BASIC Programs from Sky & Telescope
The table on the following three pages lists the programs in reverse chronological order. Each name is a hyperlink; if you select the name and your Web browser supports simple ASCII file transfers, you'll automatically download the BASIC program.
Whenever possible the programs are written in simple generic BASIC, but there are unavoidable variations from one interpreter to another. In case of difficulties, check your BASIC manual. A few programs require specific graphics adapters or printers. To run these programs, you will need a BASIC interpreter for your computer. If you do not know if your computer has one, see Stuart Goldman's article, "BASICally Speaking," adapted from the April 1996 issue of S&T.
At the end of each program is a block indicating the issue of the magazine in which the program appeared together with supporting text and instructions. If you have any questions, please consult the original articles.
| BASIC Programs from Sky & Telescope Magazine | ||
| File Name | Issue | Brief Description |
| ROCKET.BAS | Feb 02, p. 66 |
Travel time for a space trip at relativistic speed |
| DAYSOLD.BAS | Nov 01, p. 63 |
Determine date after input number of days after birthday |
| LOOKBAK2.BAS | Aug 01, p. 62 |
Cosmological quantities of an accelerating universe |
| PILLAR.BAS | May 99, p. 71 |
Simulate the appearance of a Sun pillar |
| MSACHART.BAS | Oct 98, p. 63 |
Millennium Star Atlas chart number |
| SUPERNUM.BAS | Sep 98, p. 70 |
Emergence angles of supernumerary rainbows |
| VISLIMIT.BAS | May 98, p. 57 |
Visual limiting magnitude from any site |
| CCDLIMI2.BAS | May 98, p. 117 |
Limiting magnitude of a CCD camera |
| LOOKBACK.BAS | Sep 97, p. 59 |
Age and distance of a galaxy of known redshift |
| SOLAROSC.BAS | Jun 97, p. 92 |
Visualize global solar oscillation modes |
| SUNDOG.BAS | Jan 97, p. 103 |
Simulate the appearance of sundogs |
| CRATER.BAS | Nov 96, p. 90 |
Find the dimensions of an impact crater |
| BLKHOLE1.BAS | May 96, p. 92 |
Determine the mass of a black hole |
| BLKHOLE2.BAS | May 96, p. 92 |
Calculate black-hole tidal forces |
| BLKHOLE3.BAS | May 96, p. 92 |
Generate a black-hole "accelergram" |
| FACECIRC.BAS | Mar 96, p. 84 |
Print setting-circle disks on a LaserJet |
| SCALES.BAS | Mar 96, p. 84 |
Print setting-circle strips on a LaserJet |
| AGEUNIV.BAS | Jan 96, p. 92 |
Age of the universe since the Big Bang |
| PULSAR.BAS | Oct 95, p. 86 |
Relativistic precession in binary orbits |
| CHANCE.BAS | Jun 95, p. 86 |
Odds of witnessing certain astronomical events |
| SATRINGS.BAS | May 95, p. 92 |
Saturn ring-plane crossings |
| JACK.BAS | Sep 94, p. 78 |
Demo of perturbed planetary motion |
| SUNUP.BAS | Aug 94, p. 84 |
Times of sunrise/set at any place on Earth |
| MOONFX.BAS | Apr 94, p. 86 |
Moon phase and distance on any given date |
| CAPTURE.BAS | Feb 94, p. 85 |
Best film/camera combos for capturing meteors |
| SUNTAN.BAS | Jul 93, p. 83 |
Effects of ozone, haze, on suntanning time |
| ASTEROID.BAS | Jun 93, p. 83 |
The size of an asteroid from its brightness |
| CCDLIMIT.BAS | Feb 93, p. 84 |
Compute the signal-to-noise ratio of a CCD |
| OCCVIS.BAS | Jan 93, p. 89 |
Compute the visibility of a star near the Moon |
| ROTATE.BAS | Sep 92, p. 318 |
Field rotation in a misaligned telescope |
| GFLASH.BAS | Feb 92, p. 200 |
Simulate the appearance of the "green flash" |
| PRECESS.BAS | Oct 91, p. 408 |
Rigorous precession of a star's coordinates |
| LIST.BAS | Aug 91, p. 182 |
Make index lists of objects on star atlases |
| SOLARECL.BAS | Jul 91, p. 71 |
Predictions of July 11, 1991, solar eclipse |
| FIREBALL.BAS | Jun 91, p. 640 |
Calculate descent of a fireball |
