The ''Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch'' (abbrev. B.A.J.) is an astronomical

ephemeris In astronomy and celestial navigation, an ephemeris (pl. ephemerides; ) is a book with tables that gives the trajectory of naturally occurring astronomical objects as well as artificial satellites in the sky, i.e., the position (and possibly vel ...

almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and other ...

and one of the longest publication series in

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

. It was a compendium of

ephemerides In astronomy and celestial navigation, an ephemeris (pl. ephemerides; ) is a book with tables that gives the trajectory of naturally occurring astronomical objects as well as artificial satellites in the sky, i.e., the position (and possibly vel ...

of all large

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

bodies and of fundamental stars which define the celestial reference system. The ''B.A.J.'' series was founded by

Johann Elert Bode Johann Elert Bode (; 19 January 1747 – 23 November 1826) was a German astronomer known for his reformulation and popularisation of the Titius–Bode law. Bode determined the orbit of Uranus and suggested the planet's name. Life and career Bo ...

, and is thus sometimes referred to as Bode's Astronomisches Jahrbuch. It began publication in 1776 and continued until 1960 when it was merged into the international edition of the ''

Astronomical Ephemeris In astronomy and celestial navigation, an ephemeris (pl. ephemerides; ) is a book with tables that gives the trajectory of naturally occurring astronomical objects as well as artificial satellites in the sky, i.e., the position (and possibly vel ...

'' and ''

Apparent Places of Fundamental Stars The Astronomical Calculation Institute (german: Astronomisches Rechen-Institut; ARI) is a research institute in Heidelberg, Germany, dating from the 1700s. Beginning in 2005, the ARI became part of the Center for Astronomy at Heidelberg Univers ...

'' (APFS). This merger was decided in 1959 by the

IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach ...

. Starting in 1907 it contained accurate

apparent places The apparent place of an physical body, object is its position in space as seen by an observer. Because of physical and geometrical effects it may differ from the "true" or "geometric" position. Astronomy In astronomy, a distinction is made betw ...

of the first international

fundamental catalogue Fundamental may refer to: * Foundation of reality * Fundamental frequency, as in music or phonetics, often referred to as simply a "fundamental" * Fundamentalism, the belief in, and usually the strict adherence to, the simple or "fundamental" idea ...

which was compiled for

astrometry Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, the Milky Way. His ...

; later these data were actualized within the framework of the

Catalogues of Fundamental Stars The Catalogue of Fundamental Stars is a series of six astrometric catalogues of high precision positional data for a small selection of stars to define a celestial reference frame, which is a standard coordinate system for measuring positions of s ...

FK3 The Catalogue of Fundamental Stars is a series of six astrometric catalogues of high precision positional data for a small selection of stars to define a celestial reference frame, which is a standard coordinate system for measuring positions of s ...

and

FK4 The Catalogue of Fundamental Stars is a series of six astrometric catalogues of high precision positional data for a small selection of stars to define a celestial reference frame, which is a standard coordinate system for measuring positions of s ...

. In the 1940s the Almanac was edited in co-operation with the ''Astronomisch-Geodätisches Jahrbuch'' of the Recheninstitut in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, Germany, which was also merged into the IAU editions like other national almanacs.

References

External links

* http://www.ari.uni-heidelberg.de/publikationen/baj/ – Astrononomisches Rechen-Institut Heidelberg (

ARI Ari may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ari (name), a name in various languages, including a list of people and fictional characters * Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534–1572), Jewish rabbinical scholar and mystic known also as Ari * Ari (foot ...

) * http://www.ari.uni-heidelberg.de/publikationen/baj/baj1776/baj1776.htm {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211135521/http://www.ari.uni-heidelberg.de/publikationen/baj/baj1776/baj1776.htm , date=2012-02-11 –

Edition Edition may refer to: * Edition (book), a bibliographical term for a substantially similar set of copies * Edition (printmaking), a publishing term for a set print run * Edition (textual criticism), a particular version of a text * Edition Recor ...

sseite der ersten Ausgabe (1774) German-language works Astronomical almanacs