Computing the phase of the moon is complicated and no single table can
do it. Keep in mind the Metonic cycle where the phase of the moon (and
Venus) repeat their places and phase every 19 years. There's also an
approximate alignment repeat every 3 years of lunar phase that is the
basis for the 3-year cycle of liturgical canonical tables for Easter.
To nail down the phase of the moon, I've used PyEphem, a very nice
Python package for computing lunar phase in a project with Dr. Leann
Kanda and Dr. John Confer both from Ithaca College to examine Saw-Whet
Owl migration and correlation with the phase of the moon. We've analyzed
50 years of bird banding data from 156,794 fall captures versus the
phase of the moon. Using PyEphem made it easy. What fun lunacy.
Bob
---------------------------------------------------
https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial
