Jean Meeus

Jean Meeus (born December 1928) is a Belgian astronomer specializing in celestial mechanics. The asteroid 2213 Meeus was named after him by the International Astronomical Union in 1981 for his contributions to the field.

Jean Meeus studied mathematics at the University of Leuven in Belgium, where he received the Degree of Licentiate in 1953. From then until his retirement in 1993, he was a meteorologist at Brussels Airport.

His area of interest is spherical and mathematical astronomy.

In 1986 he won the Amateur Achievement Award of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

Publications

• co-author of Canon of Solar Eclipses (1966)
• Astronomical Formulae for Calculators (1979), 1st ed, ISBN 0-943396-22-0
  • Astronomical Formulae for Calculators (1988), 4th ed Enlarged and revised, Willmann-Bell Inc, ISBN 0-943396-22-0
  • Astronomical formulas for microcalculators (1988) (Russian Edition, Moscow, "Mir", 1988)
• co-author of Canon of Lunar Eclipses (1979)
• co-author of Canon of Solar Eclipses (1983)
• Elements of Solar Eclipses 1951-2200 (1989) ISBN 0-943396-21-2
• Transits (1989)
• Astronomical Algorithms (1991), 1st ed, ISBN 0-943396-35-2
• Astronomical Algorithms (1998), 2nd ed, ISBN 0-943396-61-1
• Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets (1983) ISBN 0-943396-02-6
• Mathematical Astronomy Morsels (1997) ISBN 0-943396-51-4
• More Mathematical Astronomy Morsels (2002) ISBN 0-943396-74-3
• Mathematical Astronomy Morsels III (2004) ISBN 0-943396-81-6
• co-author of Five Millennium Canon of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 (2006), NASA Technical paper 2006-214141 2006 [1]
• Mathematical Astronomy Morsels IV (2007) ISBN 978-0-943396-87-3
• Mathematical Astronomy Morsels V (2009) ISBN 978-0-943396-92-7

References

• An implementation of Astronomical Algorithms. Calculate MJD, Equation of Time and Solar Declination in Excel, CAD or your other programs. Sunlit Design claims accuracy of ± 270 milliseconds for the equation of time, ±30 arcseconds for solar declination, and ±4 arcminutes for solar hour angle.
• Naughter Software implementation of Astronomical Algorithms, second edition 1998 in c++
• Navigation Spreadsheets implementation of Astronomical Algorithms, second edition 1998 in Microsoft Excel for celestial navigation purposes.

Preceded by Gregg Thompson & Robert Evans

Amateur Achievement Award of Astronomical Society of the Pacific 1986

Succeeded by Clinton B. Ford