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APPENDIX A: RIGHT ASCENSION AND DECLINATION     

   Right ascension (RA) and declination are the celestial versions
of longitude and latitude on the Earth.  The celestial versions of
the poles are found by taking the Earth's axis of rotation (which,
of course,  passes through the North and South poles) and extending
it into infinity.  The celestial equator is found by extending the
Earth's equator into infinity,   projecting it onto the sky.

   On Earth,  latitude is a measure,  in degrees,  of how far one is
from the equator.  Thus,  the north pole is at +90 degrees; the south
pole is at -90 degrees.  This translates readily to the concept of
declination in the sky:  Polaris,  the North Star,  is at (close to)
declination +90.  You can express a declination as you would any angle:
in decimal degrees,  in degrees plus decimal minutes of arc,  or in
degrees,  minutes, and decimal arcseconds.  (The format Guide uses in
displaying declination,  and RA,  can be specified;  see page 31.)

   RA is similarly analogous to longitude.  The celestial version of the
Prime Meridian is the Sun's location at the vernal equinox (the place
where it crosses the celestial equator near 22 Mar). RA is measured from
this point,  all the way around the sky until the vernal equinox is
reached again.  There are two key differences between RA and longitude.
In the first place, longitude is (usually) measured from -180 to +180
degrees.  RA is never negative;  it's similar to measuring from zero to
360 degrees (which is how some people do measure longitude.)

   The second difference is that instead of being measured in degrees,
RA is measured in units of time.  The entire "distance" around the sky
is not 360 degrees, but one day.  A fraction of this distance can be
measured in hours,  minutes,  and seconds. As with declination,  this
can be either decimal hours,  hours and decimal minutes,  or hours plus
minutes plus decimal seconds. Guide will always accept input in any of
these forms,  and will figure out which method you used and thereafter
show all positions in that format.

   There is one twist on this situation.  If you find the latitude and
longitude of a point on the Earth,  those values won't change
significantly over time.  The North Pole stays under the Arctic icecap,
and Greenwich,  England doesn't move. The situation is not so tidy for
RA and declination,  as described in the following appendix.

APPENDIX B: PRECESSION AND EPOCHS EXPLAINED   
                                                             
   If all you wish to do is to look at stars,  or possibly find out what
that bright planet you see each night at dusk is,  you can probably skip
this Appendix.  If you need fairly precise positions,  or wish to match
a chart printed in Guide with one from another source,  you probably
should know the following:

   The positions of stars and planets are usually described in terms of
right ascension (RA) and declination (see the preceding appendix).  One

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