MICA Software for PCs and Macs

(Current Version: Version 2.1, December 2006)

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:

• Nine types of positions of celestial objects, including geocentric and topocentric apparent places, astrometric places, and topocentric horizon coordinates.
• Various time and Earth orientation data (e.g. calendar/Julian date conversions, mean and local sidereal time, nutation and obliquity, equation of the equinoxes).
• Times of rise, set, and transit of celestial objects, and times of civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight.
• Data on the apparent size, illumination, and orientation of the Sun, Moon, and major planets (the "physical ephemerides").
• Low-precision topocentric data describing the configuration of the Sun, Moon, and major planets at user-specified times.

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

• Expanded date coverage. MICA 2.0 provides data over the years 1800 to 2050.
• A redesigned user interface. Two editions of MICA are provided for operation under Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS (see System Requirements below).
• A graphical sky map. A configurable sky map displays the locations of many celestial objects.
• A phenomena calculator providing data on eclipses, transits, solstices/equinoxes, moon phases, conjunctions, oppositions, and greatest elongations.
• A new, easier-to-read rise/set table format. In addition, calculations of rise, set, transit, and twilight can be done for any latitude.
• Improved solar, lunar and planetary data. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's DE405 ephemerides replace DE200 as the fundamental source of the solar, lunar, and planetary data.
• Positional data for 15 of the largest asteroids. USNO's USNO/AE98 minor planet ephemerides provide the fundamental data.
• Positions of Jupiter's Galilean satellites.
• Updated and expanded catalogs of other celestial objects. This includes a new astrometric catalog containing about 230,000 stars. (MICA 2.x also supports catalogs in the MICA 1.0 format.
• An extensive help facility.

MICA PC sample screens (Windows XP):

• Sky map
• Solar eclipse
• Rise/set/transit times for the Sun

MICA Mac sample screens (Mac OS X):

• Sky map
• Phenomena search
• Apparent topocentric position of Mars

System Requirements

Minimum system requirements for Windows edition:

• PC-compatible 200 MHz Pentium or higher.
• Windows^® 98, Millennium Edition, NT^® 4.0 (with Service Pack 4 or later), 2000, or XP operating system.
• Internet Explorer version 4.0 (5.0 recommended).
• 64 MB of RAM.
• 135 MB of hard disk space (1 MB on the C: drive).
• CD-ROM drive for installation.
• VGA or higher-resolution monitor (with screen area set to at least 640 x 480 pixels and 256 colors).

Minimum system requirements for Mac OS edition:

• Any PowerPC-based Mac running Mac OS 9.2.2 or higher.
• For best performance, a G3 or faster processor running Mac OS X is recommended.
• Systems running Mac OS 9.2.2 require CarbonLib 1.6 installed. CarbonLib 1.6 can be downloaded from the Apple Web site (www.apple.com/support/downloads). Mac OS X systems do not need to install CarbonLib.
• 200 MB of hard disk space

"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:

• Delta T file updates.

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

• Frequently Asked Questions.
• MICA 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:

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