.. include:: references.txt .. _astropy-coordinates: ******************************************************* Astronomical Coordinate Systems (`astropy.coordinates`) ******************************************************* Introduction ============ The `~astropy.coordinates` package provides classes for representing a variety of celestial/spatial coordinates, as well as tools for converting between common coordinate systems in a uniform way. .. note:: If you have existing code that uses `~astropy.coordinates` functionality from Astropy version 0.3.x or earlier, please see the section on `Migrating from pre-v0.4 coordinates`_. The interface has changed in ways that are not backward compatible in many circumstances. Getting Started =============== The simplest way to use `~astropy.coordinates` is to use the |skycoord| class. |skycoord| objects are instantiated with a flexible and natural approach that supports inputs provided in a number of convenient formats. The following ways of initializing a coordinate are all equivalent:: >>> from astropy import units as u >>> from astropy.coordinates import SkyCoord >>> c = SkyCoord(ra=10.625*u.degree, dec=41.2*u.degree, frame='icrs') >>> c = SkyCoord(10.625, 41.2, frame='icrs', unit='deg') >>> c = SkyCoord('00h42m30s', '+41d12m00s', frame='icrs') >>> c = SkyCoord('00h42.5m', '+41d12m') >>> c = SkyCoord('00 42 30 +41 12 00', unit=(u.hourangle, u.deg)) >>> c = SkyCoord('00:42.5 +41:12', unit=(u.hourangle, u.deg)) >>> c The examples above illustrate a few simple rules to follow when creating a coordinate object: - Coordinate values can be provided either as unnamed positional arguments or via keyword arguments like ``ra``, ``dec``, ``l``, or ``b`` (depending on the frame). - Coordinate ``frame`` keyword is optional and defaults to ICRS. - Angle units must be specified, either in the values themselves (e.g. ``10.5*u.degree`` or ``'+41d12m00s'``) or via the ``unit`` keyword. |skycoord| and all other `~astropy.coordinates` objects also support array coordinates. These work the same as single-value coordinates, but they store multiple coordinates in a single object. When you're going to apply the same operation to many different coordinates (say, from a catalog), this is a better choice than a list of |skycoord| objects, because it will be *much* faster than applying the operation to each |skycoord| in a for loop. :: >>> c = SkyCoord(ra=[10, 11]*u.degree, dec=[41, -5]*u.degree) >>> c >>> c[1] Coordinate access ----------------- Once you have a coordinate object you can now access the components of that coordinate (e.g. RA, Dec) and get a specific string representation of the full coordinate. The component values are accessed using aptly named attributes:: >>> c = SkyCoord(ra=10.68458*u.degree, dec=41.26917*u.degree) >>> c.ra # doctest: +FLOAT_CMP >>> c.ra.hour # doctest: +FLOAT_CMP 0.7123053333333335 >>> c.ra.hms # doctest: +FLOAT_CMP hms_tuple(h=0.0, m=42.0, s=44.299200000000525) >>> c.dec # doctest: +FLOAT_CMP >>> c.dec.degree # doctest: +FLOAT_CMP 41.26917 >>> c.dec.radian # doctest: +FLOAT_CMP 0.7202828960652683 Coordinates can easily be converted to strings using the :meth:`~astropy.coordinates.SkyCoord.to_string` method:: >>> c = SkyCoord(ra=10.68458*u.degree, dec=41.26917*u.degree) >>> c.to_string('decimal') '10.6846 41.2692' >>> c.to_string('dms') '10d41m04.488s 41d16m09.012s' >>> c.to_string('hmsdms') '00h42m44.2992s +41d16m09.012s' For additional information see the section on :ref:`working_with_angles`. Transformation -------------- The simplest way to transform to a new coordinate frame is by accessing the appropriately-named attribute. For instance to get the coordinate in the Galactic frame use:: >>> c_icrs = SkyCoord(ra=10.68458*u.degree, dec=41.26917*u.degree, frame='icrs') >>> c_icrs.galactic # doctest: +FLOAT_CMP For more control, you can use the `~astropy.coordinates.SkyCoord.transform_to` method, which accepts a frame name, frame class, or frame instance:: >>> c_fk5 = c_icrs.transform_to('fk5') # c_icrs.fk5 does the same thing >>> c_fk5 # doctest: +FLOAT_CMP >>> from astropy.coordinates import FK5 >>> c_fk5.transform_to(FK5(equinox='J1975')) # precess to a different equinox # doctest: +FLOAT_CMP This form of `~astropy.coordinates.SkyCoord.transform_to` also makes it straightforward to convert from celestial coordinates to `~astropy.coordinates.AltAz` coordinates, allowing the use of |skycoord| as a tool for planning observations. For a more complete example of this, see :doc:`observing-example`. Representation -------------- So far we have been using a spherical coordinate representation in the all the examples, and this is the default for the built-in frames. Frequently it is convenient to initialize or work with a coordinate using a different representation such as cartesian or cylindrical. This can be done by setting the ``representation`` for either |SkyCoord| objects or low-level frame coordinate objects:: >>> c = SkyCoord(x=1, y=2, z=3, unit='kpc', representation='cartesian') >>> c >>> c.x, c.y, c.z (, , ) >>> c.representation = 'cylindrical' >>> c # doctest: +FLOAT_CMP For all the details see :ref:`astropy-skycoord-representations`. Distance -------- Distance from the origin (which is system-dependent, but often the Earth center) can also be assigned to a |skycoord|. With two angles and a distance, a unique point in 3D space is available, which also allows conversion to the Cartesian representation of this location:: >>> from astropy.coordinates import Distance >>> c = SkyCoord(ra=10.68458*u.degree, dec=41.26917*u.degree, distance=770*u.kpc) >>> c.cartesian.x # doctest: +FLOAT_CMP >>> c.cartesian.y # doctest: +FLOAT_CMP >>> c.cartesian.z # doctest: +FLOAT_CMP With distances assigned, |skycoord| convenience methods are more powerful, as they can make use of the 3D information. For example:: >>> c1 = SkyCoord(ra=10*u.degree, dec=9*u.degree, distance=10*u.pc, frame='icrs') >>> c2 = SkyCoord(ra=11*u.degree, dec=10*u.degree, distance=11.5*u.pc, frame='icrs') >>> c1.separation_3d(c2) # doctest: +FLOAT_CMP Convenience methods ------------------- |skycoord| defines a number of convenience methods as well, like on-sky separation between two coordinates and catalog matching (detailed in :ref:`astropy-coordinates-matching`):: >>> c1 = SkyCoord(ra=10*u.degree, dec=9*u.degree, frame='icrs') >>> c2 = SkyCoord(ra=11*u.degree, dec=10*u.degree, frame='fk5') >>> c1.separation(c2) # Differing frames handled correctly # doctest: +FLOAT_CMP The `astropy.coordinates` subpackage also provides a quick way to get coordinates for named objects assuming you have an active internet connection. The `~astropy.coordinates.SkyCoord.from_name` method of |skycoord| uses `Sesame `_ to retrieve coordinates for a particular named object:: >>> SkyCoord.from_name("M42") # doctest: +REMOTE_DATA +FLOAT_CMP .. note:: `~astropy.coordinates.SkyCoord.from_name` is intended to be a convenience, and is rather simple. If you need precise coordinates for an object you should find the appropriate reference for that measurement and input the coordinates manually. .. _astropy-coordinates-overview: Overview of `astropy.coordinates` concepts ========================================== .. note :: The `~astropy.coordinates` package from v0.4 onward builds from previous versions of the package, and more detailed information and justification of the design is available in `APE (Astropy Proposal for Enhancement) 5 `_. Here we provide an overview of the package and associated framework. This background information is not necessary for simply using `~astropy.coordinates`, particularly if you use the |skycoord| high- level class, but it is helpful for more advanced usage, particularly creating your own frame, transformations, or representations. Another useful piece of background information are some :ref:`astropy-coordinates-definitions` as they are used in `~astropy.coordinates`. `~astropy.coordinates` is built on a three-tiered system of objects: representations, frames, and a high-level class. Representations classes are a particular way of storing a three-dimensional data point (or points), such as Cartesian coordinates or spherical polar coordinates. Frames are particular reference frames like FK5 or ICRS, which may store their data in different representations, but have well- defined transformations between each other. These transformations are all stored in the ``astropy.coordinates.frame_transform_graph``, and new transformations can be created by users. Finally, the high-level class (|skycoord|) uses the frame classes, but provides a more accessible interface to these objects as well as various convenience methods and more string-parsing capabilities. Separating these concepts makes it easier to extend the functionality of `~astropy.coordinates`. It allows representations, frames, and transformations to be defined or extended separately, while still preserving the high-level capabilities and simplicity of the |skycoord| class. Using `astropy.coordinates` =========================== More detailed information on using the package is provided on separate pages, listed below. .. toctree:: :maxdepth: 1 angles skycoord transforming observing-example formatting matchsep representations frames sgr-example definitions galactocentric In addition, another resource for the capabilities of this package is the ``astropy.coordinates.tests.test_api_ape5`` testing file. It showcases most of the major capabilities of the package, and hence is a useful supplement to this document. You can see it by either looking at it directly if you downloaded a copy of the astropy source code, or typing the following in an IPython session:: In [1]: from astropy.coordinates.tests import test_api_ape5 In [2]: test_api_ape5?? Migrating from pre-v0.4 coordinates =================================== For typical users, the major change is that the recommended way to use coordinate functionality is via the `~astropy.coordinates.SkyCoord` class, instead of classes like `~astropy.coordinates.ICRS` classes (now called "frame classes"). For most users of pre-v0.4 coordinates, this means that the best way to adapt old code to the new framework is to change code like:: >>> from astropy import units as u >>> from astropy.coordinates import ICRS # or FK5, or Galactic, or similar >>> coordinate = ICRS(123.4*u.deg, 56.7*u.deg) to instead be:: >>> from astropy import units as u >>> from astropy.coordinates import SkyCoord >>> coordinate = SkyCoord(123.4*u.deg, 56.7*u.deg, frame='icrs') Note that usage like:: >>> coordinate = ICRS(123.4, 56.7, unit=('deg', 'deg')) # NOT RECOMMENDED! will continue to work in v0.4, but will yield a `~astropy.coordinates.SkyCoord` instead of an `~astropy.coordinates.ICRS` object (the former behaves more like the pre-v0.4 `~astropy.coordinates.ICRS`). This compatibility feature will issue a deprecation warning, and will be removed in the next major version, so you should update your code to use `~astropy.coordinates.SkyCoord` directly by the next release. Users should also be aware that if they continue to use the first form (directly creating `~astropy.coordinates.ICRS` frame objects), old code may still work if it uses basic coordinate functionality, but many of the convenience functions like catalog matching or attribute-based transforms like ``coordinate.galactic`` will no longer work. These features are now all in `~astropy.coordinates.SkyCoord`. For advanced users or developers who have defined their own coordinates, take note that the extensive internal changes will require re-writing user-defined coordinate frames. The :ref:`sgr-example` document has been updated for the new framework to provide a worked example of how custom coordinates work. More detailed information about the new framework and using it to define custom coordinates is available at :ref:`astropy-coordinates-overview`, :ref:`astropy-coordinates-definitions`, :ref:`astropy-coordinates-design`, and :ref:`astropy-coordinates-create-repr`. .. _astropy-coordinates-seealso: See Also ======== Some references particularly useful in understanding subtleties of the coordinate systems implemented here include: * `USNO Circular 179 `_ A useful guide to the IAU 2000/2003 work surrounding ICRS/IERS/CIRS and related problems in precision coordinate system work. * `Standards Of Fundamental Astronomy `_ The definitive implementation of IAU-defined algorithms. The "SOFA Tools for Earth Attitude" document is particularly valuable for understanding the latest IAU standards in detail. * `IERS Conventions (2010) `_ An exhaustive reference covering the ITRS, the IAU2000 celestial coordinates framework, and other related details of modern coordinate conventions. * Meeus, J. "Astronomical Algorithms" A valuable text describing details of a wide range of coordinate-related problems and concepts. .. _astropy-coordinates-api: Reference/API ============= .. automodapi:: astropy.coordinates