Astronomical Almanac

The Astronomical Almanac[1] is an almanac published by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office; it also includes data supplied by many scientists from around the world. On page vii, the listed major contributors to its various Sections are: H.M Nautical Almanac Office, United Kingdom Hydrographic Office; the Nautical Almanac Office, United States Naval Observatory; the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology; the IAU Standards Of Fundamental Astronomy (SOFA) initiative; the Institut de Mécanique Céleste et des Calcul des Éphémerides, Paris Observatory; and the Minor Planet Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is considered a worldwide resource for fundamental astronomical data, often being the first publication to incorporate new International Astronomical Union resolutions. The almanac largely contains Solar System ephemerides based on the JPL Solar System integration "DE440" (created June 2020), and catalogs of selected stellar and extragalactic objects. The material appears in sections, each section addressing a specific astronomical category. The book also includes references to the material, explanations, and examples. It used to be available up to one year in advance of its date, however the current 2024 edition became available only one month in advance; in December 2023.

The Astronomical Almanac Online was a companion to the printed volume. It was designed to broaden the scope of the publication, not duplicate the data. In addition to ancillary information, the Astronomical Almanac Online extended the printed version by providing data best presented in machine-readable form. The 2024 printed edition of the Almanac states on page iv: "The web companion to The Astronomical Almanac has been withdrawn as of January 2023."

  1. ^ The Astronomical Almanac for the Year 2024, © Crown Copyright 2023, ISSN 0737-6421 ISBN 978-0-7077-46357.

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