CycleCalcs Astronomy

Place name to coordinates and timezone

astro_find_place

Read-onlyIdempotent

Resolve a place name to coordinates, region, country, IANA timezone and a stable place_id, or reverse-look-up the nearest places to a lat/lon. Results are GeoNames data (CC BY 4.0); the response carries the required credit in its attribution field, which must be preserved when results are shown. Note the other tools accept a place argument directly, so this is only needed to disambiguate a name, filter by country, or reverse-geocode.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`id`	No	A place_id from an earlier result, to fetch that exact place.
`lat`	No	Latitude in decimal degrees, north positive. Send lat and lon together.
`lon`	No	Longitude in decimal degrees, east positive (Lisbon is about -9.14). Send lat and lon together.
`limit`	No	Maximum matches to return. Default 5.
`query`	No	Place name to search for, e.g. "Springfield".
`country`	No	Two-letter ISO country code filter, e.g. "US".

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description
`data`	Yes	Coordinates for a place name, or the nearest named places to coordinates.
`rights`	No	Either unrestricted, or attribution_required when third-party place data was used. When attribution_required, the attribution line must be shown.
`warnings`	No	Machine-readable notices about this answer. Present only when non-empty. Never changes whether the call succeeded.
`attribution`	No	The credit line to display verbatim when rights is attribution_required.
`next_cursor`	No	Present only when more rows exist. Send it back with the SAME start/end arguments as the first call to get the next page.
`not_computed`	No	Data this API deliberately does not serve, and why. Present only when the question touched such a field. An absence named here is information: treat it as "withheld", never as "none exists".

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed1 schema field changedAug 9, 2026

changedOutput schema / (root)

Previous value: -nullNew value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": true,
+  "description": "The MCP projection of a CycleCalcs v2 response: the answer, plus the provenance a caller needs to use it honestly.",
+  "properties": {
+    "attribution": {
+      "description": "The credit line to display verbatim when rights is attribution_required.",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "data": {
+      "additionalProperties": true,
+      "description": "Coordinates for a place name, or the nearest named places to coordinates.",
+      "properties": {
+        "found": {
+          "description": "How many are returned here.",
+          "type": "integer"
+        },
+        "index": {
+          "description": "Which place index answered, and its vintage.",
+          "type": "object"
+        },
+        "matched": {
+          "description": "How many places matched before any limit was applied.",
+          "type": "integer"
+        },
+        "mode": {
+          "description": "Whether this was a name search or a reverse lookup.",
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "results": {
+          "description": "Each place with coordinates, country, population and a place_id that other tools accept.",
+          "type": "array"
+        }
+      },
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "next_cursor": {
+      "description": "Present only when more rows exist. Send it back with the SAME start/end arguments as the first call to get the next page.",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "not_computed": {
+      "description": "Data this API deliberately does not serve, and why. Present only when the question touched such a field. An absence named here is information: treat it as \"withheld\", never as \"none exists\".",
+      "type": "array"
+    },
+    "rights": {
+      "description": "Either unrestricted, or attribution_required when third-party place data was used. When attribution_required, the attribution line must be shown.",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "warnings": {
+      "description": "Machine-readable notices about this answer. Present only when non-empty. Never changes whether the call succeeded.",
+      "type": "array"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "data"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

First observedAug 9, 2026

TDQS

A4.6/5.0

Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already declare the safe read-only, idempotent, closed-world profile, so the description's real value-add is disclosing the data provenance (GeoNames, CC BY 4.0) and the obligation to preserve the attribution field in displayed results. That is genuine behavioral context beyond the annotations, though error/pagination behavior is left unstated.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Three dense sentences with the core verb+resource front-loaded, followed by the license obligation and the routing guidance. Every sentence earns its place, though the license sentence could be tightened slightly.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

With an output schema present (return fields need not be explained) and annotations covering safety, the description only needs to cover modes, provenance, and when-to-use — all of which it does. Nothing needed for correct invocation is missing.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so the baseline is 3, but the description groups the parameters into meaningful modes (name lookup, country filtering, reverse lat/lon lookup) and reinforces that place_id is a value from an earlier result. That adds mode-selection meaning on top of the per-field docs.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description states a precise verb+resource pair and enumerates the outputs (coordinates, region, country, IANA timezone, stable place_id), then covers the reverse-geocoding direction explicitly. It is unmistakably distinguishable from the astronomically-themed sibling tools, which never resolve place names.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

It gives an explicit when-not and three when-to conditions: 'the other tools accept a place argument directly, so this is only needed to disambiguate a name, filter by country, or reverse-geocode.' An agent has a decision rule without needing to inspect siblings.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

All CycleCalcs Astronomy tools Inspect

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