Use Calendar to define the desired epoch (UTC) of observation and Observer List to define the location of the observer. If the desired location is not contained in the list just add it to the file "./data/observer.dat" and restart Astro-Toolbox (or use tool "Observer").

Lunar Laser Ranging supplies the positions of predefined lunar targets given in file "./data/lunar.dat" by using the DE405 ephemeris of the JPL.
These values are suited to control the mount/telescope and the range gate of a lunar laser ranging facility.

The Apollo target positions are resulting from lunar laser ranging analysis and the other targets are taken from other sources.

As the positions are given in the observer-centered equatorial system at the actual epoch one more transformation has to be applied for getting azimuth and elevation angles. Tool Transformation is doing the job if adjusted to target "TH" and all effects are unmarked. (The corrections already take place in tool Lunar Laser Ranging).

Vector shows numerical values whereas Graphics of Vectors presents some graphics. Adjust "Zoom" to "2x", "Angles" to "Az/El" and "Store" to "Last" and click the Calendar entry till the spot is above the horizon. You may drag (left mouse button pressed and moving mouse from upper left to lower right) a small rectangle around the spot to get an enlarged view. You may then select additional targets (West, East, ...) to get an impression of the Moon's size.

Like DE405-Ephemeris this tool also needs ephemeris files from the JPL.
If the needed binary file is not present the tool tries to generate it using the corresponding ascii file. If this file isn't present too you have to download it from JPL and place it into the directory "de405" of Astro-Toolbox. Please refer to the tool description of DE405-Ephemeris for details.

The values shown by tool Vector are already perfect for setting the telescope mount and the range gate of a lunar laser ranging facility.
They are slightly different from the values predicted by Lunar Targets especially concerning the distance (several hundred meters).
Why? Because when the laser pulse is sent, the Moon keeps moving during the approximately 1.2 seconds which are needed to reach the target. And thus the geometric distance at the time of firing the laser is different from the geometric distance at the time of hitting the target.
As laser ranging is at the edge of nowadays technology, the range gate is set as small as possible to prevent unwanted photons to enter the photo detector. Although 10¹⁹ (a 1 with 19 zero-digits) photons are transmitted only one every tenth shot is expected to return from a laser reflector on the Moon.

Load model "llrPos.txt" to save computed values to a file.