Utility Functions¶
Note
The functions in this module are not in the coord namespace. They are in the coord.util namespace. To use them, you need to write, e.g.:
jd = coord.util.date_to_julian_day(datetime.datetime.now())
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coord.util.
sun_position_ecliptic
(date)[source]¶ Helper routine to calculate the position of the sun in ecliptic coordinates given a python datetime object.
It is most precise for dates between 1950-2050, and is based on
- Parameters
date – The date as either a datetime.datetime instance or a datetime.date instance.
:returns the angular position of the sun along the ecliptic.
-
coord.util.
date_to_julian_day
(date)[source]¶ Helper routine to return the Julian day for a given date.
If date is a datetime.datetime instance, then it uses the full time info. If date is a datetime.date, then it does the calculation for noon of that day.
- Returns
the (possibly fractional) Julian day for the given date.