17. Commission Du Mouvement Et De La Figure De La Lune

Abstract

The discussions of observations of occultations have been published annually in the Astronomical Journal. The publication, dealing with the observations in the year 1942, which appeared in A. J. 51, 144–5 (1945), concludes the series of annual discussions made at the Yale Observatory. Beginning with the observations in the year 1943, the British Nautical Almanac Office has assumed the responsibility for the reduction and discussion of occultations of stars by the Moon.A discussion of the Moon’s motion based upon about 5000 occultations in the eleven years, 1932–42, and about 1000 Washington meridian circle observations in the years 1933–44 was made by D. Brouwer and A. J. Watts, A. J. 52, 169–76 (1947). Both series were reduced to the FK3 system and corrections for limb error were applied, based upon Hayn’s charts. In the case of the occultations the tables by Watts, A. J. 48, 170 (1940), were used for a partial elimination of the systematic limb effect from the lunation solutions. The meridian circle observations were corrected individually.