Azimuth definition

Laurent Zimmermann Jun 22, 2003

Bill,


Thanks for your answer.

On 12.06.2003 @16:48 you wrote.

> Stephen is definitely right as to the "standard" definition of
> LHA as an always-positive quantity. But your definition appeals to
> me; using this, you can look at, say, "-3:14:16" and immediately
> know that the object will be transiting in a bit over three hours.
> I can't see any benefit in turning this into "20:43:44", i.e.,
> "the object transited almost 21 hours ago."
>
> I've therefore revised LHA to run from -12:00:00 to +12:00:00,
> instead of from 0:00:00 to 24:00:00. If anyone really prefers the
> 24:00:00 scheme, please let me know, and I'll add in some sort of
> switch for the "standard-definition LHA"... but my guess is that
> most people will agree with Dennis; this definition makes sense.

I also consider that the -12/+12 range makes sense for LHA and I find this
much more convenient (perhaps only a matter of habits). The same could be
said about azimuth for the (apparently rare) people (I am one of them)
using the zero-at-south convention.
So I wonder if Guide could account for one more option value at the line
"30 az convn 1" in the "startup.mar" file so that AZ = 0 toward south.


Laurent