{"id":4285,"date":"2026-04-22T09:24:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T03:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rangakrish.com\/?p=4285"},"modified":"2026-04-22T09:24:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T03:54:22","slug":"exploring-astronomy-with-wolfram-mathematica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rangakrish.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/exploring-astronomy-with-wolfram-mathematica\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Astronomy with Wolfram Mathematica"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a student of astrology and who has written software for Krishnamurti Padhdhati (KP) System<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, I am fascinated by astronomy. We all know that there is a deep computational<\/em>\u00a0connection between astronomy and astrology. Every astrological system \u2014 Western tropical<\/strong><\/em>, Vedic sidereal<\/strong><\/em>, KP<\/strong><\/em>, Jaimini<\/strong><\/em>, Chinese<\/strong><\/em> \u2014 is ultimately dependent on an ephemeris, and ephemerides are pure astronomy. Planetary longitudes, the ascendant calculation, house cusps, lunar node positions (Rahu<\/strong><\/em> and Ketu<\/strong><\/em> are just the Moon’s<\/strong><\/em> ascending and descending nodes), eclipses, retrogrades \u2014 all of these are outputs of orbital mechanics.<\/p>\n

For exploring the field of astronomy, I can\u2019t think of a better tool than Wolfram Mathematica<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. I have written several articles on this tool. In today\u2019s article, I want to cover some of the basic ideas from Mathematica<\/strong><\/em> in the context of astronomy.<\/p>\n

AstroPosition: Where is it, right now?<\/b><\/p>\n

The simplest astronomical question we can ask is “where?”<\/strong><\/em> Where is the Moon<\/strong><\/em>? Where is Jupiter<\/strong><\/em>? These are answered quite easily. See the interaction below:<\/p>\n

\"Planetary<\/a>
Planetary Positions<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The parameters \u201chorizontal\u201d<\/strong><\/em>, \u201cEcliptic\u201d<\/strong><\/em>, and \u201cEquatorial\u201d<\/strong><\/em> are different frames of reference. We can also specify the location as well as date as needed. The first time we evaluate these functions, Mathematica<\/strong><\/em> automatically downloads the ephemeris data.<\/p>\n

We have all heard of the \u201cGreat Conjunction\u201d<\/strong><\/em> that happened in December 2020. Let us check that!<\/p>\n

\"Jupiter-Saturn<\/a>
Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

AstroFindEvent: When did it happen?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

There are several functions to find the exact dates on which planetary events happen, for example, Rising<\/strong><\/em>, Setting<\/strong><\/em>, New Moon<\/strong><\/em>, Full Moon<\/strong><\/em>, Eclipses<\/strong><\/em>, etc.<\/p>\n

\"Timing<\/a>
Timing of Events<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As you can see, we can even specify dates (after which the event happens) and the geographical location of view point.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Talking of eclipse<\/strong><\/em>, we can even draw a corresponding map!<\/p>\n

\"Map<\/a>
Map of Eclipse<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

AstroGraphics: What does it look like?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Just as the eclipse map above visually shows the elements of the eclipse, Mathematica<\/strong><\/em> has a function that acts as a \u201cwindow\u201d<\/strong><\/em> to the celestial sphere. Let us look at some examples.<\/p>\n

The easiest\u00a0 <\/span>is to view a map of the current sky<\/strong><\/em>. Here is how:<\/p>\n

\"Current<\/a>
Current View of Sky<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A slightly more interesting example is to render the weekly movement of Sun<\/strong><\/em>. Take a look the the following:<\/p>\n

\"Weekly<\/a>
Weekly Sun Movement<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition to AstroGraphics[]<\/strong><\/em> function, we also have GeoGraphics[]<\/strong><\/em>. The following shows Solar eclips<\/strong>e<\/strong><\/em> over a period of time:<\/p>\n

\"Solar<\/a>
Solar Eclipse<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of course, there is a lot more that we can do with Mathematica<\/strong><\/em>. It is definitely magical that with very minimal coding we are able to understand so much of astronomical phenomena! Take your time to experiment.<\/p>\n

For today\u2019s article, I have used Mathematica ver 14.3<\/strong><\/em>. Incidentally, what I have discussed is just a fraction of what is available in the software.<\/p>\n

You can download the Notebook here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a student of astrology and who has written software for Krishnamurti Padhdhati (KP) System, I am fascinated by astronomy. We all know that there is a deep computational\u00a0connection between astronomy and astrology. Every astrological system \u2014 Western tropical, Vedic sidereal, KP, Jaimini, Chinese \u2014 is ultimately dependent on an ephemeris, and ephemerides are pure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[72,17],"tags":[457,456,43],"class_list":["post-4285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mathematica","category-programming","tag-astrology","tag-astronomy","tag-mathematica"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9OLnF-177","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3399,"url":"https:\/\/www.rangakrish.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/08\/kp-astrology-rest-server-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":4285,"position":0},"title":"KP Astrology REST Server: Part 2","author":"admin","date":"June 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In my earlier article, I had briefly described the REST server I wanted to build for Krishnamurti Padhdhati system of astrology. After a long time I have managed to complete the implementation and it is now ready for deployment. In this article, I will go over some of its features\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Astrology"","block_context":{"text":"Astrology","link":"https:\/\/www.rangakrish.com\/index.php\/category\/astrology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"KPRest Application Window","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rangakrish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Start-300x174.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":599,"url":"https:\/\/www.rangakrish.com\/index.php\/2017\/08\/30\/kp-astrology-rest-api\/","url_meta":{"origin":4285,"position":1},"title":"KP Astrology REST API","author":"admin","date":"August 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"In today's post I want to share my experience in implementing a set of REST API calls for Astrology. The series on iLangGen will resume after this. As readers of this column probably know, I am the author of an Astrology software called KPAstro. You can read about it here.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Astrology"","block_context":{"text":"Astrology","link":"https:\/\/www.rangakrish.com\/index.php\/category\/astrology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Project Step 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rangakrish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Project-image1.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rangakrish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Project-image1.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rangakrish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Project-image1.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1594,"url":"https:\/\/www.rangakrish.com\/index.php\/2019\/06\/08\/using-nodejs-in-mathematica-12\/","url_meta":{"origin":4285,"position":2},"title":"Using NodeJS in Mathematica 12","author":"admin","date":"June 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"In an earlier article, I had described Python integration in Mathematica 12. 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Before using NodeJS with Mathematica 12,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mathematica"","block_context":{"text":"Mathematica","link":"https:\/\/www.rangakrish.com\/index.php\/category\/mathematica\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"NodeJS Session Continued","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rangakrish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Session2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rangakrish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Session2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rangakrish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Session2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rangakrish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Session2.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3626,"url":"https:\/\/www.rangakrish.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/21\/using-openai-from-mathematica-part-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":4285,"position":3},"title":"Using OpenAI from Mathematica: Part-3","author":"admin","date":"February 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Let us continue our discussion on using Mathematica to interact with OpenAI (you may want to go through the earlier article as well). 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Python Cells Let us start with the simplest way to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mathematica"","block_context":{"text":"Mathematica","link":"https:\/\/www.rangakrish.com\/index.php\/category\/mathematica\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Function References","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rangakrish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/External-Evaluate-4.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rangakrish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/External-Evaluate-4.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rangakrish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/External-Evaluate-4.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":285,"url":"https:\/\/www.rangakrish.com\/index.php\/2016\/07\/22\/using-julia-to-interact-with-mathematica\/","url_meta":{"origin":4285,"position":5},"title":"Using Julia to Interact with Mathematica","author":"admin","date":"July 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Mathematica is a powerful environment for symbolic and numerical computation. I have been using it for many years now. In this post\u00a0I had explained how we can use Mathematica bundled with Raspberry distribution to control littleBits devices. 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