I like using “Burnham’s Celestial Handbook”, but the 1950s epoch coordinates quickly get frustrating, as we’re mostly using J2000 now.
To speed up my workflow, I created this Python script to quickly convert from 1950s to J2000 coordinates. You’re welcome to pick it up from here (see disclaimer directly below).
– note: you will also need ‘astropy’ installed.
Disclaimer:
1) No warranty is implied or given for this script.
2) You are responsible for checking the appropriateness of running the script on your machine.
3) By running the script, you accept that Lee J. Russell will not be held responsible for any damage or loss of data that might occur when running it.
Lee J. Russell, Author 