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N. A. Oliversen, W. T. Harris, W. K. Puatua, W. J. Tangren, J. A. Bangert, G. H. Kaplan (U. S. Naval Observatory), P. M. Janiczek (USNO Retired)
The Multiyear Interactive Computer Almanac (MICA) is a software system for Windows and Mac OS computers that provides high-precision astronomical data in tabular form for a wide variety of celestial objects. MICA was designed primarily for professional applications, and provides essential data for use by astronomers, surveyors, meteorologists, navigators and others who regularly need accurate information on the positions, motions, and phenomena of celestial objects. MICA computes many of the astronomical quantities tabulated in 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.
MICA was first released in 1993. A major update, MICA 2.0, was released in summer 2005. MICA 2.0 provides all the data available in earlier versions of the software. Several new features have been added to the new version, including: extended date coverage from 1800 to 2050; a redesigned user interface; a graphical sky map; a phenomena calculator (eclipses, transits, equinoxes, solstices, conjunctions, oppositions, elongations), ephemerides of Jupiter's Galilean satellites and selected asteroids; the JPL DE405 lunar and planetary ephemerides; and updated catalogs of celestial objects, including a new astrometric catalog containing about 230,000 stars.
The MICA 2.0 software was developed by the U.S. Naval Observatory's Astronomical Applications Department. The software and a user manual are distributed by Willmann-Bell, Inc. For more information see: http://aa.usno.navy.mil/software/mica/micainfo.html.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.