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TheDaniel166 edited this page Mar 24, 2026 · 6 revisions

Moira Experimental Validation

Version: 2.0 Date: 2026-03-23 Runtime target: Python 3.14

This document covers Moira subsystems that are experimental, modernized, or not normally validated against a single canonical astrology package. In this layer, the validation standard is a mix of:

  • inherited astronomical validation from lower layers
  • doctrine and mathematical invariants
  • curated external references where a real oracle exists
  • explicit disclosure when a subsystem is still only partially validated

The goal is truthfulness, not false symmetry with the core astronomy and astrology validation docs.

1. Status Table

Domain Validation basis Status
Gaia DR3 star positions inherited astronomy stack plus loader, indexing, vessel, and search tests in tests/unit/test_gaia.py, plus ERFA-backed proper-motion oracle checks and exact-vector annual/topocentric parallax checks in tests/integration/test_gaia_external_reference.py Validated
Gaia BP-RP elemental quality mapping explicit boundary and vessel tests in tests/unit/test_gaia.py; no external oracle exists Validated
Variable stars catalog integrity, phase arithmetic, light-curve behavior, extremum helpers in tests/unit/test_variable_stars.py, plus external ephemeris spot checks for Algol (AAVSO VSX), Delta Cephei, and Eta Aquilae (GCVS) in tests/integration/test_variable_stars_external_reference.py Validated
Extended physical bodies Horizons / kernel-backed fixture suites for TNOs, centaurs, asteroids, and selected minor bodies Validated
Galactic transforms and reference points round-trip and reference-point tests in tests/unit/test_experimental_validation.py Validated
Uranian bodies / Transpluto locked formulas and range checks in tests/unit/test_experimental_validation.py Validated
Astrocartography dedicated geometry and wrapper suite in tests/unit/test_astrocartography.py plus validated planetary positions Validated
Local space dedicated spherical-astronomy and wrapper suite in tests/unit/test_local_space.py plus validated topocentric positions Validated
Longevity doctrine tables and scoring logic in tests/unit/test_experimental_validation.py Validated
Timelords doctrine and structural invariants in tests/unit/test_experimental_validation.py and tests/unit/test_timelords.py Validated
Gauquelin sectors canonical diurnal-arc logic in tests/unit/test_experimental_validation.py Validated
Arabic lunar mansions (Manazil) equal-station arithmetic and boundary tests in tests/unit/test_experimental_validation.py Validated
Varga divisions explicit geometric-division doctrine tests in tests/unit/test_varga.py plus public-surface coverage Validated
Synastry composites midpoint and reference-place composite behavior in tests/unit/test_synastry.py Validated
Sothic cycle doctrine, policy, and profile structure in tests/unit/test_sothic.py Validated
Multiple star systems dedicated unit suite for catalog lookup, orbital behavior, resolvability, magnitudes, wrappers, and public surface, plus Sirius AB orbit spot checks against a published yearly ephemeris in tests/integration/test_multiple_stars_external_reference.py Validated

2. Validation Philosophy

Experimental subsystems do not all admit the same kind of truth claim.

  • Some are physically anchored and can inherit real astronomy validation.
  • Some are computationally novel and are best validated by doctrine, invariants, and explicit policy surfaces.
  • Some are modern interpretive layers with no meaningful external oracle.
  • A few are still under-validated and are marked that way directly.

Moira should not claim stronger validation than the subsystem actually has.

3. Gaia and Stellar Extensions

3.1 Gaia DR3 star positions

Current state:

  • the astronomical substrate is strong because it rides on the validated position/correction stack
  • Gaia-specific propagation and enrichment logic now has direct unit coverage in tests/unit/test_gaia.py
  • loader, catalog summary, longitude-index wrap handling, search ordering, and topocentric wrapper plumbing are all explicitly tested
  • Gaia-specific astrometric steps now have a dedicated external-reference suite in tests/integration/test_gaia_external_reference.py

External reference coverage:

  • proper-motion propagation against ERFA pmsafe
  • annual stellar parallax against exact vector geometry in the ecliptic frame
  • topocentric stellar parallax against exact observer-vector geometry
  • composite _record_to_position() checks with injected frame terms, so the Gaia-specific per-star stack is externally bounded while the final frame conversion continues to inherit the already-validated astronomy layer

Status: Validated

Residual note:

  • the high-proper-motion nearby-star case stays within 0.02" of ERFA in RA/Dec at the propagation layer
  • the full Gaia-specific position pipeline stays within 0.05" in longitude and latitude against the external oracle suite
  • topocentric stellar parallax matches exact observer-vector geometry to numerical precision in the tested corpus

3.2 Gaia BP-RP elemental quality mapping

This layer is interpretive rather than astronomical, but it now has explicit unit validation in tests/unit/test_gaia.py.

Covered:

  • NaN handling
  • boundary transitions between all declared BP-RP ranges
  • resulting StellarQuality vessel semantics via GaiaStarPosition

Status: Validated

What this does not mean:

  • there is still no external oracle for the interpretive mapping itself
  • the validation claim is that Moira's declared mapping is implemented correctly and consistently

3.3 Variable stars

Validated in tests/unit/test_variable_stars.py and tests/integration/test_variable_stars_external_reference.py.

What is covered:

  • catalog integrity
  • phase arithmetic
  • light-curve shape expectations by variable-star type
  • next-minimum / next-maximum helpers
  • type filters and convenience APIs
  • external ephemeris spot checks for:
    • Algol against AAVSO VSX epoch-of-minimum and period
    • Delta Cephei against published GCVS epoch-of-maximum and period
    • Eta Aquilae against published GCVS epoch-of-maximum and period
  • forward minima prediction against the external linear ephemeris for Algol

Status: Validated

External comparison numbers:

  • Algol (bet Per, AAVSO VSX):
    • external epoch of minimum: HJD 2455565.33243
    • Moira epoch of minimum: 2455565.33243
    • epoch delta: 0.0 d
    • external period: 2.867323862 d
    • Moira period: 2.867323862 d
    • period delta: 0.0 d
  • Delta Cephei (del Cep, GCVS):
    • external epoch of maximum: JD 2436075.445
    • Moira epoch of maximum: 2436075.445
    • epoch delta: 0.0 d
    • external period: 5.366341 d
    • Moira period: 5.366341 d
    • period delta: 0.0 d
  • Eta Aquilae (eta Aql, GCVS):
    • external epoch of maximum: JD 2436084.656
    • Moira epoch of maximum: 2436084.656
    • epoch delta: 0.0 d
    • external period: 7.176641 d
    • Moira period: 7.176641 d
    • period delta: 0.0 d

Observed agreement in the external suite:

  • catalog ephemeris agreement for all three spot-check stars: exact match to the cited published values
  • Algol forward linear-minimum prediction: exact to floating-point precision in the offline test corpus

3.4 Multiple star systems

Validated in tests/unit/test_multiple_stars.py and tests/integration/test_multiple_stars_external_reference.py.

Covered:

  • catalog lookup by name, designation, and alias
  • type-specific behavior for visual, wide, spectroscopic, and optical systems
  • time-varying visual-binary separation for Sirius and Alpha Centauri
  • fixed reference behavior for wide and optical systems
  • Dawes-limit resolvability logic, including the inclusive boundary
  • dominant-component selection
  • combined-magnitude flux-sum doctrine
  • full snapshot structure from components_at()
  • named convenience functions and Moira wrapper methods
  • public surface exposure from both moira.multiple_stars and top-level moira

Status: Validated

Truth basis:

  • this subsystem is currently validated by published catalog/orbital doctrine plus explicit invariant tests
  • Sirius AB now also has a dedicated external spot check against a published yearly orbit ephemeris

Representative computed values from the current validated corpus:

  • Sirius (visual):
    • JD 2451545.0: separation 4.6236436381"; position angle 149.7428251338°
    • JD 2458849.5: separation 11.2280299559"; position angle 68.2561769339°
    • combined magnitude: -1.4601190421
  • Alpha Centauri (visual):
    • JD 2451545.0: separation 14.2571111404"; position angle 222.1788135176°
    • JD 2464328.5: separation 6.4073379950"; position angle 34.4508871197°
    • combined magnitude: -0.2719470331
  • Castor (wide):
    • reference separation 3.9"; reference position angle 52.0°
    • combined magnitude: 1.5759885857
  • Albireo (optical):
    • reference separation 34.4"; reference position angle 54.0°
    • combined magnitude: 2.9329843961
  • Capella (spectroscopic):
    • separation 0.0"; position angle 0.0°
    • combined magnitude: 0.0798366601
  • Spica (spectroscopic):
    • separation 0.0"; position angle 0.0°
    • combined magnitude: 0.8868955636

Observed agreement in the validation suite:

  • Sirius AB published orbit ephemeris comparison:
    • 2000-01-01 (JD 2451544.5): published rho=4.460", theta=151.2°; Moira rho=4.6231468665", theta=149.7581702725°; residuals +0.1631468665", -1.4418297275°
    • 2020-01-01 (JD 2458849.5): published rho=11.193", theta=68.1°; Moira rho=11.2280299559", theta=68.2561769339°; residuals +0.0350299559", +0.1561769339°
    • 2030-01-01 (JD 2462502.5): published rho=10.392", theta=48.9°; Moira rho=10.3807681631", theta=48.8288701968°; residuals -0.0112318369", -0.0711298032°
  • Sirius and Alpha Centauri separations are strictly positive and vary across multi-decade epochs, confirming live Kepler/Thiele-Innes behavior
  • Castor and Albireo separation / position-angle outputs are time-invariant at their declared reference values
  • Capella and Spica remain fixed at 0.0" separation and are never resolvable
  • combined magnitudes match the declared flux-sum formula to within 1e-9

4. Extended Physical Bodies

This area is much stronger than the previous version of this document implied.

Validated areas include curated fixture-based coverage for:

  • TNOs
  • centaurs
  • classical asteroids
  • broader main-belt bodies
  • selected small-body kernels such as Pandora, Amor, Apollo, Icarus, Karma, and Persephone

These validations are grounded in the same Horizons / kernel-based astronomy work used elsewhere in the repo.

Status: Validated

5. Galactic and Uranian Layers

5.1 Galactic transforms

Validated in tests/unit/test_experimental_validation.py.

Covered:

  • rotation behavior
  • round-trip consistency
  • canonical galactic center and north galactic pole reference behavior

Status: Validated

5.2 Uranian bodies and Transpluto

Validated in tests/unit/test_experimental_validation.py.

Covered:

  • locked formula output
  • daily-motion expectations
  • range and structural sanity

Status: Validated

This is still a model-defined subsystem. Differences from other Uranian packages are treated as model differences unless Moira violates its own stated formula basis.

6. Derived Geometric Techniques

6.1 Astrocartography

astrocartography.py derives line geometry from already validated planet positions, and now has its own dedicated validation surface in tests/unit/test_astrocartography.py.

Covered:

  • MC / IC antipodal meridian logic
  • ASC / DSC symmetry about the MC meridian
  • zero-declination special case, where rising and setting reduce to fixed meridians
  • high-declination circumpolar omission behavior
  • line-vessel structure and repr shape
  • acg_from_chart() wrapper plumbing for apparent sidereal time and RA/Dec collection

Status: Validated

Important scope note:

  • this validates the geographic line engine
  • Moira does not implement a separate rendered world-map projection layer here, so a map-image oracle is not the relevant validation target for this module

6.2 Local space

local_space.py derives azimuth/altitude outputs from validated topocentric positions and now has its own dedicated validation surface in tests/unit/test_local_space.py.

Covered:

  • equatorial cardinal cases for zenith, nadir, east, and west horizon points
  • north/south meridian cases at nonzero latitude
  • azimuth sorting
  • 8-point compass labeling
  • LocalSpacePosition repr and above/below-horizon semantics
  • local_space_from_chart() wrapper plumbing for sidereal time and RA/Dec collection

Status: Validated

7. Traditional-Experimental Boundary Techniques

7.1 Longevity

Validated in tests/unit/test_experimental_validation.py.

Covered:

  • Ptolemaic years
  • face rulers
  • Egyptian bounds
  • triplicity support
  • dignity scoring
  • hyleg selection priority
  • longevity band selection

Status: Validated

7.2 Timelords

Validated across tests/unit/test_experimental_validation.py and tests/unit/test_timelords.py.

Covered:

  • Firdaria sequence structure
  • sub-period grouping
  • Zodiacal Releasing minor-year table behavior
  • active-period and profile helpers

Status: Validated

7.3 Gauquelin sectors

Validated in tests/unit/test_experimental_validation.py.

Covered:

  • sector range
  • plus-zone classification
  • field integrity and edge cases

Status: Validated

7.4 Arabic lunar mansions

Validated in tests/unit/test_experimental_validation.py.

Covered:

  • mansion span arithmetic
  • boundary advancement
  • wraparound
  • all 28 mansions reachable

Status: Validated

7.5 Varga divisions

varga.py explicitly implements the standard geometric-division model, not the full set of sign-specific Parasari special rules used by some Jyotish software. The correct validation target is therefore the geometric doctrine the module actually declares.

Validated in:

  • tests/unit/test_varga.py
  • tests/unit/test_public_surface_gaps.py

Covered:

  • D1 identity behavior
  • segment-to-sign advancement at exact division boundaries
  • degree reset at segment boundaries
  • 360-degree periodicity
  • scaled remainder mapping for degree-within-varga-sign
  • convenience-function naming and divisor preservation
  • output range invariants across multiple divisors
  • public-surface wiring and return-type exposure

Status: Validated

Important scope note:

  • this validates Moira's declared geometric varga engine
  • it does not claim full equivalence to sign-offset doctrines used by JHora or other specialized Jyotish software

7.6 Synastry composites

The previous status here was too weak.

tests/unit/test_synastry.py already validates:

  • midpoint composite construction
  • shortest-arc midpoint behavior across seams
  • reference-place composite houses
  • relation/classification/condition-profile integrity
  • policy handling and input guards

Status: Validated

8. Sothic Cycle

tests/unit/test_sothic.py provides a real validation surface for the Sothic subsystem.

Covered:

  • Egyptian civil-date logic
  • annual Sothic rising result structure
  • epoch filtering behavior
  • drift-rate and prediction helpers
  • policy validation
  • condition-profile and network-profile structure

Status: Validated

This remains a doctrine/model subsystem rather than a mainstream external software-comparison subsystem.

9. Remaining Work

The main experimental items that still need more validation are:

  1. Gaia DR3 star positions A dedicated external per-star reference corpus is still desirable.

  2. Optional external spot checks Astrocartography and local space are now geometry-validated internally, but software-to-software spot checks would still be useful as supplemental corroboration if a clean declared reference is available.

These are the real remaining gaps. Everything else listed as validated above already has a concrete test surface in the repo.

10. Practical Reading

Interpret the status labels strictly:

  • Validated There is a real enforcement surface in the repo appropriate to the subsystem.

  • Partial There is meaningful coverage, but an important dedicated validation layer is still missing.

  • Documented The subsystem is intentionally model-defined and transparent, but not externally validated in the usual sense.

  • Needs validation The implementation exists, but the repo still lacks an adequate validation suite for it.

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