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MOON CALC 5.2 REPORTS FOR 15/16 AUGUST 1780
BATTLE OF CAMDEN PROJECT
by John Robertson

Reports and maps produced by MoonCalc 5.2, �Dr. Monzur Ahmed 1993-2001.
Used by permission.   Moon Calc 5.2   Moon Calc 6.0

  • This is a program which I found to produce interesting information when considering the possible influence of the moon on the battle of Cowpens (17 Jan 1781).

  • I arbitrarily selected 10 p.m. EST on the 15th and 6 a.m. EST on the 16th for these reports. The location entered was the lat-long of Camden battle site to the nearest minute. Altitude above sea level of 107 meters (350 ft) was used.

  • A map of the eastern sky, showing constellations and major stars as it would have appeared near Gum Swamp SC at 10 p.m. on 15 August 1780. The moon can be seen to be approximately SE and about 20� above the horizon. That 20� looks higher in this map than it will in the next.

  • An overhead map of the sky (same date/time/location) shows the same from a different perspective. Imagine this map as painted on the underside of an umbrella, and it will make more sense to you. This is a sky map so you "look up" at it, in effect. This map makes it clear that "about 20� above the horizon" is not very high in the sky.

  • An image of the moon (complete with named craters!) as it would have appeared to an imaginary astronomer (same date/time/location). The message is clear that the moon would have been described as "full".

  • A report that likely tells you more than you want to know about the moon and sun for 10 p.m. on 15 August 1780. 
                            TUESDAY 15 AUGUST 1780, 10 PM
===============================================================================
� CAMDEN SC 34:21N 80:37W TZ:-5.0 Ht:108m JD:2371418.5       Topo   Refrac ON �
� Mag Dec:  model not valid                         Date:    Tue 15 Aug  1780 �
� Delta T (TD-UT):     0h   00m 17s                 Time:    22h  00m 00s LT  �
� Apparent Sunrise:    5h   41m 44s LT   Apparent Sunset:    19h  10m 30s LT  �
�------------------------------------1 of 4-----------------------------------�
� Moon Alt:    21.991  21d  59m 26s      Moon Azi:  127.572  127d 34m 18s     �
� Moon Dec:   -14.833 -14d  49m 57s      Moon RA:    22.599  22h  35m 57s     �
� Sun Alt:    -30.760 -30d  45m 37s      Sun Azi:   317.632  317d 37m 56s     �
� Sun Dec:     13.626  13d  37m 35s      Sun RA:      9.737  9h   44m 13s     �
� Rel Alt:     52.751  52d  45m 03s      Rel Azi:  -190.061 -190d 03m 38s     �
� Elongation: 167.408  167d 24m 30s      Moon Age: -332.13h -13D  20H 8M      �
� Phase:0.9891  Mag:-12.42  Width:29.23m Semi-Diam:0.247 Distance:406269.26km �
�------------------------------------2 of 4-----------------------------------�
� AT APPARENT SUNSET>                                                         �
� New Moon Visibility (Ilyas_C)          Moon not new                         �
� Moon Alt:    -9.229 -9d   13m 45s      Moon Azi:  102.227  102d 13m 38s     �
� Sun Alt:     -0.530 -0d   31m 47s      Sun Azi:   287.466  287d 27m 58s     �
� Rel Alt:     -8.700 -8d   41m 59s      Rel Azi:  -185.239 -185d 14m 20s     �
� Elongation: 168.365  168d 21m 53s      Moon Age: -334.96h -13D  22H 57M     �
� Phase:0.9911  Mag:-12.45  Width:29.04m Semi-Diam:0.245 Distance:406230.81km �
�------------------------------------3 of 4-----------------------------------�
� WHEN SUN IS ~5� BELOW HORIZON>                    Time:    19h  30m 06s LT  �
�                                                                             �
� Moon Alt:    -5.379 -5d   22m 44s      Moon Azi:  104.760  104d 45m 35s     �
� Sun Alt:     -5.002 -5d   00m 09s      Sun Azi:   290.301  290d 18m 03s     �
� Rel Alt:     -0.377 -0d   22m 36s      Rel Azi:  -185.541 -185d 32m 29s     �
� Elongation: 168.236  168d 14m 09s      Moon Age: -334.63h -13D  22H 38M     �
� Phase:0.9909  Mag:-12.45  Width:29.07m Semi-Diam:0.245 Distance:406235.73km �
�-----------------------------------------------------------------------------�
� Moon Rise:           19h  51m 54s LT   Azimuth:            107d 38m 31s     �
� Moon Set:            6h   00m 20s LT   Azimuth:            249d 10m 31s     �
� Sunrise-Moonrise:    14h  10m 11s      Sunset-Moonset:    -13h  10m 10s     �
�-----------------------------------------------------------------------------�
� New Moon:            29 Aug  1780      JDE: 2371433.4639   23h  07m 59s TD  �
� Full Moon:           13 Sep  1780      JDE: 2371448.2876   18h  54m 08s TD  �
� Perigee:             1  Aug  1780      JDE: 2371405.1205   14h  53m 32s TD  �
� Apogee:              16 Aug  1780      JDE: 2371420.0246   12h  35m 25s TD  �
�-----------------------------------------------------------------------------�
===============================================================================

  • A similar report for Wednesday, 16 August 1780, edited to show only sun information. 
                            WEDNESDAY 16 AUGUST 1780, 6 AM
===============================================================================
� CAMDEN SC 34:21N 80:37W TZ:-5.0 Ht:108m JD:2371419.5       Topo   Refrac ON �
� Mag Dec:  model not valid                         Date:    Wed 16 Aug  1780 �
� Delta T (TD-UT):     0h   00m 17s                 Time:    6h   00m 00s LT  �
� Apparent Sunrise:    5h   42m 28s LT   Apparent Sunset:    19h  09m 21s LT  �
===============================================================================

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