Multiyear Interactive Computer Almanac (MICA)
Astronomical Applications Dept. Astronomical Applications Dept.
 
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NOTICE TO USERS

Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command is consolidating the command's web presence in accordance with Department of Defense (DoD) and Navy guidance. The U.S. Naval Oceanography portal will be the single access point for all public facing Meteorology and Oceanography products and services. This publicly-accessible portal is currently online at http://www.usno.navy.mil and is being populated. In the near future, non-DoD users will be redirected to this portal.

DoD customers can access all operational data, products and services via the NIPRnet Naval Oceanography Portal site at https://oceanography.navy.mil (CAC required).

Multiyear Interactive Computer Almanac

MICA Software for PCs and Macs

(Current Version: Version 2.1, December 2006)

An easy-to-use astronomical almanac from the U.S. Naval Observatory

About MICA

MICA, the Multiyear Interactive Computer Almanac, is a software system that provides high-precision astronomical data in tabular form for a wide variety of celestial objects. MICA computes many of the astronomical quantities tabulated in the The Astronomical Almanac. However, MICA can compute this information for specific locations and specific times, thus eliminating the need for table look-ups and additional hand calculations.

Designed primarily for professional applications, MICA is intended for intermediate-to-advanced users. Basic knowledge of astronomical terminology and positional astronomy is assumed.

MICA provides essential data for use in:

Astronomy and astrophysics Space science Geodesy and surveying
Geophysics Meteorology Environmental science
Operations planning Accident reconstruction and litigation Illumination engineering
Architecture Photography  

MICA was first released in 1993 for MS-DOS and Apple Macintosh systems. MICA 2.0 was updated for Windows and modern Apple Macintosh systems and released in August 2005. MICA 2.0 provided all the data available in earlier versions of the software and included several new features. The current version of MICA is Version 2.1, which was released in December 2006.

Features

MICA provides the following features:


In addition, a number of important new features have been added to MICA 2.0, including:


MICA PC sample screens (Windows XP):


MICA Mac sample screens (Mac OS X):

System Requirements

Minimum system requirements for Windows edition:


Minimum system requirements for Mac OS edition:

"Delta T" File Updates

For highest accuracy, the supplied file of "Delta T," the difference between Terrestrial Time (TT) and Universal Time (UT1), should be updated periodically. Information about the most recent Delta T file is posted below:

Software Updates

Version 2.1 is the current version of MICA. It was released in December 2006 and is valid for years 1800 through 2050. This version includes a number of bug fixes and a couple of new features. See the ReadMe file for further information.

For systems that already have MICA 2.0 installed, a CDROM is available which just contains the updated MICA 2.1 files. New requests for MICA will, of course, receive the full install package. Please see the ordering information below.

Frequently Asked Questions and Software Bugs

Ordering Information

MICA is published for the U.S. Naval Observatory by Willmann-Bell, Inc. Both PC and Macintosh editions of the software are distributed on a single CD-ROM, with a hardcover user's guide. Please direct all orders and general requests for product information to:

Mica CDROM image

Willmann-Bell, Inc.
P.O. Box 35025
Richmond, VA 23235

(800) 825-7827 (orders only)
(804) 320-7016 (orders and information)
(804) 272-5920 (Fax)

http://www.willbell.com