By the way Rama, if we search for "1501 CE to 2100 CE" on Google we see that it's a common eclipse table. Why would this program be using a common table for the eclipses found all over the internet?
That table was not generated by NOVAS as far as I can tell.
On the
USNO NOVAS eclipse page, which is three levels down on the main page, under About the Data we read that
"The times are the same as those published in The Astronomical Almanac, adjusted to the specified time zone."
Next we read "More information on eclipses can be found at the
USNO Eclipse Portal."
If we go to that page by the UNSO, the same organization that makes NOVAS, we read:
"You can find information on eclipses for a range of years running from 1501 CE to 2100 CE inclusive. In this interval there are a total of 2881 eclipses made up of 1421 solar and 1460 lunar eclipses."
Knowing from Google that that date range is a reference to a well known table of eclipses, why would the USNO put this on their eclipse portal page if their data is generated by their superior geometric computer models? I clicked on that link for "more information" and it's basically telling me that it's using a table of eclipses which is plastered all over the internet in its program
It does not claim to be limited to stars. Why are you assuming it is?
I know it doesn't. But the lunar eclipse computer is three levels down, not really front and center. When I click on that link it tells me stuff about the data being the same as The Astronomical Almanac, a 200+ year old publication put out yearly, and links me to another UNSO page dedicated to the eclipse predictions, where I'm supposed to go for more information about the data predictions, which states that the USNO can predict a date range for eclipses which is identical to common eclipse tables which are known to use the Saros Cycle.
What else am I supposed to think?
The NOVAS program may be good for something, but as far as its ability to model orbital dynamics, the evidence is lacking.