it analyzes how competing navigation systems, technologies, and institutions emerged and developed, with a focus on the major players in the US and the UK. The history covers the founding of the Royal Observatory; the first printing of a Nautical Almanac; the founding of the US and UK Nautical Almanac Offices; the creation of international standards for reference systems and astronomical constants; and the impact of 20th century technology on the field, among other topics. Additionally, the volume analyzes the present role and status of celestial navigation, particularly with respect to modern radio and satellite navigation systems. With its diverse authorship and nontechnical language, this book will appeal to any reader interested in the history of science, technology, astronomy, and navigation over the ages.








Citations (29)


... Boistel (2022) published a very complete and detailed history of the CDT from its founding up to 1920, focusing on its publication. Seidelmann (2019) discussed the place of the CDT among Western astronomical almanacs. In this paper, we will follow the evolution of the sources and the accuracy of the CDT. ...

Reference:

THE CONNAISSANCE DES TEMPS: A FRENCH ASTRONOMICAL EPHEMERIS PUBLISHED SINCE 1679
A HISTORY OF WESTERN ASTRONOMICAL ALMANACS
  • Citing Article
  • February 2023

Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage

... The length of the solar year has undergone various estimations and interpretations. The pursuit to understand the precise length of the solar year has been a fascinating and captivating journey spanning millennia, marked by countless observations, calculations, revisions, and constant refinements and updates (Meeus and Savoie, 1992;McCarthy, 2009;Richards, 2013). From the ancient Egyptians' and Babylonians' simple observations of celestial patterns to the highly sophisticated calculations of modern astronomers, each era has contributed to refining our understanding and evolving knowledge of this fundamental unit of time. ...

Time ‐ From Earth Rotation to Atomic Physics
  • Citing Book
  • October 2009

... Diagram For Napier's Rules Circular Parts. [14] Napier's Rule has two rules for applying the formula, the rules of the formula: Sine of middle angle = product of tangents of adjacent angles i.e., one of the sine angles is equal to the product of the adjacent tangent angles. ...

The History of Celestial Navigation Rise of the Royal Observatory and Nautical Almanacs: Rise of the Royal Observatory and Nautical Almanacs
  • Citing Book
  • January 2020

... The length of the solar year has undergone various estimations and interpretations. The pursuit to understand the precise length of the solar year has been a fascinating and captivating journey spanning millennia, marked by countless observations, calculations, revisions, and constant refinements and updates (Meeus and Savoie, 1992;McCarthy, 2009;Richards, 2013). From the ancient Egyptians' and Babylonians' simple observations of celestial patterns to the highly sophisticated calculations of modern astronomers, each era has contributed to refining our understanding and evolving knowledge of this fundamental unit of time. ...

Time: From Earth Rotation to Atomic Physics
  • Citing Book
  • October 2018

... Stokes had pendulums in mind when thinking about his drag law. Of course, the things that pendulums are good for are clocks; in other words, for telling the time [16,17]. A crucial difference between fluids and granular media is the reason why sand timers or clocks are more prevalent than water clocks in the history of horology. ...

The Science of Time 2016: Time in Astronomy & Society, Past, Present and Future
  • Citing Book
  • January 2017

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Pavel Gabor

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P. Kenneth Seidelmann

... Among these, sinusoidal time series are particularly significant due to their ability to model periodic behaviors observed in both natural and artificial systems [1,2]. For instance, in astronomy, periodic variations in solar time and astronomical measurements arise from Earth's rotation and orbit around the Sun, which can be effectively captured using sinusoidal models [3]. Similarly, in electrical engineering, sinusoidal waveforms form the foundation for understanding alternating current behaviors, as they accurately represent the periodic fluctuations in voltage and current in real-world circuits [4]. ...

Mean Solar Time and Its Connection to Universal Time
  • Citing Chapter
  • September 2017

... Apart from the studies on periodic orbits in the RTBP, there is extensive literature concentrated on the dynamics and orbit design around planetary moons by using the averaging theory within the perturbed two-body framework [15]. Through the averaging of perturbing potentials, short-period terms are eliminated, and the averaged dynamics retaining long-term evolutionary properties could be obtained [16][17][18][19]. Considering the planetary moon's nonsphericity and the third-body perturbation due to the planet, the long-term dynamic behaviors of orbiters around the moons have been analyzed through double averaging [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. ...

Astrophysics and Space Science Library
  • Citing Book
  • January 2016

... Rendering a periodic orbit asymptotically stable employing the control input can be regarded as a very fundamental control problem. The problem statement is motivated by various examples in engineering such as, for example, the control of a satellite motion along a particular mission dependent orbit (Gurfil and Seidelmann (2016)) or in a hybrid setting to realize walking and running motions of bipedal robots (Westervelt et al. (2003)). Moreover, the control problem also arises in the context of Lotka-Volterra equations which describe chemical reactions, predator and pray populations in biology and models in economic theory. ...

Satellite Orbit Control
  • Citing Chapter
  • July 2016