Lunar Club Tools README

A tool to aid in completing the Astronomical League's Lunar and Lunar II observing clubs. It is written in Python using PyQt for the UI and the pyephem library for lunar calculations.

The program provides general information about the current lunar status. Based on the current location of the lunar terminator, the program determines the visibility of features required to complete the observing clubs. Certain requirements are based on the current lunar phase and the times to and from new moon. These are calculated and presented in a table with indicators that show when the requirement is occurring (not necessarily visible).

Installing

Requirements

• Python 2.7
• PyQt >= 4.8 (not 5)
• pyephem >= 3.7.4.1
• tzlocal >= 1.1.1
• QDarkStyle >= 1.9

Linux

The correct version of Python should already be install on your system. If not, get the 2.7 version via the appropriate package manager. You will then need to install PyQt libraries and build tools packages. The names vary between OS flavors. Next, follow the installation instructions for pip appropriate to Linux. Once that is complete, run the following:

pip install lct

OSX

The correct version of Python should already be install on your system. To get PyQt, the best way is via homebrew:

brew install pyqt

Then, follow the installation instructions for pip appropriate to OSX. Once that is complete, run the following:

pip install lct

Windows

Download the correct version from Python. Be sure you note if you install the 64-bit or 32-bit version of Python. Download the correct associated version of PyQt from their site and install. Next, download the correct associated version of pyephem and install. Then, follow the installation instructions for pip appropriate to Windows. Once that is complete, run the following:

pip install lct

Alternatively, you can download the associated version of the Lunar Club Tools here. However, you will need to install two other packages via pip:

pip install tzlocal
pip install qdarkstyle

Running

As long as the installation directory for Python scripts is in your PATH, the program is run via the following:

lunar_club_tools.py