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Astro Modules

Author: Aximmetry

Introduction

This document describes the built-in Flow Graph modules of the following categories for compounds:

  • Astro / Calculation - Modules that build astronomical time and compute celestial, orbital, fixed-star, and house data collections.
  • Astro / Bodies - Modules that build 3D mesh paths from sampled planetary motion and orbital elements.

Astro / Calculation

This section describes the built-in Flow Graph modules that build astronomical time and compute celestial, orbital, fixed-star, and house data collections.

Astro Base

  • Category: Astro / Calculation
  • Access: All editions.
  • Function: Adds shared astronomical base values to the incoming data collection.
  • Input pins:
    •   Data (collection) - Input collection that should contain TIME values for base calculations.
  • Output pins:
    •   Data (collection) - Cloned input collection extended with BASE values such as obliquity, nutation, and ayanamsa.

Astro Fixed Stars

  • Category: Astro / Calculation
  • Access: All editions.
  • Function: Adds fixed-star entries to the incoming data collection at the current ephemeris time.
  • Input pins:
    •   Data (collection) - Input collection that should contain TIME values for fixed-star calculations.
  • Output pins:
    •   Data (collection) - Cloned input collection extended with fixed-star objects.

Astro Houses

  • Category: Astro / Calculation
  • Access: All editions.
  • Function: Adds astrological houses and optional axis-related points to the incoming data collection.
  • Input pins:
    •   Data (collection) - Input collection that should contain TIME and BASE values for house calculations.
    •   House System (integer, House System) - Selects the house-system algorithm used for cusp and axis calculations.
    •   Axises (logical) - When on, adds Asc, MC, Dsc, and IC points.
    •   Houses (logical) - When on, adds house cusp objects for houses 1 through 12.
    •   Vertices (logical) - When on, adds additional vertex-related points such as Vtx, EP, Cas, and Pas.
  • Output pins:
    •   Data (collection) - Cloned input collection extended with selected house and axis objects.

Astro Orbit

  • Category: Astro / Calculation
  • Access: All editions.
  • Function: Computes orbital position from orbital elements and outputs the position at the requested time.
  • Input pins:
    •   Data (collection) - Optional orbit-data collection to read orbital elements from.
    •   Semi Major Axis (double precision scalar) - Semi-major axis used when Data is not connected.
    •   Eccentricity (double precision scalar) - Orbital eccentricity used when Data is not connected.
    •   Inclination (double precision scalar) - Orbital inclination in degrees used when Data is not connected.
    •   Ascending Node (double precision scalar) - Longitude of the ascending node in degrees used when Data is not connected.
    •   Arg Of Pericenter (double precision scalar) - Argument of pericenter in degrees used when Data is not connected.
    •   Mean Anomaly (double precision scalar) - Mean anomaly in degrees used when Data is not connected.
    •   Period (double precision scalar) - Orbital period used when Data is not connected.
    •   Epoch (double precision scalar) - Epoch time used as the orbit reference when Data is not connected.
    •   Time (double precision scalar) - Time parameter at which the orbital position is evaluated.
  • Output pins:
    •   Data (collection) - Passes through connected orbit data, or outputs generated orbit data from manual inputs when connected downstream.
    •   Position (vector) - Calculated 3D orbital position at Time.

Astro Planets

  • Category: Astro / Calculation
  • Access: All editions.
  • Function: Adds selected celestial-body groups to the incoming data collection for the current ephemeris time.
  • Input pins:
    •   Data (collection) - Input collection that should contain TIME values for planet calculations.
    •   Planets (logical) - When on, adds major planets from Sun through Pluto, plus Earth in heliocentric mode.
    •   Nodes (logical) - When on, adds lunar node and apogee objects.
    •   Asteroids (logical) - When on, adds selected asteroid objects from Chiron through Vesta.
    •   Uranians (logical) - When on, adds Uranian hypothetical planets from Cupido through Poseidon.
    •   Other (logical) - When on, adds additional objects from Isis through Waldemath.
    •   Speed (logical) - When on, includes speed values in calculated planetary data.
    •   Equatorial (logical) - When on, calculates equatorial coordinates instead of ecliptic coordinates.
    •   Heliocentric (logical) - When on, calculates heliocentric coordinates instead of geocentric coordinates.
  • Output pins:
    •   Data (collection) - Cloned input collection extended with the selected celestial objects.

Astro Time

  • Category: Astro / Calculation
  • Access: All editions.
  • Function: Builds astronomical time data from calendar, clock, timezone, and location inputs.
  • Input pins:
    •   Calendar (integer, Calendar) - Selects whether the input date is interpreted in the Julian or Gregorian calendar.
    •   BC (logical) - When on, interprets the year as BC.
    •   Year (integer) - Calendar year component of the input date.
    •   Month (integer) - Month component of the input date.
    •   Day (integer) - Day component of the input date.
    •   Hour (integer) - Hour component of the input time.
    •   Minute (integer) - Minute component of the input time.
    •   Second (double precision scalar) - Second component of the input time.
    •   Time Mode (integer, Time Mode) - Selects whether the input time is Greenwich Mean Time, Local Mean Time, or Zone Time.
    •   Zone West (logical) - For Zone Time mode, selects westward timezone offset direction when on.
    •   Zone Hour (integer) - Hour part of the timezone offset used in Zone Time mode.
    •   Zone Minute (integer) - Minute part of the timezone offset used in Zone Time mode.
    •   Geo Lat Long (vector) - Observer latitude and longitude used for local time and sidereal calculations.
    •   Time Offset (double precision scalar) - Additional time offset in seconds applied after the selected time mode conversion.
  • Output pins:
    •   Data (collection) - Collection containing TIME values such as Julian day, ephemeris time, sidereal time, RAMC, and observer coordinates.
    •   Julian Day (double precision scalar) - Computed Julian day value after calendar and time-mode conversions.

Astro / Bodies

This section describes the built-in Flow Graph modules that build 3D mesh paths from sampled planetary motion and orbital elements.

Astro Motion Path

  • Category: Astro / Bodies
  • Access: All editions.
  • Function: Builds a 3D tube path from a planet's sampled motion over an ephemeris time range.
  • Input pins:
    •   Parent (scene object child reference) - Connects parent node to this object.
    •   Active (logical) - When off, this scene object and its subtree remain invisible.
    •   Grouping (vector) - Grouping identifier used for object selection and filtering.
    •   Shader (shader) - Shader used to render this mesh.
    •   Index (integer) - When this object is a child of an IndexerNode, selects which property set from that IndexerNode is used.
    •   Force Visible (logical) - When on, keeps the mesh visible regardless of normal visibility checks.
    •   Force Distance (scalar) - Distance value used by forced visibility handling.
    •   Build Factor (scalar) - Determines what percentage of the mesh is rendered (0 to 1), enabling a build-up effect when animated.
    •   Vertex Color (color) - Per-mesh vertex color multiplier.
    •   Shader Index (integer) - Shader-material slot index used for rendering when a Shader Array is used.
    •   Two Sided (logical) - When on, renders both front and back faces.
    •   Planet (integer, Planet) - Selects which celestial object is sampled to build the path.
    •   Equatorial (logical) - When on, samples equatorial coordinates instead of ecliptic coordinates.
    •   Heliocentric (logical) - When on, samples heliocentric coordinates instead of geocentric coordinates.
    •   Ephem Time Start (double precision scalar) - Ephemeris start time for the first sampled point on the path.
    •   Time Interval (double precision scalar) - Total ephemeris time span covered by the sampled path.
    •   Segments (integer) - Number of path segments used for sampling and mesh generation.
    •   Thickness (scalar) - Radius of the generated tube along the path.
    •   Perim Segments (integer) - Number of segments around the tube cross-section.
    •   Pipe Roll (scalar) - Roll angle of the tube profile around the path direction.
    •   TV Start (scalar) - Starting V texture coordinate along the generated tube.
    •   TV Scale (scalar) - Scale factor applied to V texture coordinates along the tube.
  • Output pins:
    •   Bounds Min (vector) - Minimum corner of the mesh bounds.
    •   Bounds Max (vector) - Maximum corner of the mesh bounds.

Astro Orbit Path

  • Category: Astro / Bodies
  • Access: All editions.
  • Function: Builds a 3D tube path from orbital elements over one normalized orbit cycle.
  • Input pins:
    •   Parent (scene object child reference) - Connects parent node to this object.
    •   Active (logical) - When off, this scene object and its subtree remain invisible.
    •   Grouping (vector) - Grouping identifier used for object selection and filtering.
    •   Shader (shader) - Shader used to render this mesh.
    •   Index (integer) - When this object is a child of an IndexerNode, selects which property set from that IndexerNode is used.
    •   Force Visible (logical) - When on, keeps the mesh visible regardless of normal visibility checks.
    •   Force Distance (scalar) - Distance value used by forced visibility handling.
    •   Build Factor (scalar) - Determines what percentage of the mesh is rendered (0 to 1), enabling a build-up effect when animated.
    •   Vertex Color (color) - Per-mesh vertex color multiplier.
    •   Shader Index (integer) - Shader-material slot index used for rendering when a Shader Array is used.
    •   Two Sided (logical) - When on, renders both front and back faces.
    •   Data (collection) - Optional orbit-data collection to read orbital elements from.
    •   Semi Major Axis (double precision scalar) - Semi-major axis used when Data is not connected.
    •   Eccentricity (double precision scalar) - Orbital eccentricity used when Data is not connected.
    •   Inclination (double precision scalar) - Orbital inclination in degrees used when Data is not connected.
    •   Ascending Node (double precision scalar) - Longitude of the ascending node in degrees used when Data is not connected.
    •   Arg Of Pericenter (double precision scalar) - Argument of pericenter in degrees used when Data is not connected.
    •   Segments (integer) - Number of path segments used for orbit sampling and mesh generation.
    •   Thickness (scalar) - Radius of the generated tube along the orbit path.
    •   Perim Segments (integer) - Number of segments around the tube cross-section.
    •   Pipe Roll (scalar) - Roll angle of the tube profile around the path direction.
    •   TV Start (scalar) - Starting V texture coordinate along the generated tube.
    •   TV Scale (scalar) - Scale factor applied to V texture coordinates along the tube.
  • Output pins:
    •   Bounds Min (vector) - Minimum corner of the mesh bounds.
    •   Bounds Max (vector) - Maximum corner of the mesh bounds.
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