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The Sun
Our solar model is sketched in Figure 17. From a geocentric point of view, the sun,
, appears to execute
a (counterclockwise) Keplerian orbit of major radius
, and eccentricity
, about the
earth,
. As has already been mentioned, the circle traced out by the sun on the celestial sphere is
known as the ecliptic circle. This circle is inclined at
to
the celestial equator, which is the projection of the earth's equator onto
the celestial sphere.
Suppose that the angle subtended at the earth between the vernal equinox (i.e., the point at which the sun passes the celestial equator from
south to north) and the
sun's perigee (i.e., the point of closest approach to the earth) is
. This
angle is termed the longitude of the perigee, and
is assumed
to vary linearly with time:
 |
(79) |
Figure 17:
The apparent orbit of the sun about the earth. Here,
,
,
,
,
,
,
, and
represent the sun, earth, perigee, apogee, longitude of the perigee, true anomaly, ecliptic longitude, and
vernal equinox, respectively. View is from northern ecliptic pole. The sun orbits counterclockwise.
 |
The sun's ecliptic
longitude is defined as the angle subtended at the earth between the sun and the vernal equinox.
Hence, from Fig. 17,
 |
(80) |
where
is the true anomaly. By analogy, the mean longitude is written
 |
(81) |
where
is the mean anomaly. It follows from Eq. (23) that
 |
(82) |
where
 |
(83) |
is called the equation of center. Note that
,
,
, and
are usually written as angles in the range
to
, whereas
is generally written as an
angle in the range
to
.
The mean longitude increases
uniformly with time (since both
and
increase uniformly with time) as
 |
(84) |
where
is termed the
mean longitude at epoch,
the rate of motion in mean longitude, and
the epoch.
We can also write
 |
(85) |
where
 |
(86) |
is called the mean anomaly at epoch, and
 |
(87) |
the rate of motion in mean anomaly.
Our procedure for determining the ecliptic longitude of the sun is described
below.
The requisite orbital elements (i.e.,
,
,
,
, and
) for the J2000 epoch (i.e., 12:00 GMT on January 1, 2000 CE, which corresponds to
JD) are listed
in Table 30. These elements are calculated
on the assumption that the vernal equinox precesses at the uniform
rate of
.
The ecliptic longitude of the sun is specified by the
following formulae:
These formulae are capable of matching NASA ephemeris data
during the years 1995-2006 CE (see http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/) with a mean error of
and a maximum error of
.
The ecliptic longitude of the sun can be calculated with the aid of Tables 32 and 33.
Table 32 allows the mean longitude,
, and mean anomaly,
, of the
sun to be determined as functions of time. Table 33 specifies the equation of center,
, as a
function of the mean anomaly.
The procedure for using the tables is as follows:
- Determine the fractional Julian day number,
, corresponding to the date and time
at which the sun's ecliptic longitude is to be calculated with the aid of Tables 1-3. Form
, where
is the epoch.
- Enter Table 32 with the digit for each power of 10
in
and take out the corresponding values of
and
. If
is negative then the corresponding
values are also negative.
The value of the mean longitude,
, is the
sum of all the
values plus the value of
at the epoch. Likewise, the value of the mean anomaly,
, is
the sum of all the
values plus the value of
at the epoch.
Add as many multiples of
to
and
as is required to make them both fall in the range
to
. Round
to the nearest degree.
- Enter Table 33 with the value of
and take out the
corresponding value of the equation of center,
, and the radial anomaly,
. (The latter step is only necessary if the ecliptic longitude of the sun is
to be used to determine that of a planet.) It is necessary to interpolate if
is odd.
- The ecliptic longitude,
, is the sum of the mean longitude,
, and the equation of center,
. If necessary, convert
into an angle in the range
to
.
The decimal fraction can be converted into arc minutes
using Table 31. Round to the nearest arc minute.
Two examples of the use of this procedure are given below.
Example 1: May 5, 2005 CE, 00:00 GMT:
According to Tables 1-3,
JD. Hence,
JD. Making use of
Table 32, we find:
|
|
|
(JD) |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
+1000 |
|
 |
|
+900 |
|
 |
|
+50 |
|
 |
|
+.5 |
|
 |
|
Epoch |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
Modulus |
|
 |
|
|
|
Rounding the mean anomaly to the nearest degree, we obtain
.
It follows from Table 33 that
so
Here, we have converted the decimal fraction into arc
minutes using Table 31, and
then rounded the final result to the nearest arc minute.
Following
the practice of the Ancient Greeks (and modern-day astrologers), we shall express ecliptic longitudes
in terms of the signs of the zodiac, which are listed in Sect. 4.6. The ecliptic longitude
is conventionally written 14TA36: i.e.,
into the sign of Taurus. Thus, we conclude that the position of
the sun
at 00:00 GMT on May 5, 2005 CE was 14TA36.
Example 2: December 25, 1800 CE, 00:00 GMT:
According to Tables 1-3,
JD. Hence,
JD. Making use of
Table 32, we find:
|
|
|
(JD) |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
-70,000 |
|
 |
|
-2,000 |
|
 |
|
-600 |
|
 |
|
-90 |
|
 |
|
-.5 |
|
 |
|
Epoch |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
Modulus |
|
 |
|
|
|
We conclude that
.
From Table 33,
so
Thus, the position of the sun at 00:00 GMT on December 25, 1800 CE was 3CP03.
We can also use Tables 32 and 33 to calculate the dates of the equinoxes and solstices,
and, hence, the lengths of the seasons, in a given year. The vernal equinox (i.e., the point on the sun's apparent orbit at which it passes the celestial equator
from south to north)
corresponds to
, the summer solstice (i.e., the
point at which the sun is furthest north of the celestial equator) to
, the autumnal equinox (i.e., the point at which the
sun passes the celestial equator from north to south) to
, and the
winter solstice (i.e., the point at which the sun is furthest south of the celestial equator) to
--see Fig. 18. Furthermore, spring is defined as the period between the spring
equinox and the summer solstice, summer as the period between the summer solstice and
the autumnal equinox, autumn as the period between the autumnal equinox and the
winter solstice, and winter as the period between the winter solstice and the following
vernal equinox. Consider the year 2000 CE.
For the case of the vernal equinox, we can
first estimate the
time at which this event takes place by approximating the solar
longitude as the mean
solar longitude: i.e.,
We obtain
Calculating the true solar longitude at this time, using Tables 32 and 33, we get
Now, the actual vernal equinox occurs
when
.
Thus, a much better estimate for the date of the vernal equinox
is
which
corresponds to 7:00 GMT on March 20. Similar calculations show that the summer solstice takes place at
corresponding to 2:00 GMT on June 21, that the autumnal equinox
takes place at
corresponding to 17:00 GMT
on September 22, and that the winter solstice takes place at
corresponding to 14:00 GMT on December 21.
Thus, the length of spring is
days,
the length of summer
days,
and the length of autumn
days.
Finally, the length of winter is the length
of the tropical year (i.e., the time period between successive vernal equinoxes), which is
days, minus the sum of the lengths of the
other three seasons. This gives
days.
Figure 18 illustrates the relationship between the equinox and solstice points, and the
lengths of the seasons. The earth is displaced from the geometric center of the sun's apparent orbit in the direction of
the perigee, which presently lies between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox. This displacement (which is
greatly exaggerated in the figure) has
two effects. Firstly, it causes the arc of the sun's apparent orbit between the summer solstice and autumnal equinox
to be longer than that between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox. Secondly, it causes the
sun to appear to move faster in winter than in summer, in accordance with Kepler's second law, since the sun is closer to the earth in the
former season. Both of these effects tend to lengthen summer, and
shorten winter. Hence, summer is presently the longest season, and winter the shortest.
At any particular observation site on the earth's surface, local noon
is defined as the instant in time when the sun culminates at the
meridian. However, as a consequence of the inclination of the
ecliptic to the celestial equatior, as well as the uneven motion of the
sun around the ecliptic, the time interval between successive local noons, which
is known as a solar day,
is not constant, but varies throughout the year. Hence, if we were to
define a second as
of a solar day then the length of a second
would also vary throughout the year, which is clearly undesirable. In
order to avoid this problem, astronomers have invented a fictitious
body called the mean sun. The mean sun travels around the
celestial equator (from west to east) at a constant
rate which is such that it completes one orbit every tropical year. Local mean noon at a particular observation
site is defined as the instance in time when the mean sun culminates at
the meridian. Since the orbit of the mean sun is not inclined to the
celestial equator, and the mean sun travels around the celestial equator at a uniform rate, the time
interval between successive mean noons, which is known as a
mean solar day, takes the constant value of 24 hours, or
86,400 seconds, throughout the year. Greenwich mean time (GMT)
is defined such that 12:00 hrs. GMT coincides with mean noon every day at
an observation site of terrestrial longitude
. If we define local mean time
(LMT)
as
hrs., where
is the terrestrial longitude
of the observation site, then 12:00 hrs. LMT coincides with mean noon
every day at a general observation site on the earth's surface.
According to the above definition, the right ascension,
, of the mean
sun satisfies
 |
(92) |
where
is the sun's mean ecliptic longitude. Moreover,
it follows from Eqs. (41) and (82) that the right ascension
of the true sun is given by
 |
(93) |
where
is the inclination of the ecliptic to the celestial
equator,
the sun's equation of center, and
its mean anomaly. Now, neglecting the small time variation of the longitude of the
sun's perigee [i.e., setting
in Eq. (79)], we
can write [see Eqs. (84), (85), and (87), as
well as Table. 30]
 |
(94) |
It follows that, to first order in the solar eccentricity,
, we have
 |
(95) |
where
 |
(96) |
Now,
 |
(97) |
represents the time difference between local noon and mean local noon (since
right ascension crosses the meridian at the uniform rate of
an
hour), and is known as the equation of time. If
is
positive then local noon occurs before mean local noon, and vice
versa.
The equation of time specifies the difference between time calculated using a sundial or sextant--which is known as
solar time--and
time obtained from an accurate clock--which is known as mean solar time. Table 34 shows the equation of time as a function of the sun's
ecliptic longitude. It can be seen that the difference between solar time and mean solar time can be as much as
16 minutes, and attains its maximum value between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice, and its
minimum value between the winter solstice and vernal equinox.
Figure 18:
The sun's apparent orbit around the earth,
, showing the vernal equinox (VE), summer
solstice (SS), autumnal equinox (AE), and winter solstice (WS). Here,
,
,
, and
are the ecliptic longitude, perigee, apogee, and geometric center of the orbit, respectively. The lengths
of the seasons (in days) are indicated.
 |
Table 30:
Keplerian orbital elements for the sun and the five visible planets at the J2000 epoch (i.e., 12:00 GMT, January 1, 2000 CE,
which corresponds to
JD). The elements are optimized for use in the
time period 1800 CE to 2050 CE. Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA), http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/. The motion rates have been converted into tropical motion rates assuming a uniform precession of the equinoxes
of
.
| Object |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Mercury |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Venus |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Sun |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Mars |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Jupiter |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Saturn |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Table 31:
Arc minute to decimal fraction conversion table.
|
.000 |
|
.167 |
|
.333 |
|
.500 |
|
.667 |
|
.833 |
|
.003 |
|
.170 |
|
.337 |
|
.503 |
|
.670 |
|
.837 |
|
.007 |
|
.173 |
|
.340 |
|
.507 |
|
.673 |
|
.840 |
|
.010 |
|
.177 |
|
.343 |
|
.510 |
|
.677 |
|
.843 |
|
.013 |
|
.180 |
|
.347 |
|
.513 |
|
.680 |
|
.847 |
|
.017 |
|
.183 |
|
.350 |
|
.517 |
|
.683 |
|
.850 |
|
.020 |
|
.187 |
|
.353 |
|
.520 |
|
.687 |
|
.853 |
|
.023 |
|
.190 |
|
.357 |
|
.523 |
|
.690 |
|
.857 |
|
.027 |
|
.193 |
|
.360 |
|
.527 |
|
.693 |
|
.860 |
|
.030 |
|
.197 |
|
.363 |
|
.530 |
|
.697 |
|
.863 |
|
.033 |
|
.200 |
|
.367 |
|
.533 |
|
.700 |
|
.867 |
|
.037 |
|
.203 |
|
.370 |
|
.537 |
|
.703 |
|
.870 |
|
.040 |
|
.207 |
|
.373 |
|
.540 |
|
.707 |
|
.873 |
|
.043 |
|
.210 |
|
.377 |
|
.543 |
|
.710 |
|
.877 |
|
.047 |
|
.213 |
|
.380 |
|
.547 |
|
.713 |
|
.880 |
|
.050 |
|
.217 |
|
.383 |
|
.550 |
|
.717 |
|
.883 |
|
.053 |
|
.220 |
|
.387 |
|
.553 |
|
.720 |
|
.887 |
|
.057 |
|
.223 |
|
.390 |
|
.557 |
|
.723 |
|
.890 |
|
.060 |
|
.227 |
|
.393 |
|
.560 |
|
.727 |
|
.893 |
|
.063 |
|
.230 |
|
.397 |
|
.563 |
|
.730 |
|
.897 |
|
.067 |
|
.233 |
|
.400 |
|
.567 |
|
.733 |
|
.900 |
|
.070 |
|
.237 |
|
.403 |
|
.570 |
|
.737 |
|
.903 |
|
.073 |
|
.240 |
|
.407 |
|
.573 |
|
.740 |
|
.907 |
|
.077 |
|
.243 |
|
.410 |
|
.577 |
|
.743 |
|
.910 |
|
.080 |
|
.247 |
|
.413 |
|
.580 |
|
.747 |
|
.913 |
|
.083 |
|
.250 |
|
.417 |
|
.583 |
|
.750 |
|
.917 |
|
.087 |
|
.253 |
|
.420 |
|
.587 |
|
.753 |
|
.920 |
|
.090 |
|
.257 |
|
.423 |
|
.590 |
|
.757 |
|
.923 |
|
.093 |
|
.260 |
|
.427 |
|
.593 |
|
.760 |
|
.927 |
|
.097 |
|
.263 |
|
.430 |
|
.597 |
|
.763 |
|
.930 |
|
.100 |
|
.267 |
|
.433 |
|
.600 |
|
.767 |
|
.933 |
|
.103 |
|
.270 |
|
.437 |
|
.603 |
|
.770 |
|
.937 |
|
.107 |
|
.273 |
|
.440 |
|
.607 |
|
.773 |
|
.940 |
|
.110 |
|
.277 |
|
.443 |
|
.610 |
|
.777 |
|
.943 |
|
.113 |
|
.280 |
|
.447 |
|
.613 |
|
.780 |
|
.947 |
|
.117 |
|
.283 |
|
.450 |
|
.617 |
|
.783 |
|
.950 |
|
.120 |
|
.287 |
|
.453 |
|
.620 |
|
.787 |
|
.953 |
|
.123 |
|
.290 |
|
.457 |
|
.623 |
|
.790 |
|
.957 |
|
.127 |
|
.293 |
|
.460 |
|
.627 |
|
.793 |
|
.960 |
|
.130 |
|
.297 |
|
.463 |
|
.630 |
|
.797 |
|
.963 |
|
.133 |
|
.300 |
|
.467 |
|
.633 |
|
.800 |
|
.967 |
|
.137 |
|
.303 |
|
.470 |
|
.637 |
|
.803 |
|
.970 |
|
.140 |
|
.307 |
|
.473 |
|
.640 |
|
.807 |
|
.973 |
|
.143 |
|
.310 |
|
.477 |
|
.643 |
|
.810 |
|
.977 |
|
.147 |
|
.313 |
|
.480 |
|
.647 |
|
.813 |
|
.980 |
|
.150 |
|
.317 |
|
.483 |
|
.650 |
|
.817 |
|
.983 |
|
.153 |
|
.320 |
|
.487 |
|
.653 |
|
.820 |
|
.987 |
|
.157 |
|
.323 |
|
.490 |
|
.657 |
|
.823 |
|
.990 |
|
.160 |
|
.327 |
|
.493 |
|
.660 |
|
.827 |
|
.993 |
|
.163 |
|
.330 |
|
.497 |
|
.663 |
|
.830 |
|
.997 |
|
Table 32:
Mean motion of the sun. Here,
,
, and
.
At epoch (
JD),
, and
.
(JD) |
 |
 |
(JD) |
 |
 |
(JD) |
 |
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10,000 |
136.474 |
136.002 |
1,000 |
265.647 |
265.600 |
100 |
98.565 |
98.560 |
| 20,000 |
272.947 |
272.005 |
2,000 |
171.295 |
171.200 |
200 |
197.129 |
197.120 |
| 30,000 |
49.421 |
48.007 |
3,000 |
76.942 |
76.801 |
300 |
295.694 |
295.680 |
| 40,000 |
185.894 |
184.010 |
4,000 |
342.589 |
342.401 |
400 |
34.259 |
34.240 |
| 50,000 |
322.367 |
320.012 |
5,000 |
248.237 |
248.001 |
500 |
132.824 |
132.800 |
| 60,000 |
98.841 |
96.015 |
6,000 |
153.884 |
153.601 |
600 |
231.388 |
231.360 |
| 70,000 |
235.315 |
232.017 |
7,000 |
59.531 |
59.202 |
700 |
329.953 |
329.920 |
| 80,000 |
11.788 |
8.020 |
8,000 |
325.179 |
324.802 |
800 |
68.518 |
68.480 |
| 90,000 |
148.262 |
144.022 |
9,000 |
230.826 |
230.402 |
900 |
167.083 |
167.040 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10 |
9.856 |
9.856 |
1 |
0.986 |
0.986 |
0.1 |
0.099 |
0.099 |
| 20 |
19.713 |
19.712 |
2 |
1.971 |
1.971 |
0.2 |
0.197 |
0.197 |
| 30 |
29.569 |
29.568 |
3 |
2.957 |
2.957 |
0.3 |
0.296 |
0.296 |
| 40 |
39.426 |
39.424 |
4 |
3.943 |
3.942 |
0.4 |
0.394 |
0.394 |
| 50 |
49.282 |
49.280 |
5 |
4.928 |
4.928 |
0.5 |
0.493 |
0.493 |
| 60 |
59.139 |
59.136 |
6 |
5.914 |
5.914 |
0.6 |
0.591 |
0.591 |
| 70 |
68.995 |
68.992 |
7 |
6.900 |
6.899 |
0.7 |
0.690 |
0.690 |
| 80 |
78.852 |
78.848 |
8 |
7.885 |
7.885 |
0.8 |
0.789 |
0.788 |
| 90 |
88.708 |
88.704 |
9 |
8.871 |
8.870 |
0.9 |
0.887 |
0.887 |
|
Table 33:
Anomalies of the sun.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
0.000 |
1.671 |
90 |
1.915 |
-0.028 |
180 |
0.000 |
-1.671 |
270 |
-1.915 |
-0.028 |
|
2 |
0.068 |
1.670 |
92 |
1.912 |
-0.086 |
182 |
-0.065 |
-1.670 |
272 |
-1.915 |
0.030 |
|
4 |
0.136 |
1.667 |
94 |
1.907 |
-0.144 |
184 |
-0.131 |
-1.667 |
274 |
-1.913 |
0.089 |
|
6 |
0.204 |
1.662 |
96 |
1.900 |
-0.202 |
186 |
-0.196 |
-1.662 |
276 |
-1.909 |
0.147 |
|
8 |
0.272 |
1.654 |
98 |
1.891 |
-0.260 |
188 |
-0.261 |
-1.655 |
278 |
-1.902 |
0.205 |
|
10 |
0.339 |
1.645 |
100 |
1.879 |
-0.317 |
190 |
-0.326 |
-1.647 |
280 |
-1.893 |
0.263 |
|
12 |
0.406 |
1.633 |
102 |
1.865 |
-0.374 |
192 |
-0.390 |
-1.636 |
282 |
-1.881 |
0.321 |
|
14 |
0.473 |
1.620 |
104 |
1.849 |
-0.431 |
194 |
-0.454 |
-1.623 |
284 |
-1.867 |
0.378 |
|
16 |
0.538 |
1.604 |
106 |
1.830 |
-0.486 |
196 |
-0.517 |
-1.608 |
286 |
-1.851 |
0.435 |
|
18 |
0.604 |
1.587 |
|