Planet¶

Base class of planets.

class pyplanets.planets.planet.Planet(epoch: pyplanets.core.epoch.Epoch, VSOP87_L, VSOP87_B, VSOP87_R, ORBITAL_ELEM, ORBITAL_ELEM_J2000)[source]¶

Abstract base class for planets.

__init__(epoch: pyplanets.core.epoch.Epoch, VSOP87_L, VSOP87_B, VSOP87_R, ORBITAL_ELEM, ORBITAL_ELEM_J2000)[source]¶

Initializes an object of type planet for a given date (epoch) with: its orbital parameters (ephemeredes) given by VSOP87.

Parameters: epoch (Epoch) – Epoch to which all computations of this instance refer, as an Epoch object
Raises: TypeError if epoch is of wrong type.

__weakref__¶: list of weak references to the object (if defined)

abstract aphelion() → pyplanets.core.epoch.Epoch [source]¶

This method computes the time of Aphelion closest to the epoch of initialization. Subclasses are required to implement this method.

Returns: The epoch of the desired Aphelion
Return type: Epoch

apparent_heliocentric_position(nutation=True)[source]¶

This method computes the apparent heliocentric position of a planet for a given epoch, using the VSOP87 theory.

Parameters: nutation (bool) – Whether the nutation correction will be applied
Returns: A tuple with the heliocentric longitude and latitude (as Angle objects), and the radius vector (as a float, in astronomical units), in that order
Return type: tuple

apparent_planetcentric_sun_position(nutation=True)[source]¶

Generalization of coordinate transformation applicable to all planets. For Planet Earth, this method returns Sun’s apparent geocentric position, i.e. Sun.apparent_geocentric_position(…) in PyMeeus-Classic. Basically a simple transformation!

Parameters: nutation (bool) – Whether the nutation correction will be applied
Returns: A tuple with Sun’s geocentric longitude and latitude (as Angle objects), and the radius vector (as a float, in astronomical units), in that order
Return type: tuple

geometric_heliocentric_position(tofk5=True)[source]¶

This method computes the geometric heliocentric position of a planet for a given epoch, using the VSOP87 theory.

Parameters: tofk5 (bool) – Whether or not the small correction to convert to the FK5 system will be applied or not
Returns: A tuple with the heliocentric longitude and latitude (as Angle objects), and the radius vector (as a float, in astronomical units), in that order
Return type: tuple

orbital_elements_j2000()[source]¶

This method computes the orbital elements of Mars for the standard equinox J2000.0 for a given epoch.

Returns: A tuple containing the following six orbital elements: - Mean longitude of the planet (Angle) - Semimajor axis of the orbit (float, astronomical units) - eccentricity of the orbit (float) - inclination on the plane of the ecliptic (Angle) - longitude of the ascending node (Angle) - argument of the perihelion (Angle)
Return type: tuple

orbital_elements_mean_equinox()[source]¶

This method computes the orbital elements of Mars for the mean equinox of the date for a given epoch.

Returns: A tuple containing the following six orbital elements: - Mean longitude of the planet (Angle) - Semimajor axis of the orbit (float, astronomical units) - eccentricity of the orbit (float) - inclination on the plane of the ecliptic (Angle) - longitude of the ascending node (Angle) - argument of the perihelion (Angle)
Return type: tuple

passage_nodes(ascending=True) -> (<class 'pyplanets.core.epoch.Epoch'>, <class 'float'>)[source]¶

This function computes the time of passage by the nodes (ascending or descending) of the planet, nearest to the given epoch.

Parameters: ascending (bool) – Whether the time of passage by the ascending (True) or descending (False) node will be computed
Returns: Tuple containing: - Time of passage through the node (Epoch) - Radius vector when passing through the node (in AU, float)
Return type: tuple

abstract perihelion() → pyplanets.core.epoch.Epoch [source]¶

This method computes the time of Perihelion closest to the epoch of initialization. Subclasses are required to implement this method.

Returns: The epoch of the desired Perihelion
Return type: Epoch