EXPLANATION AND EXAMPLES

To guide the writer of positional-astronomy applications software, this final chapter puts the SLALIB routines into the context of astronomical phenomena and techniques, and presents a few ``cookbook'' examples of the SLALIB calls in action. The astronomical content of the chapter is not, of course, intended to be a substitute for specialist text-books on positional astronomy, but may help bridge the gap between such books and the SLALIB routines. For further reading, the following cover a wide range of material and styles:

• Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac, ed. P.Kenneth Seidelmann (1992), University Science Books.
• Vectorial Astrometry, C.A.Murray (1983), Adam Hilger.
• Spherical Astronomy, Robin M.Green (1985), Cambridge University Press.
• Spacecraft Attitude Determination and Control, ed. James R.Wertz (1986), Reidel.
• Practical Astronomy with your Calculator, Peter Duffett-Smith (1981), Cambridge University Press.

Also of considerable value, though out of date in places, are:

• Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Ephemeris and the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac, RGO/USNO (1974), HMSO.
• Textbook on Spherical Astronomy, W.M.Smart (1977), Cambridge University Press.

Only brief details of individual SLALIB routines are given here, and readers will find it useful to refer to the subprogram specifications elsewhere in this document. The source code for the SLALIB routines (available in both Fortran and C) is also intended to be used as documentation.