Perl Library of astronomical calculations, aimed for astrology software.
There are many astronomical libraries available in the public domain. While giving accurate results, they often suffer from lack of convenient API, documentation and maintainability. Most of the source code is written in C, C++ or Java, and not dynamic languages. So, it is not easy for a layman to customize them for her custom application, be it an online lunar calendar, horoscope or tool for amateur sky observations. This library is an attempt to find a middle-ground between precision on the one hand and compact, well organized code on the other.
Most of the calculations are based on "Astronomy On The Personal Computer" by O.Montenbruck, T.Phleger, Fourth Edition, Springer-Verlag, 2000.
- AstroScript::MathUtils — Core mathematical routines.
- AstroScript::Time — Time-related routines.
- AstroScript::Ephemeris — Positions of celestial bodies.
- AstroScript::Angles — Some abstract points related to diurnal rotation of the Celestial Sphera: Ascendant, Midheaven, Vertex, East Point.
- AstroScript::CoCo — Coordinates conversions.
- AstroScript::Houses — Astrological houses, by the most used systems.
- AstroScript::Nutation — Nutation and obliquity of ecliptic.
- Perl >= 5.22
Tested on Linux 64-bit and macOS 10.14. There should be no problems at other platforms.
Perl dependencies are minimal, most of the external modules are part of the standard distribution. DateTime is not really required. It is used only in example scripts and tests, not the library itself.
To install this module, run the following commands:
$ perl Build.PL
$ ./Build
$ ./Build test
$ ./Build install
After installing, you can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command from the parent directory of the library:
$ perldoc AstroScript
$ perldoc AstroScript::Ephemeris
You may also generate local HTML documentation with
$ perl script/createdocs.pl
Documentation files will be installed to docs/ directory.
script/ directory contains examples of the library usage. They will be extended over time.
To display current planetary positions, type:
$ perl/script/ephemeris.pl
For list of available options. type:
$ perl/script/ephemeris.pl -h
There are three sources, which I used:
- O.Montenbruck, T.Phleger, "Astronomy On The Personal Computer", Fourth Edition, Springer-Verlag, 2000.
- Peter Duffett-Smith, "Astronomy With Your Personal Computer", Cambridge University Press, 1986.
- Jean Meeus, "Astronomical Algorithms", Willmann-Bell, Inc., 1991.
Copyright (C) 2010-2019 Sergey Krushinsky
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the the Artistic License (1.0). You may obtain a copy of the full license at:
https://dev.perl.org/licenses/artistic.html
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