recipes.ephemerides.request Namespace Reference

Functions
def	request_from_JPL
def	list_moons
def	list_asteroids
Variables
dictionary	asteroids
dictionary	planets_and_moons
list	should_have_orientation
list	should_have_sublong
dictionary	default_date_incrs

---

Detailed Description

Utilities for having JPL-Horizons ephemerides mailed to you.
See JPL_ephem_reader.py for doing something with them.

Examples:

import recipes.ephemerides.request as jplreq

# I recommend you not ask for more than ~18 months of anything with
# date_incr ~ 1h, because the result would be split into multiple
# emails which you would have to stitch together.

for thing in jplreq.asteroids.keys() + jplreq.planets_and_moons.keys():
jplreq.request_from_JPL(thing, '2012-12-31')

# A trick to avoid fast moving objects:
for thing in jplreq.asteroids.keys() + jplreq.planets_and_moons.keys():
if thing not in jplreq.default_date_incrs:
    jplreq.request_from_JPL(thing, '2012-12-31')

---

Function Documentation

def recipes.ephemerides.request.list_asteroids

(

)

Like list_moons, but list the asteroids by their numbers
(= order of discovery, ~ albedo * size)

Definition at line 448 of file request.py.

def recipes.ephemerides.request.list_moons

(

)

List planets_and_moons in a more organized way.

Definition at line 387 of file request.py.

References asap.asapmath.keys, and irc_cs_task_regression.max.

def recipes.ephemerides.request.request_from_JPL	(		objnam,
			enddate,
			startdate = None,
			date_incr = None,
			get_axis_orientation = None,
			get_axis_ang_orientation = None,
			get_sub_long = None,
			obsloc = "",
			return_address = None,
			mailserver = None,
			use_apparent = True,
			get_sep = None
	)

Request an ASCII ephemeris table from JPL-Horizons for a Solar System
object.  If all goes well it should arrive by email in a few minutes to
an hour.  (The return value from this function is whether or not it sent
the request.)

All but the first two parameters have hopefully sensible defaults:
objnam:
    The name of the object (case-insensitive).  It will be used to refer to
    specifically its center, as opposed to other possible locations in the
    vicinity of the object.  For example, if objnam ="Mars", it will choose
    Mars, not the Mars barycenter or the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
enddate:
    The date that the ephemeris should end on.
    It can be an epoch measure or string (yyyy-mm-dd, assumes UT).
startdate:
    Defaults to today, but it can be specified like enddate.
date_incr:
    The increment between dates in the ephemeris.  casapy's setjy
    task and me tool automatically interpolate.  It can be a (time) quantity
    or a string (which will be interpreted as if it were a quantity).
    
    Unlike the JPL email interface, this does not need it to be an integer
    number of time units.  request_from_JPL() will do its best to convert
    it to fit JPL's required format.
    
    Default: 1 Earth day.
get_axis_orientation:
    Request the orientation of the object's polar axis relative to the line
    of sight.  This is needed (along with the flattening) if treating the
    disk as an ellipse, but it is often unavailable.
    True or False
    Defaults to whether or not objnam is in should_have_orientation.
get_axis_ang_orientation:
    Request the angular orientation (position angle and angular distance from 
    sub-observer point) of the object's polar axis relative to the line
    of sight.
    True or False (by default it is included)
get_sub_long:
    Request the planetographic (geodetic) longitudes and latitudes of the
    subobserver and sub-Solar points.  Only needed if the object has
    significant known surface features.
    True or False
    Defaults to whether or not objnam is in should_have_sublong.
obsloc:
    Observatory name, used to get topocentric coordinates.
    Obviously not all observatories are recognized.
    Default: "" (geocentric)
return_address:
    The email address that the ephemeris will be sent to.
    Default: <username>@<domainname>.
mailserver:
    The computer at _your_ end to send the mail from.
    Default: a semi-intelligent guess.
use_apparent:
    Get the apparent instead of J2000 RA and Dec.  No refraction by Earth's
    atmosphere will be applied; MeasComet assumes apparent directions and
    JPL_ephem_reader would be confused if both apparent and J2000
    directions were present.
    Default: True
get_sep:
    Get the angular separation from the primary, and whether it is
    transiting, in eclipse, etc..  This only makes sense for moons and does
    not guarantee that nothing else (like Earth, Luna, a bright extrasolar
    object) is in the line of sight!
    Default: True if it is in the moons list, False otherwise.

Definition at line 167 of file request.py.

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Variable Documentation

dictionary recipes.ephemerides.request.asteroids

Definition at line 37 of file request.py.

dictionary recipes.ephemerides.request.default_date_incrs

Definition at line 142 of file request.py.

dictionary recipes.ephemerides.request.planets_and_moons

Definition at line 56 of file request.py.

list recipes.ephemerides.request.should_have_orientation

Definition at line 131 of file request.py.

list recipes.ephemerides.request.should_have_sublong

Definition at line 135 of file request.py.