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標題: Occult 4.0 安裝、使用及更新 [打印本頁]
作者: occult    時間: 2009-8-31 05:32     標題: Occult 4.0 安裝、使用及更新

Occult 4.0 安裝和使用
Occult 4.0 正式發佈，用戶可在這裏下載

要正常執行Occult 4.0

軟件要求

作業系統：視窗 XP (service pack 2) 或者 Vista
XP 須安裝微軟 .NET 2.0 或以上版本
XP 須用 I.E. 7.0 或以上版本

要預報至 20 等星須另裝 NOMAD 星表 (星表佔 96 GB 空間)
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:17

Occult 4.0.2.8 更新已經可以在這裏下載

請解壓更換同名檔案便可。
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:18

The TWO MOST IMPORTANT CHANGES FOR OCCULT 4.0

1. The decimal separator issue that depends on the Regional Setting - has been fixed. If
you are in a region that uses a comma as the decimal separator, you can run this version
without changing the decimal separator of your regional setting (Internally, Occult will
always use the period. To be precise - if Occult detects the decimal separator as a comma,
the program will internally use the 'culture' settings of the US, without affecting
anything else on the computer.)

2. For asteroid occultation predictions - map of the event. If the middle of the event
occurs on one day, but the event starts on the previous day, the heading _should_ give the
date as the 'previous' day, with the time range from 23 hrs to 24 hrs. A bug in 4.0.1.0
prevented the day being set as the 'previous' day - although the hours were adjusted to
the 23 to 24 hour range. As a result, the heading gave an event time 1 day after the
actual event. Unfortunately, as a result of this bug someone had the misfortune of going
out to observe such an event a day late. [Ooops.] This has been fixed!

Other main changes are:

1. For asteroid occultations, added an estimated Red magnitude, and light-drop in
Red (which is the colour most appropriate for CCD video cameras.)

2. For lunar graze predictions, added an extra output option of decimal degrees for
latitude/longitude.

3. Added the ability to save various animated outputs as animated-GIf files.

4. Revised the data used to calculate the orientation of a planetary disk; added
Carrington rotation number to the Solar Ephemeris output.

5. The HelpFile has been updated for the various changes. Additionally content description
for all the files in the Resource Files directory has been completed, and a list of key
constants/values used in the program has been added..

Various other changes have been made to address a number of minor bugs identified by
users.
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:18

Example of animated outputs



作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:19

To ensure continued high accuracy of predictions into 2009 and the next few years,
the next leap second needs to be updated to the fact of it occurring at the
end of this year.  This requires a very simple edit - as follows:

********
Occult 4
********
1. Select the Maintenance tab, 'Edit deltaT' button.
2. On the LEFT-hand table for 'delta TA' select the year 2010. The details for that year
will be displayed in grey in relevant boxes
3. Now click the button 'Add a new year'. This will enable boxes with the data for 2010.
Change the year 2010 to 2009 (with no other changes), and click OK.
4. Repeat with the year 2014 - this time changing the year to 2012 (a guess on my
part....)
5. Now delete the entries for 2010 and 2014. The last three lines of the table should now
read:
2006.00: 33 0.33
2009.00: 34 0.50
2012.00: 35 0.50

Finally, click 'Save delta TA and deltaT tables'. You can now close the form. Predictions
will continue to be fully accurate after the leap second next year.
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:19

Important update to Occult

************ ********* ***
Main changes in Occult 4.0.5
************ ********* ***

The main changes in this version of Occult are associated with supporting the processing
and archiving of lunar occultation observations. The Japanese Hydrographic Department
(ILOC) has been the agency responsible for collecting lunar occultation observations since
19981. Unfortunately they are unable to continue with that role, and the International
Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) has agreed to take on the responsibility.

As part of this responsibility:
* the lunar occultation report format has been revised;

* Occult has been revised to support the new format, and to email observation reports to
regional coordinators;

* Occult has been revised to allow regional coordinators to reduce the observations, and
make them ready for archiving in the Astronomical Data Centres of VizieR.


Additionally there have been a range of updates and improvements, with the following being
the more noteworthy:

* Lunar occultation reports are emailed from within Occult

* A download form to make it easy to update a full range of data files.

* Update of the JPL planetary Ephemeris source, to DE414 and DE421. This is an optional
download, that improves the accuracy of both asteroid and lunar occultations

* Revision of the Tycho2 catalogue, to incorporate the star positions and proper motions
from the Hipparcos2 catalogue. This is an optional download that improves the accuracy of
asteroid predictions involving Hipparcos stars.

* Complete rework of the files of historical lunar occultation observations, including a
new reduction using the DE421 ephemeris. This is an optional download, but essential for
grazing occultation profiles. It completely supersedes the files of historical occultation
observations used in previous versions of Occult.

* For lunar occultations and grazes - if the star is likely to have a significant apparent
diameter, the possible duration of a fade, or diameter of the star at the distance of the
moon (for grazes) is indicated.
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:19

New Lunar Occultation reporting Process - some extra points

New process for reporting lunar occultations.

1. Grazing occultations. The members of a graze expedition should continue to report their
results to the person who organised the graze (as has been done for the last 40 years).
That person will then send the combined observations to Mitsuru Soma. Individual observers
should not send their observations direct to Mitsuru.

2. Reporting frequency. At this stage we are working on the basis of observers reporting
their observations on a monthly basis, and aim to have a monthly update to the publicly
available file of current observations. But if you make a lot of observations over a
couple of nights, you can send your report at that time. Graze reports should be sent to
Mitsuru as soon as all observations have been collected.

3. Please do not send your report to more than one person. The process for archiving the
observations involves merging the reports gathered by the different coordinators into a
single file. If you report your observations to different coordinators, they will create
duplicate observations in the merged file - and someone will have to go through and delete
the duplicates.
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:20

Occult 現時最新版本 4.0.5.19 (2009年1月23日發佈)
更新事項
1. For people that use Occult to demonstrate astronomical events. Laterthis year the Earth passes through the ring plane of Saturn (Sept 4).What may not be as well known is that for about a month prior to thering-plane crossing, the sun will be illuminating the other side of therings - such that the rings will be invisible from early August. Thegraphic display of Saturn has been amended to indicate this period whenthe rings will be 'open' but invisible.

2. For lunar occultation observations, you can now plot the lunar limbon the surface of the Earth (in GoogleEarth) at the time of each eventin a report. While this has been added mainly to resolve site locationproblems, observers may find it interesting to plot their ownobservations.

3. The plot of world maps for all occultations of an object (eg Venus)has been improved to ensure all events are plotted (a small number wereskipped previously).

更新版本可以在以下網址下載
http://www.lunar-occultations.com/occult4/occult405%20update.zip

將解壓檔案複蓋到原有路徑上，並取代同名檔案。
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:20

梅西爾

2008年第六期天文愛好者有介紹其使用
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:21

Occult 現時最新版本 4.0.5.20 (2009年2月23日發佈)
更新事項

1. Asteroid predictions. IMPORTANT CHANGE. The header for the graphic now includes an
extra line giving the star's RA and Declination on the mean equinox of date. This is the
position that is required for many GoTo scopes to slew correctly to the star. [Definitely
the Meade Autostar system]. This new feature, which is important for anyone using a GoTo
scope, will filter through to the various predictions over the next few weeks as new
predictions are generated.

2. Generating plots in GoogleEarth. Previously I used a single file name for all plots. I
have changed this so that plots generated from different parts of Occult have their own
file name. This allows plots of different data to be made at the same time.

3. For those conducting searches for asteroid occultations using NOMAD, there is now a
check option to exclude B1 and N1 stars from the search.

4. For lunar observations, download of Earth Orientation Parameters - you can now set the
reminder interval in the user settings form.

5. Star catalogue details for XZ stars. Enhanced the details for double stars - so that
the usual star number is given for each component, and a 5-year ephemeris is provided for
stars with orbits.

6. On the Downloads form, the flag to indicate that there is XZ catalogue data to be
downloaded will now operate correctly.

更新版本可以在以下網址下載
http://www.lunar-occultations.com/occult4/occult405%20update.zip

將解壓檔案複蓋到原有路徑上，並取代同名檔案。
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:21

Occult 現時最新版本 4.0.6 (2009年3月8日發佈)
更新事項

This version contains a significant update relevant to lunaroccultations. As a result of some queries concerning a graze of ZC844predicted to occur on March 5 (in the US), a significant issue came toattention. In brief:

* XZ80P was compiled by Mitsuru Soma many years ago. In that exercise he put much effort into incorporating data from Hipparcos.
* XZ80Q adopted XZ80P positions without change, where the position was derived from Hipparcos.
* The issue that escaped my attention (although Mitsuru alerted me toit at the time ... oops!) was that where Hipparcos included positionsfor the components of a double star, the position used in XZ80P was amean position of the two stars. [The mean being derived on the basis ofrelative magnitudes.]

The consequence is that for all such stars, the XZ80Q position is notof either star, but of the mean position. And this creates a problemwhen the positions of the components of the double star are determinedfor accurate graze predictions, and accurate reductions - since doublestar offsets are traditionally referenced to the brighter star of apair.

Initially I thought there would only be a few 10's of stars affected. In fact there are 693 stars affected by this issue. And
they are generally relatively bright stars.

The issue was further complicated by the fact that for a number of these stars there is a separate entry for one of the
components. The usual situation is for the A component to have an entryin XZ80Q, and occasionally for the B component to have a separateentry. However (and as a result of this 'mean' position issue) itturned out that there were two stars where the second entry was in factfor the A component, but was interpreted as being the B component.[ZC844 was one of those two stars...]

As a result of this:
* the file XZDoubles.dat has been revised to flag all those doubles where the XZ80Q position is a mean position; and
* the program has been changed to properly handle the situation wherethe XZ80Q position is a mean position. This includes an enhanceddisplay of double star details in the 'View catalogue details of astar' form.

Finally, the measurement of double star details as a result of lunaroccultation observations is an area where useful observations can bemade. Small groups have formed in Australia/New Zealand, and NorthAmerica, to coordinate observing activity to record lunar occultationsof doubles at significantly different position angles - so that the PAand separation can be measured (as well as the relative magnitudes). Tosupport this activity, Occult now includes a form to do a least-squaressolution for the PA and separation of a double star using 2 or moreobservations of the pair. Those observations can be on the same night.But if the pair is not changing quickly, observations in the same yearcan be used. As an example, from 4 observations of the reappearance ofAntares on 2006 May 14, the following solution is obtained:

Sep = 2.694 ±0.014" PA = 275.92 ±0.71° RMS fit: 0.00 ±0.03"

One of the interesting aspects of double stars is that for closedoubles the magnitudes of the components is very poorly known. Andthere is an inherent 180 deg ambiguity in the measured position anglewhen observed with speckle interferometry. Last year 3 of us observedan occultation of chi Sagittarii (which has an orbit for the pair), andfound the stars to have a mag difference of 1.54 (WDS has thecomponents of the same magnitude), and that the A star of the orbit wasthe fainter star. To quote Brian Mason (of US Naval Observatory,responsible for the Washington Double Star catalogue)
*********
It is certainly possible that we've got the quadrant wrong on this one.It is an easy system for us to resolve with speckle, but delta-m isn'treally possible to any degree of accuracy (at least for standardautocorrelation techniques). I think this is a unique niche that LunarOccultation can make a significant contribution to double staranalysis. The pairs of William Finsen are especially interesting asthey are bright close pairs with, allegedly, small delta-mags.

更新版本可以在以下網址下載
http://www.lunar-occultations.com/occult4/occult405%20update.zip

將解壓檔案複蓋到原有路徑上，並取代同名檔案。
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:22

Occult 現時最新版本 4.0.6.7 (2009年4月25日發佈)
更新事項

The main change in this version concerns the probability estimates for occultations involving slow-moving asteroids. For all
occultation predictions, there is an along-track uncertainty that is indicated as an uncertainty in the time of the event. That
uncertainty necessarily involves a corresponding uncertainty in the rotational orientation of the Earth. Up until now, that
uncertainty in the orientation of the Earth has not been allowed for inthe prediction uncertainty - mainly because the effect is
usually very small. However when the asteroid motion across the Earthis slow, the effect can be significant. This version adjusts
the 1-sigma uncertainty lines, and the predicted uncertainty at a location, for this effect.

This correction has immediate relevance for the occultation byPhilosophia in Europe on May 2. The 1-sigma uncertainty lines are
several 10's of km further separated from the cental path. And theevent probability within the path drops in value by about 3% -
from about 28% to 25%.

Other changes included are:
- on the main form, access to the 7-Timer weather prediction for your 'home' site (limited to cloud and temperature) . This
provides ready access to a 3-day cloud forecast.
- for lunar occultations, provided some base functionality forreporting double star observations - including the ability to copy
and paste a LiMovie light curve directly into an email message from the clipboard..

更新版本可以在以下網址下載
http://www.lunar-occultations.com/occult4/occult406%20update.zip

將解壓檔案複蓋到原有路徑上，並取代同名檔案。
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:22

Occult author reply about new UCAC3 catalog update


1. The biggest change is the inclusion of star data for the farnorthern declinations. However in practical terms this is of littleeffect for asteroidal occultations, as very few occur at suchdeclinations. For lunar occultations there is no consequence.

2. Another significant change is the inclusion of stars which wereexcluded from UCAC2 because of complications (in particular, doublestars). This affects the whole catalogue. It will introduce a smallpercentage of new stars, so not a major effect. However it may beassumed that the positional uncertainties in such extra stars is largerthan usual - which means asteroidal occultation
predictions will be of lower reliability for these stars. That is,there is a risk that these extra stars _might_ turn out to be more of anuisance that a help.

3. There is the re-processing of the image data to improve the accuracyof the position at the UCAC2 epoch. My understanding is that they havedeveloped algorithms to deal with the effect of the inter-pixel spaceon the CCD. It remains to be seen what improvement arises from this.

4. There is the issue of proper motions - where they have expanded thecatalogues used to determine it. It is important to appreciate that theUCAC images were taken between Feb 1998 and May 2004 - with theecliptic region having been finished before 2002. Consequently currentepoch positions involve at least 8 years of proper motion correction.That means the accuracy of current epoch positions is becomingincreasingly dependant upon the accuracy of the old epoch cataloguesused to
generate the proper motion values. For asteroidal occultations, it isthis issue that is of the greatest potential impact. Have the propermotions been significantly improved in UCAC3? Only experience will tell

5. For asteroidal occultation predictions, it will be relativelystraight-forward to implement a search based on the full UCAC3catalogue. I intend doing that as soon as I get a copy of thecatalogue. This will allow UCAC3-based predictions to be generated, andcompared to UCAC2 predictions and to actual observations. This willallow us to get an appreciation of whether UCAC3 offers any significantimprovement in accuracy.

6. Occult uses a catalogue called 'Tycho2' - although it is notstrictly the Tycho2 catalogue. It is based on the Hipparcos and Tycho2catalogues, but uses UCAC2 positions in preference to Tycho2 for magsfainter than about 9. This catalogue is in need of revision as it doesnot include error information. And there are questions about whetherits coverage should be extended to fainter magnitudes. I have put thatoffreeforumtil the availability of UCAC3 - that is, now. But such atask is not a 5-minute exercise. It is not something to be rushed. Iwould be thinking of early 2010 as a time frame.

7. In a related vein, the XZ catalogue has used UCAC2 in preference toTycho2. Assuming UCAC3 is more accurate that UCAC2, the XZ80Q catalogueshould be updated. However (i) I expect the changes will be small, and(ii) it still needs to be established that UCAC3 is a real improvementover UCAC2. However provided USNO can provide a cross-reference betweenUCAC3 and UCAC2, such an update should be relatively easy.

8. Similarly with asteroid observations. There will be a need to lookat how UCAC stars are referenced in the file of asteroid observations,as well as in the reporting of astrometric positions.

9. On the NOMAD catalogue. - in particular, Nomad_Short. UCAC3 includesa full gamut of magnitudes - although I would want to see the catalogueto assess who complete the magnitude coverage is. All being well, UCAC3is likely to negate the need for Nomad_Short. But that will need to bea future assessment.
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:23

tequila

Recently I did several lunar occultation timings and would like toreport using Occult 4.0 software. Would you please advise who should Ireport to as there is no reporting address for Asian observers exceptJapan in the software. Thanks.
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:23

引用:
原帖由 tequila 於 2009-9-14 11:10 發表
Recently I did several lunar occultation timings and would like toreport using Occult 4.0 software. Would you please advise who should Ireport to as there is no reporting address for Asian observers ...

Youcan send it to Japan or keep it for a while, I'll send you the regionalco-ordinator e-mail address for China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan andSingapore / Malaysia later.
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:24

tequila

The report (6 events in total) was submitted to Mr. Miyashita. Thank you for the information.
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:24

Bug in Occult that has an extremely serious affect on lunar occultation predictions during a lunar eclipse.

In lunar occultation predictions, the user sets the date, and selectsthe relevant 'Starting at' hour - so that the generated predictionsmatch a night's observing. Europe would typically select +12hrs, andNorth America would select -6 hrs.

The error involves the application of the time offset to the solarephemeris. In short, because a certain division was processed as aninteger division, the position of the Sun is not adjusted for the timeoffset. For normal occultation predictions the effect is almostinvisible (and hence the error escaped detection). However it has ahuge effect when there is a lunar eclipse. Effectively the location ofthe umbral shadow is displaced by about 15 arc mins [corrections of +/-6 hrs] or 30 arcmins [correction of +12hrs] . This has a HUGE effect onthe stars listed for occultation during the eclipse.

The next release of Occult will have this problem fixed.

In the mean time the simple 'work around' for anyone needing togenerate occultations during next year's lunar eclipses (or the slightpartial lunar eclipse on Dec 31 this year), is to set the time offsetto 0.
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:24

Occult 現時最新版本 4.0.7. (2009年10月22日發佈)
更新事項

A number of significant changes. They relate to implementing UCAC3,ability to compare star positions from several catalogues in thecontext of asteroidal occultation predictions, a range of changesassociated with double stars for both asteroidal and lunaroccultations, revised XZ catalogue data for lunar occultations, andrevised historical occultation observations.
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:25

UPDATING Occult to 4.0.7.0 *** Read carefully and fully! ****

For those who already have Occult4 installed, the update file can be downloaded directly from:

http://www.lunar-occultations.com/occult4/occult407%20update.zip

Merely unzip the contents into your existing Occult 4 directory.

The next step is to update the data files used in Occult. Run Occult, and go directly to the
Maintenance/ Downloads page. From there, download:

1. Latest Lunar observations (5th item in the download list)
2. Historical files of Lunar Occultations (1st item in the bottom group in the download list)
3. XZ catalogue. (2nd item in the bottom group in the download list) [This download is ESSENTIAL.
Without it, lunar predictions will crash.]
4. WDS Catalogue (3rd from bottom in the download list)
5. Interferometric catalog (2nd from bottom in the download list)
6. AAVSO Variables (last item in the download list)
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:25

UCAC3 'installation'

If you have a copy of the UCAC3 DVD, Occult can conduct searches for asteroidal occultations against
that catalogue, draw star charts using that catalogue, and reduce observations using that catalogue.
To use the UCAC3 catalogue:
a. copy the entire contents of the UCAC3 DVD (both sides) to a single directory- anywhere on your
system.
b. in the Maintenance/ User Settings form, set that directory location in the group 'Paths for
optional catalogues'. A tree-structure dialogue is now available to make this easy.
c. The UCAC3 catalogue as supplied has a very course index in RA. For efficient searching, Occult
creates a much finer index in RA. The button to create this index [Index UCAC3] is located just
below the location for specifying the directory location. IMPORTANT. The index will take some time
to complete. Most machines will take at least 20 minutes. Old or slow computers may take over an
hour.... Indexing progress is displayed.

Once the index is completed, UCAC3 is available for use in almost every area where the UCAC2
catalogue is available.
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:25

Occult 現時最新版本 4.0.7.2
更新事項

* Fixed bug in Archive graze editor - for tagging components of doubles

* Lunar observations - double star solution. The plot of the lunar limbs was not always
   correct. Plus issues when the PA of teh star was close to zero. Bugs fixed.

* Archive editor - grazes - site coords. When site coords pasted, also paste telescope details.
作者: occult    時間: 2009-11-12 03:26

Occult 現時最新版本 4.0.8.2 (2009年11月11日發佈)
更新事項

* Provided a Lunar Limb file based on the Kaguya data.
* Changed code to use the Kaguya data if available
* Added indication on Lunar observations editor of profile source, and ensured correct source
   was written to reduction outputs
* Removed code for converting old graze reports
* Removed the files
     NCassini.dat
     SCassini.dat
     Watts.bin
     Watts corrections.bin
     WATTS.LIM
     WattsPhotos.dat
   from the Resource files in the complete installer package. That is, new installations will
   not have access to the Watts data. (Updated installations will still be able to access
   existing versions of the Watts data.)
* Removed a plotting glitch with the profile line that could occur at the center of the pr
作者: occult    時間: 2010-7-18 19:32

Occult 現時最新版本 4.0.8.6 (2009年11月22日發佈)
更新事項
Kaguya data available in its full resolution,which has now been achieved in v4.0.8.6 .

The update files for this version can be downloaded from the IOTA web site at:
http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/occult4.htm
or the direct download address of:
http://www.lunar-occultations.com/occult4/occult408update.zip
作者: occult    時間: 2010-7-18 19:32

Occult 現時最新版本 4.0.8.13 (2010年2月13日發佈)
更新事項

* improved the allocation of colours to the various catalogues - so that they are more easily distinguished in the plot.
* add an option to replot the data for a different epoch, without having to re-download the data from Vizier.
* add an option to created an animated GIF file that shows the motion of the stars over a 15 year period - from 10 years before the specified date, to 5 years after. I'm not sure how useful people will find this - but it was easy to add.

A separate change relevant to lunar occultation observers - the moon map that shows where the event will occur can now be plotted with South at the top (as well as being mirror-reversed) .
作者: occult    時間: 2010-7-18 19:33

Occult 現時最新版本 4.0.8.16 (2010年3月8日發佈)
更新事項

***********
V4.0.8.16
***********
* Refined outputs of the star catalogue comparison, including a set of flags to indicate
   issues noted ifreeforumh catlogues
* Lunar predictions. Added option to generate multi-column predictions for publications
   like the BAA and RASC Handbooks.

***********
V4.0.8.15
***********
* Expanded weather map functionality to provide animation, and to save the animation
   as an animated GIF
* Asteroid Observations. Added ability to copy a selected line from an Occult path
   coordinates listing - so that it can be pasted in the Observations Editor as
   a prediction line.
* Download of Astorb. Improved the code to avoid an error that has occassionally
   appeared when unzipping the downloaded file.
* Star catalogue comparison. Brought over the magnitudes when selecting from an asteroid
   prediction. Display Blue, Visual and Red magnitudes. Display Epoch for the 2MASS catalog
   Included full error data. Restructured the display

***********
V4.0.8.14
***********
* Added new weather functionality - to access the 7Timer Weachart functionality. This
   displays regional maps showing cloud and other paramters for up to 16 days in advance.
作者: occult    時間: 2010-7-18 19:34

A new JPL ephemeris recently became available - DE423.  It is now available for download.

What are the differences from the current DE414/421 ephemeris used in Occult?
The primary purpose of the DE423 revision was to improve the orbit of Mercury for the Messenger mission. However it clearly has incorporated recent data for the other planets and the moon.

What is the year coverage of the new ephemeris?
DE423 covers twice the year range as did DE421. The new Occult ephemeris uses DE414 for 1600 to 1900, DE423 for the _300_ year period 1900 to 2200, and DE405 for 2200 to 2201. [The previous version uses DE414 for 1600 to 1900, DE423 for the _150_ year period 1900 to 2050, DE414 for 2050 to 2200, and DE405 for 2200 to 2201]

Do I need to update to DE423?
In short, most people will not _need_ to update to DE423. The differences from DE421 are generally very small. However in the case of Pluto the differences are of the order of 0.04" to 0.05", which is significant. Other 'significant' differences are 0.02" for Neptune, and 0.01" for Jupiter.

How do I update?
Go to the downloads page of Occult. The 6th item in the bottom group is 'JPL Planetary ephemeris'. Click this, and the download will occur. Once it has downloaded, another click will be required to unzip the file. The download size is about 50MB.

How do I know what version of the DE ephemeris I am using?
The planetary ephemeris basis is indicated at the bottom left of the main Occult form. For users with the recent JPL ephemeris, this will show:
DE414/LE414 with DE421
The next time Occult is started after this latest JPL ephemeris has been downloaded, it will display
DE414/LE414 with DE423/LE423
(although the first few characters may be cut off...)
作者: occult    時間: 2010-7-18 19:34

1. Currently the WDS catalog cannot be downloaded. It looks like the file maintained at Vizier has been changed from a simple ASCII file to a Gzipped file. While this will make downloads much faster, Will need to make some code changes so that the Gzipped version can be accessed.

2. Current revision of Occult has been undertaken pending the availability of the new PPMXL catalogue at Vizier. That catalogue is now available. As a result to do a release of Occult 4.0.9.0 sometime in the next week. Will provide details of the changes in several emails at that time. But the good news for many is that once you have updated to this new version, the update process for future versions will be MUCH simpler - with all updates being handled through Occult.
作者: occult    時間: 2010-7-27 18:03

Occult 4.0.9.0 is now available as an update to existing installations of Occult4.

This update incorporates a number of significant changes and improvements, many of which have come about as a result of suggestions from users. These will be summarised in two further emails, as well as a further email indicating future changes.

The most important change with this update is the ability to update the program from within Occult.

**IMPORTANT**
This present update is the last update requiring users to _manually_ download an update file from the IOTA web site. All future updates will occur through the Occult program.

*** REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT ***
ALL USERS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO UPDATE THEIR VERSION OF OCCULT TO THIS NEW VERSION. This will avoid difficulties with updating Occult in the future.

To update to this new version of Occult:
A. Download the program update file from
http://www.lunar-occultations.com/occult4/occultupdate.zip
and unzip it into the Occult 4 directory

B. Run Occult. At the bottom left you should see a notification that data updates are available. Click that notification - and you will be taken to the downloads page. At the top left there is advice of the number of items that are tagged for download. Download all the tagged items.

To learn more about the new Updating process, read the Help topic that is available under the new Menu item on the Main form:
Program updates.... Help with updates

***************
IMPORTANT - Frequency of update checking
***************

Several data updates per month can be expected - especially for asteroidal occultation observations, and lunar occultation observations. [This is mainly because people are reporting observations, which is what we do!] Some users will want to update files whenever updates are available. Other users will only want to update the program and data files on an infrequent basis. You can set how often the program will automatically check for updates, under
Maintenance, User Settings
at the 2nd item (Check for availability for updates to the Occult program and data files).

The available options are:
- every start up
- daily
- weekly
- monthly
- yearly
- never
with the default setting being monthly.

Note that you can manually check for updates at any time, using the items under the new Menu item
Program updates...

**************
IMPORTANT - VISTA and Windows7 users
**************
If you have problems with the new update process, it will be caused by the User Account setting. There are two ways to avoid this (if it is a problem). The first way is to ensure the User Account setting is set to Off whenever you do an update. The second way is to move the entire Occult 4 directory to a location outside of the Program Files directory structure. Indeed, for this reason the default location for new installations of Occult is the C: root directory.
作者: occult    時間: 2010-7-27 18:04

The following is a list of the more notable changes implemented in Occult 4.0.9

Summary of some general changes
1. Incorporated a file of stellar diameters.
2. Enabled retrieval of variable star light curves from the AAVSO
3. Improved process for updating Occult program and data
4. Added capability to generate/display an ephemeris of an asteroid

Summary of changes relating to asteroidal occultations.
1. Catalogue comparison - expanded to include the new PPMXL catalogue, and the 'long-term prediction' position from FK6.
2. Search for occultations. Provided an option to create a file of occultation elements sorted by event date
3. Moved the selection criteria for displaying occultations to a new form. Allowed the site location used in the selection criteria to be elected from a Site File.
4. Display of expected fade durations from Fresnel diffraction and stellar diameter. [This was triggered by the recent Roma occultation observed in Europe.]
5. For reductions, enabled incorporation of Shape Models from DAMIT, and Miriade. Enabled display of data from the asteroid 'Light Curve DataBase'.
6. Check that the file of asteroid orbital elements is of the correct length (to avoid a problem experienced by some users.)
7. Changed the format of the file of occultation elements, so that the full precision coordinates of the star as used in the prediction are available, as well as the stellar diameter.

Summary of changes relating to lunar occultations
1. Extra information included with the double star report form, to assist with data evaluation
2. Added the capacity to filter a prediction output on the basis of a range of criteria (such as
observing hours) and to exclude various messages.
3. Graze reduction profiles - added ability to draw the path of the star on the profile, for any observer.

Summary of data file changes/improvements
1. The DE ephemeris file has been revised to expand the coverage of DE423 back from 1900 to 1800.
2. New file added - Stellar diameters
3. New file added - asteroid Light Curve Database
4. Updated the addresses for the downloads of Comet.dat, and the WDS catalog.

A full list of all the changes is available under the new menu item
Program updates.... List version changes.
作者: occult    時間: 2010-7-27 18:04

As part of the revision process leading to Occult 4.0.9.0, I asked users for suggestions for
improvements they would like to see. The following is a list of those suggestions, and
whether they have been implemented.

***************************
* CHANGES IMPLEMENTED
***************************

* Change download address for MPCORB and Comet - as a result of the
MPC hacking incident and consequential changes
[DONE]

* I'd like to be able to sort large occultation files into chronological order.
[DONE]

* Could you add a digit or two in the Ephemerides part on 'De', the planetocentric
declination of the Earth for Saturn?
[DONE]

* Software download of Occult updates
[DONE - major revision in the way updates are handled.]

* Star comparison. Increase search radius to allow for high proper motion stars. Ensure comparison epoch is event epoch
[DONE. Distance changed to 4". A change in OccultWatcher was also required]

* One feature that I have desired is the ability to quickly and easily produce predictions visible
from other observing sites. My suggestion would be to add a second button next to the Home button
on the Asteroid Predictions page. The second button would be linked to the 'Sites' files so that
you can load the coordinates of any site in any of the Site files. Preferably, when you click the
button, the site file menu pops up, you select the site file you want, open that file, click on a
name or site, and then the site coordinates are automatically loaded on the Asteroid Predictions page.
[DONE. 'Home' button changed to 'Select'. Form appears with full choice of Site files, plus the
option to use 'Home' (not enough room on the main form for both a Home and Select button)]

* Asteroid - Plot Event Observations - with plot ... Save ... to remember the
last drive:\folder it had used. You did this at some point BUT when you added the Save Entire Form as Image
.... it always goes back to C:\Program Files\Occult 4\Asteroid\Observations folder.
[DONE]

* In the star catalog comparison list, could you add for each catalog the cross-track and along-track
(in time as well as arc seconds) distances?
[DONE. Also ensured full-precision star coords were available in the Occelmnt file for the comparison.]

* On the Convert AstOrb and MPCOrb files dialog box (attached), can the asteroid diameter that is set
be retained for the next time? I routinely use the 4km setting and it's just one less step if it's retained.
[DONE]

* Also, when the program gets done converting the files to the Occult format, can that dialog box
just close? There's a message saying the conversion is done, but then the box remains open.
[DONE]

* Graze reduction - include a curved line to indicate star path. [Comment: there are issues associated
with combining grazes from several locations - as the line will have a different curvature.)
[DONE. Check box added in form that displays list of current observers in the graze profile. Check the box
and double-click on an observer - the observer's events are highlighted in Yellow. The star path for
that observer is drawn as a dashed Cyan line.]

* Parallax. I just noticed that you are not adding the parallax offset for the HIP & FK6 positions.
I do include those in my positions and the difference can be significant in some cases. So you
should probably add parallax to make the new "offsets" accurate.
[DONE. + the parallax shift is shown, so that the effect on other catalogue positions can be seen.]

* I'm still using Occult 3.6 thanks to a feature I like: you could compute the ephemerides of asteroids.
It was 'Ephemerides of the planets => ephemeris of an object. Positions => positions from orbital
elements and Elements => asteroid elements. You can pick up an asteroid, get it's elements and
compute it's ephemeris.
[DONE]

* I find when using Occult to do lunar occultation predictions I need to 'manually' filter out the
results afterwards to reflect the way I pick events. In my case;
1) I'm only interested in disappearances or (to a lesser degree) reappearances
against the dark limb (NOT the lit limb).
2) I'm only interested in events before 10pm (local time) on Sunday to Thursday
(as I have to work the next day) while I'll do any time if on a Friday or Saturday.
Could you add some options to the predictions to allow this type of filtering to be done?
[DONE. Implemented in a way where it is difficult to inadvertently filter the results. The
filtering relates to the various messages and types of events, but no filtering based
on day-of-week has been added.]
作者: occult    時間: 2010-7-27 18:04

***************************
* NOT IMPLEMENTED at this time
***************************

* Double stars - include a plot of the double star system, not just of orbits of doubles.
[COMENT While this would be straight forward for simple system, the plotting becomes quite
complex when dealing with all the permutations of double star identifications. Pairings
like AB-C, A-BC, Aa,Ab and so-on.

* Allow the user to say where a generated OccelmntSubsetForOW.dat file is to be placed.
That way I can specify my OW Personal directory so the events will appear in a
OW Personal Predictions list. Right now I have to copy and paste from the Occult/Generated
Files directory to the OW/Personal directory. It would be extra nice if somehow OW
could purge the Personal Predictions when a new Occelmnt file was placed, but I suppose
that's for Hristo to do.

* On colored maps I'd be inclined to make site names less obtrusive by displaying
them in a darker color. When the cursor is very close to a site, its name and
coordinates could be shown beside the cursor. The current floating coordinates
label tends to blink randomly, so perhaps that should be moved to a fixed position.
A click on the map could produce a temporary site displayed in a different
color to the others.

* Allow user to specify which columns to show in the Asteroid Summary of Events table.
For example, I don't much need to know the RA & Dec of an event because OW and
my planetarium program know those, but I would like to display the azimuth of the
event (altitude is already shown) so I can quickly tell if it is visible from my
backyard.
[The changes required to implement this are quite significant.]

* Would it be possible in the local summary file for occultations to add a column:
- for asteroid magnitude
- for the time of event with second accuracy (replacing the existing minutes with
decimal like 34.6 minutes with 2 columns like 34mn 38s)?
- An extra column for distance in arc seconds in addition with the one in kms would
be also nice.
[The changes required to implement this are significant.]
作者: occult    時間: 2010-7-27 18:05

***************************
* TOO LARGE FOR THE CURRENT REVISION
***************************

* In asteroid occultation predictions, plot satellites of asteroids (or double asteroids)
[COMMENT This is a feature I have wanted to do for some time, and some parts
of Occult have been built with an expectation of this functionality. However there
are only about 6 asteroids which have useable orbital elements, and there is
significant development required to implement the determination of the position in orbit.]
作者: occult    時間: 2010-7-27 18:05

***************************
* NOT IMPLEMENTED *
***************************

* In the Star Catalogue Comparison window, say "Get from Vizier & display"
instead of "Get from France..."
[COMMENT VizieR is accessible from 9 sites, which can be selected under
the menu item Vizier site... The relevant button displays the VizieR
server that is being used.]

* If it's not too complicated, would it be possible to have, in the panel
"Search for occultations by the Minor Planet...", in addition to the year
and month, the possibility to choose the search for events between two dates ?
For example : the events from 1 to 15 February, or from 10 to 20 April, or ...
[COMMENT Occult uses a 10-day integration scheme. Because of this there
is little advantage to be had in specifying a start and end date within a
month - and significant complications in ensuring that the specified dates
are within the start and end date of the 10-day integration scheme.]

* A trivial change - could we have use of the cursor keys for navigating
through occultation files. Left and right move from event to event and up
and down change the plot scale.
[COMMENT Use of Cursor keys can't be done - cursor is used for text box
entry on the form. However Short-cut keys are already provided on the form.
F8 moves to the next event. Shift-F8 moves to the previous event. Similarly
the plot scale can be changed with keys F2 to F6.]

* (Following from the previous) Regarding the plots, if the cursor keys become
available, the maximum scale could be extended a couple more levels down
to covering two degrees of latitude so its a suitable scale for planning
mobile observations.
[See previous comment. Plus for detailed planning, GoogleEarth/GoogleMaps
is a better mapping environment.]

* In the Jupiter mutual events predictions is it possible to
have an option to include the small moons? Similar to the option in Graphics of
Planets and their moons. Back in May In was up and failing to find an MP but
Jupiter was up and did a recording for a while. I have recently finished
analysing the data and the light curves attached are the result. The dip at about
17:22 seems to coincide with Thebe (XIV) being the nearest moon to Io. But not
near enough to be occulting Io. The question I am trying to answer is : Could it
be an eclipse by Thebe? I have played with C2A and Stellarium to try to see what
they say but don't show small moons either.
[In principle this could be done, with all the key changes being in the interface.
However on a consideration of the physics of the situation, the loss of light
caused by the shadow of a small moon like Thebe on a large moon like Io is
so small as to be undetectable. Hence no value in implementing a relevant interface.]
作者: occult    時間: 2010-7-27 18:05

For information only. Looking ahead, the significant changes to Occult that can be expected in the next year or three are:

1. Implementation of UCAC4
2. Implementation of a new subset of PPMXL that will incorporate UCAC3 and CMC14 data
3. A complete revision of the 'Tycho2' catalogue as used in Occult for asteroidal predictions and reductions. Any revised format will include uncertainty data.
4. Revision of the XZ catalogue on the basis of UCAC4 and/or PPMX(L).
5. For asteroid predictions, incorporate the ability to compute the position of asteroidal moons from their orbital elements [there are only about 6 systems where this is currently possible.]
6. Once the Archiving of lunar occultations has been completed, development of tools for 'data mining' the archive. [NOTE The editing of the Archive preparatory to its submission is expected to be completed within the next month or so...]
7. Assessing the data from the Lunar Reconnaissance orbiter re whether it can provide limb data that is improved over the Kaguya data.
作者: occult    時間: 2010-10-20 16:47

important update to Occult that will be critical for some users. It is version 4.0.9.10.

The update corrects 2 issues that where identified while I was away, and adds one minor feature. The issues corrected are:

1. Using the UCAC3 catalogue. As a result of some queries regarding a recent asteroidal prediction in Europe, an error was detected in the calculation of the proper motion from the UCAC3 catalogue. The error results in the proper motion correction being too small by the factor 1/cos(declination). For anyone generating predictions using UCAC3, this update is VERY IMPORTANT.

[The error arose as a result of UCAC2 and UCAC3 storing the proper motion in RA slightly differently. In UCAC3, the proper motion is multiplied by cos(declination) whereas in UCAC2 it is not - and this difference was not noticed when adapting the UCAC2 routine to read UCAC3. oops!]

2. Baily Beads plots of solar eclipses. Associated with some changes considered at v4.0.8.18, the treatment of the solar radius was changed slightly. Unfortunately some consequential changes in the Baily Beads analysis and plot were overlooked - with a result that the solar radius being used was about 1.6" too small [irradiation]. This has been corrected. Another oops!

The additional minor feature added is:
3. In lunar occultation predictions - the star coordinates can now be displayed as an apparent position (rather than a J2000 position). This option is set in the User Settings, under the Lunar occultation predictions box (about 70% down the form) - with the first check box in that group.

How to get the update:

A. If you are running Occult 4.0.9.9, and have set the 'Check for availability of updates...' in the User settings) to something less than monthly, you will get a notification about the availability when the program next checks for the availability. In any case, you can access the update from the main form, under Program Updates... Check for program updates.

B. If you have not previously updated to 4.0.9.9, and are running Occult 4.0.9.0 to 4.0.9.8 - you will not get an automatic update notification (due to a bug that was fixed in 4.0.9.9). In any case, you can access the update from the main form, under Program Updates... Force program update with latest version.

C. If you are running 4.0.8.18 to 4.0.8.32 - you should be able to proceed as in [A]. Otherwise proceed as in [B].

D. If you are running an older version of Occult - contact Dave Herald. Depending on how old your version is, a new installation might need to be considered.
作者: occult    時間: 2011-1-2 18:52

New general release version of Occult - v4.0.9.14.

The primary change in this version relates to weather predictions - which are now working again. Occult (& OccultWatcher) access the 7Timer numeric predictions generated by Ye Quanzhi from the NCEP Global Forecasting System. Some months ago 7Timer effectively went off-line. It has now been re-established on a much better server, with a much-improved response time. You can read all about it at:
http://7timer.y234.cn/V3/wordpress/?p=376

There are a number of other minor bug fixes etc, which can be viewed using Program Updates.. List version changes. They are listed in the several prior beta versions
作者: occult    時間: 2011-1-30 14:45

Occult - 4.0.9.17.

The changes are:

1. The URL for the database of asteroid light curves was recently changed, and also the file format was slightly changed. Occult has been updated to use the new URL and file format. [This issue is relevant to anyone using Occult for analysing asteroidal occultation observations.]

2. For occultations by planets or their moons. Occult allocates a unique identifier for occultation events, to suppress the output of duplicate events. For occultations by a planet or a planetary moon, the unique identifier did not allow for the possibility of more than one star being occulted in a 24hr period - which resulted in only one occultation being displayed in those circumstances. An improved unique identifier is now used. [This issue is effectively only relevant for predictions of faint stars by the Pluto system..]

3. For occultations by planets - if the duration exceeded 99999 seconds (about 27 hours) a field overflow occurred, resulting in an invalid Occelmnt file. This has been fixed.



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