JPL NASA
Posted: Thu Mar 05, 2026 6:06 pm
https://github.com/Mesaliko/JPL_NASA
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory produces ephemeris files, including D440 and DE441, and makes Fortran source code available to the public for using these ephemerides.
The testeph.pb file allows you to test a binary ephemeris file (here: "linux_p1550p2650.440").
Despite its name, linux_p1550p2650.440, it works under Windows and macOS.
For more information, see here: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/ftp/eph/planets/Linux/de440/
The ASCII text files are from: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/ftp/eph/planets/ascii/de440/
You must compare the output of the debug window with that of the "testpo.440" file; the output should be identical.
The original Fortran files are from: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/ftp/eph/planets/fortran/
The Fortran files were translated into ANSI C by professional astronomer Piotr A. Dybczynski (see here: https://pad2.astro.amu.edu.pl/PAD/pmwik ... bol.JPLEph). I translated these C files into PureBasic.
The PLEPH() procedure in the testeph.pb file outputs a planetary position between the years 1550 and 2650.
However, this position is in Cartesian geometric format.
To create planetary ephemerides for observation, additional calculations will be required, namely, converting from the mean coordinate system to the apparent coordinate system, then to the topocentric coordinate system, adding aberration, nutation, light-time, and, for the Moon, taking into account libration and parallax.
If anyone has this in PB format, I'd be interested.
M.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory produces ephemeris files, including D440 and DE441, and makes Fortran source code available to the public for using these ephemerides.
The testeph.pb file allows you to test a binary ephemeris file (here: "linux_p1550p2650.440").
Despite its name, linux_p1550p2650.440, it works under Windows and macOS.
For more information, see here: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/ftp/eph/planets/Linux/de440/
The ASCII text files are from: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/ftp/eph/planets/ascii/de440/
You must compare the output of the debug window with that of the "testpo.440" file; the output should be identical.
The original Fortran files are from: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/ftp/eph/planets/fortran/
The Fortran files were translated into ANSI C by professional astronomer Piotr A. Dybczynski (see here: https://pad2.astro.amu.edu.pl/PAD/pmwik ... bol.JPLEph). I translated these C files into PureBasic.
The PLEPH() procedure in the testeph.pb file outputs a planetary position between the years 1550 and 2650.
However, this position is in Cartesian geometric format.
To create planetary ephemerides for observation, additional calculations will be required, namely, converting from the mean coordinate system to the apparent coordinate system, then to the topocentric coordinate system, adding aberration, nutation, light-time, and, for the Moon, taking into account libration and parallax.
If anyone has this in PB format, I'd be interested.
M.