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US Naval Observatory Special Publications

picture of USNO circulars The publications listed below are available from the U.S. Naval Observatory. Except for the last five in the list, they are part of the U.S. Naval Observatory Circulars (Circ) series.

They provide computed data, formulas, mathematical developments, or observational results by Naval Observatory astronomers. Only the titles listed below are available from the Naval Observatory. Other titles in the series are no longer available for purchase, although technical libraries (especially astronomy libraries at universities) may have copies.

E-books listed below are free of charge. To request any of the additional publications, please contact us.

Circulars and Special Publications
Series # Title E-book
Circ 112 Phases of the Moon, 1800-1959 (1966)
Circ 141 Lunar Limb Profiles for Solar Eclipses (1973) PDF (622K)
Circ 163 The IAU Resolutions on Astronomical Constants, Time Scales, and the Fundamental Reference Frame (1981) PDF (3.5MB)
Circ 169 Phases of the Moon, 2000-2049 (1986)
Circ 170 Solar Eclipses, 1991-2000 (1986)
Circ 171 Computer Programs for Sun and Moon Illuminance With Contingent Tables and Diagrams (1987)
Circ 178 List of Active Professional Observatories (2000)
Circ 179 The IAU Resolutions on Astronomical Reference Systems, Time Scales, and Earth Rotation Models: Explanation and Implementation (2005) PDF (1.6MB)
Circ 180 User's Guide to NOVAS 3.0
Circ 181 Nutation Series Evaluation in NOVAS 3.0 (2009) PDF (340K)
Special Sky with Ocean Joined - Proceedings of the Sesquicentennial Symposia of the U.S. Naval Observatory (1983)
Special AE98 U.S. Naval Observatory Ephemerides of the Largest Asteroids (1998) (15 ephemerides with associated software on CD-ROM) (discontinued)
Special Proceedings of U.S. Nautical Almanac Office Sesquicentennial Symposium (1999) (24 technical/historical papers)
Special Towards Models and Constants for Sub-Microarcsecond Astrometry: Proceedings of IAU Colloquium 180 (2000) (53 technical papers).
Special The Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac