astropy-healpix
BSD-licensed HEALPix for Astropy
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Active maintenance, permissive BSD license, no security vulnerabilities, and pre-built wheels for modern Python versions make this a low-friction choice. Install it if you work with all-sky surveys, need efficient spherical pixelization, or are building within the Astropy ecosystem. The medium compile-time friction is offset by wheel availability and the package's role as a standard tool in observational astronomy.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10 or later; compiled C/Cython components require a C compiler at build time if wheels are unavailable.
- Medium install friction due to compiled C and Cython components, but well-supported across modern Python versions (3.10+) and major platforms with pre-built wheels.
- Actively maintained by the Astropy project with recent releases.
License · maintenance · safety
BSD 3-Clause (permissive) — BSD 3-Clause permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; you must retain copyright and license notices in distributions.
last release 2026-07-20 (25 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-01 · 62 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 274,428 downloads/mo, #8,191 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install astropy-healpix
import astropy_healpix
import numpy as np
# Basic HEALPix operations with numpy arrays and astropy coordinates- Specific HEALPix resolution levels and performance characteristics for large-scale sky surveys
- Integration patterns with other Astropy ecosystem packages beyond numpy and astropy
What it is and what it does
astropy-healpix is a Python implementation of the HEALPix (Hierarchical Equal Area isoLatitude Pixelization) algorithm, a standard method in astronomy for dividing the celestial sphere into equal-area pixels. It wraps optimized C code originally written for astrometry.net and is maintained as part of the Astropy project. The package enables efficient spatial indexing, coordinate transformations, and all-sky data binning—essential operations for survey astronomy, cosmology, and large-scale sky analysis.
The package depends on numpy for array operations and astropy for coordinate handling. It provides compiled wheels for modern Python versions (3.10+) across macOS, Linux, and Windows platforms, reducing installation friction. With active maintenance and no known security vulnerabilities, it integrates directly into the Astropy ecosystem for researchers and developers working with celestial coordinate systems and large-scale astronomical datasets.
Use it for
- Bin all-sky survey data into equal-area pixels for efficient spatial analysis and visualization
- Index and query celestial coordinates using HEALPix hierarchical structure for fast neighbor searches
- Convert between celestial coordinates and HEALPix pixel indices in large astronomical catalogs
- Generate all-sky maps and perform spherical harmonic analysis on pixelated sky data
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Active maintenance, permissive BSD license, no security vulnerabilities, and pre-built wheels for modern Python versions make this a low-friction choice. Install it if you work with all-sky surveys, need efficient spherical pixelization, or are building within the Astropy ecosystem. The medium compile-time friction is offset by wheel availability and the package's role as a standard tool in observational astronomy.
Install
astropy-healpix on PyPI
Before you install
Medium install friction due to compiled C and Cython components, but well-supported across modern Python versions (3.10+) and major platforms with pre-built wheels. Actively maintained by the Astropy project with recent releases.
Requires Python 3.10 or later; compiled C/Cython components require a C compiler at build time if wheels are unavailable.
License in practice
BSD 3-Clause permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; you must retain copyright and license notices in distributions.
Quickstart
pip install astropy-healpix
import astropy_healpix
import numpy as np
# Basic HEALPix operations with numpy arrays and astropy coordinatesVerify before relying
- Specific HEALPix resolution levels and performance characteristics for large-scale sky surveys
- Integration patterns with other Astropy ecosystem packages beyond numpy and astropy
Package facts
| License | BSD 3-Clause permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Medium. Platform-specific wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 2 packagesnumpyastropy |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 25 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 274,428 / month, #8,191 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Intended Audience :: Science/ResearchOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: CProgramming Language :: CythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonTopic :: Scientific/Engineering :: AstronomyTopic :: Scientific/Engineering :: Physics |
Evidence: astropy_healpix-2.0.1-cp310-abi3-macosx_10_9_x86_64.whl; astropy_healpix-2.0.1-cp310-abi3-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; astropy_healpix-2.0.1-cp310-abi3-manylinux2014_aarch64.manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl; astropy_healpix-2.0.1-cp310-abi3-manylinux2014_x86_64.manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl; astropy_healpix-2.0.1-cp310-abi3-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl; astropy_healpix-2.0.1-cp310-abi3-win_amd64.whl; astropy_healpix-2.0.1-cp314-cp314t-macosx_10_15_x86_64.whl; astropy_healpix-2.0.1-cp314-cp314t-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; astropy_healpix-2.0.1-cp314-cp314t-manylinux2014_aarch64.manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl; astropy_healpix-2.0.1-cp314-cp314t-manylinux2014_x86_64.manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl; astropy_healpix-2.0.1-cp314-cp314t-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl; astropy_healpix-2.0.1-cp314-cp314t-win_amd64.whl
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See also healpy · regions · reproject · gwcs · astropy-iers-data · asdf-astropy · photutils · astroquery · PyAVM · pyvo