{"categories":[{"label":"Astronomy","url":"https://skillfed.io/packages/category/scientific-engineering-astronomy"}],"enrichment":{"capability":"PyEphem computes high-precision positions of planets, moons, stars, comets, and asteroids in the sky for any observer location and date, using C-based numeric routines from the XEphem astronomy application.","skillfed_tags":["astronomy","ephemeris","celestial-mechanics"],"use_cases":["Determine when and where to observe a planet or comet from a specific location on a given night","Calculate the Moon's phase and position for calendar or astronomical applications","Track Earth-orbiting satellites using TLE orbital data","Find the dates of equinoxes, solstices, and lunar phases for a calendar year","Convert between equatorial, ecliptic, and galactic coordinate systems for star catalogs","Compute atmospheric refraction corrections for objects near the horizon"],"what_it_does":"PyEphem is a Python wrapper around high-precision C-based astronomy computation routines originally from the XEphem application. It lets you compute where celestial objects appear in the sky from any location on Earth at any date, handling the complex orbital mechanics and coordinate transformations automatically. The package represents planets, moons, stars, comets, and asteroids as Python objects, and automatically formats dates and angles in standard astronomical notation.\n\nTypical use involves creating an observer object with a location (longitude, latitude, altitude), creating or loading a celestial body (planets and major moons are built-in, or you can supply orbital elements), computing its position for a specific date, and reading off coordinates like right ascension and declination. The package also handles rise/transit/set times, Moon phases, equinoxes, solstices, coordinate system conversions, and includes a database of 122 world cities for convenience.","worth_installing":"Yes. PyEphem is a mature, actively maintained library with no known vulnerabilities, a permissive MIT license, and broad platform support via pre-built wheels. Install friction is moderate but manageable. It is the standard choice for Python-based high-precision astronomy calculations and is well-suited for anyone building observational astronomy, planetarium, or satellite-tracking tools."},"id":"ephem","links":{"html":"https://skillfed.io/packages/ephem","md":"https://skillfed.io/packages/ephem.md","pypi":"https://pypi.org/project/ephem/"},"maintenance":{"status":"active"},"meta":{"latest_release":"2026-02-28","license_spdx":null,"license_treatment":"permissive","name":"ephem","python_support":"unspecified","summary":"Compute positions of the planets and stars"},"popularity":{"monthly_downloads":1567267,"position":3754,"tier":"top_5000"},"security":{"n_vulnerabilities":0},"version":"4.2.1"}