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mcp-stargazing

Calculate the altitude, rise, and set times of celestial objects (Sun, Moon, planets, stars, and deep-space objects) for any location on Earth, with optional light pollution analysis.

Features

  • Altitude/Azimuth Calculation: Get elevation and compass direction for any celestial object.

  • Rise/Set Times: Determine when objects appear/disappear above the horizon.

  • Light Pollution Analysis: Load and analyze light pollution maps (GeoTIFF format).

  • Supports:

    • Solar system objects (Sun, Moon, planets)

    • Stars (e.g., "sirius")

    • Deep-space objects (e.g., "andromeda", "orion_nebula")

  • Time Zone Aware: Works with local or UTC times.

Related MCP server: Celestial Position MCP Server

Installation

pip install astropy pytz numpy astroquery rasterio geopy

Usage

Calculate Altitude/Azimuth

from src.celestial import celestial_pos from astropy.coordinates import EarthLocation import pytz from datetime import datetime # Observer location (New York) location = EarthLocation(lat=40.7128, lon=-74.0060) # Time (local timezone-aware) local_time = pytz.timezone("America/New_York").localize(datetime(2023, 10, 1, 12, 0)) altitude, azimuth = celestial_pos("sun", location, local_time) print(f"Sun Position: Altitude={altitude:.1f}°, Azimuth={azimuth:.1f}°")

Calculate Rise/Set Times

from src.celestial import celestial_rise_set rise, set_ = celestial_rise_set("andromeda", location, local_time.date()) print(f"Andromeda: Rise={rise.iso}, Set={set_.iso}")

Load Light Pollution Map

from src.light_pollution import load_map # Load a GeoTIFF light pollution map vriis_data, bounds, crs, transform = load_map("path/to/map.tif") print(f"Map Bounds: {bounds}")

API Reference

celestial_pos(celestial_object, observer_location, time) (src/celestial.py)

  • Inputs:

    • celestial_object: Name (e.g., "sun", "andromeda").

    • observer_location: EarthLocation object.

    • time: datetime (timezone-aware) or Astropy Time.

  • Returns: (altitude_degrees, azimuth_degrees).

celestial_rise_set(celestial_object, observer_location, date, horizon=0.0) (src/celestial.py)

  • Inputs:

    • date: Timezone-aware datetime.

    • horizon: Horizon elevation (default: 0°).

  • Returns: (rise_time, set_time) as UTC Time objects.

load_map(map_path) (src/light_pollution.py)

  • Inputs:

    • map_path: Path to GeoTIFF file.

  • Returns: Tuple (vriis_data, bounds, crs, transform) for light pollution analysis.

Testing

Run tests with:

pytest tests/

Key Test Cases (tests/test_celestial.py)

def test_calculate_altitude_deepspace(): """Test deep-space object resolution.""" altitude, _ = celestial_pos("andromeda", NYC, Time.now()) assert -90 <= altitude <= 90 def test_calculate_rise_set_sun(): """Validate Sun rise/set times.""" rise, set_ = celestial_rise_set("sun", NYC, datetime(2023, 10, 1)) assert rise < set_

Project Structure

. ├── src/ │ ├── celestial.py # Core celestial calculations │ ├── light_pollution.py # Light pollution map utilities │ ├── utils.py # Time/location helpers │ └── main.py # CLI entry point ├── tests/ │ ├── test_celestial.py │ └── test_utils.py └── README.md

Future Work

  • Add support for comets/asteroids.

  • Optimize SIMBAD queries for offline use.

  • Integrate light pollution data into visibility predictions.

Key Updates:

  1. Light Pollution: Added light_pollution.py to features and API reference.

  2. Dependencies: Added rasterio and geopy to installation instructions.

  3. Project Structure: Clarified file roles and test coverage.

-
security - not tested
A
license - permissive license
-
quality - not tested

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