<p>I'm a beginner in astronomy with a background in engineering and mathematics. I'm interested in learning how to build astronomy software to model the position and movement of planets and stars, brightness, etc. So, not so much astrophysics or cosmology but .. not even sure what this is called .. celestial mechanics?</p>
<p>Some of the software I'm familiar with are Stellarium and Gaia Sky.</p>
<p>What are some good references to materials/books that speak to such knowledge that I can get started with? What are some databases I can get my hands on for the data required?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-25T03:16:33.460Z
You'll want to look at "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus, and Peter Duffet-Smith's "Practical Astronomy ...".  Also search for "Spherical Astronomy" books, they'll be old (often online for free) but still have a lot of the same concepts.  All of the algorithms from Meeus' book are implemented in C++ here: http://www.naughter.com/aa.html .  I have some similar stuff here: https://www.celestialprogramming.com/
Greg Miller
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-25T04:46:31.763Z
I second that. Astronomical Algorithms, IMHO, is THE reference. Yes, you can find it “ready made” at one of the links Greg Miller gives, but I found that reading and coding the algorithms myself was much more interesting and informative.
Pierre Paquette
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-05-25T05:14:47.840Z
The NASA Solar System Dynamics group provide info on computing planet positions here: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/approx_pos.html & https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/faq.html You can use the Horizons system https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons/ to obtain planet position & velocity, and you can use Horizons data to check the accuracy of your own calculations.
PM 2Ring
<mathematics>
References to learn about algorithms/mathematics related to building planetarium / astronomy software?
Ana
# References to learn about algorithms/mathematics related to building planetarium / astronomy software?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-05-24)

I'm a beginner in astronomy with a background in engineering and mathematics. I'm interested in learning how to build astronomy software to model the position and movement of planets and stars, brightness, etc. So, not so much astrophysics or cosmology but .. not even sure what this is called .. celestial mechanics?

Some of the software I'm familiar with are Stellarium and Gaia Sky.

What are some good references to materials/books that speak to such knowledge that I can get started with? What are some databases I can get my hands on for the data required?

**Tags:** mathematics

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You'll want to look at "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus, and Peter Duffet-Smith's "Practical Astronomy ...".  Also search for "Spherical Astronomy" books, they'll be old (often online for free) but still have a lot of the same concepts.  All of the algorithms from Meeus' book are implemented in C++ here: http://www.naughter.com/aa.html .  I have some similar stuff here: https://www.celestialprogramming.com/  
> **username_2**: I second that. Astronomical Algorithms, IMHO, is THE reference. Yes, you can find it “ready made” at one of the links username_1 gives, but I found that reading and coding the algorithms myself was much more interesting and informative.  
> **username_3**: The NASA Solar System Dynamics group provide info on computing planet positions here: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/approx_pos.html & https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/faq.html You can use the Horizons system https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons/ to obtain planet position & velocity, and you can use Horizons data to check the accuracy of your own calculations.  

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