July 25, 2025

On Including More or Less Data

For the astronomy_data planet subsidiary dictionaries, I decided to err on the side of including more data than less data. The main reason for that decision was my intention for the program to serve as a robust research engine. While astronomy data isn’t astrology data and thus isn’t an obvious research target, it is likely there are use cases that I’m not aware of.

On Whether Astronomy Dictionaries Are Needed

One thing I’ve wondered about is if including planet astronomy dictionaries is even necessary. Once the program is built to pull data from official astronomy data source banks, it seems to me all of the data in the planet dictionaries could be pulled from those outside sources. Thus, my dictionaries aren’t really necessary.

Rationale for Including

In talking with Claude (AI), though, I realized they could be very useful on a few fronts.

1. Offline use

First, they could serve as a backup should the internet be offline.

2. Primary Data Source

Second, they could serve as a primary data source if I decided to not pull from an outside source.

2A. Alternative to Swiss Ephemeris

This second possibility is appealing when it comes to using external sources for ephemeris data, such as the Swiss ephemeris. One of my goals/intentions with this program is to provide a resource that doesn’t restrict usage the way the Swiss ephemeris license does. With that ephemeris, it is free to use for personal use. But, for commercial use, you have to purchase a license.

Software for the Commons

My vision is a core astrology calculation engine that is put into the commons and free for all. Users would not be able to commercialize the engine itself, but they can use it to build whatever commercial products or services they want to offer. That means people don’t have to have money to make money. They can start where they are and build from there.

WordPress-like Program Architecture and Marketplace

I also envision a wordpress-like platform for the program that allows people to create themes that they can upload to a marketplace for free or for purchase. I also envision the same possibility for things like glyphs and research modules or other kinds of data presentations. As with wordpress, people who know development can offer their services to help professional astrologers create the online environment that most suits them.

3. Dynamic Production of Ephemerides

A final benefit of planet data dictionaries is that ephemeris data could be dynamically produced as needed. This functionality would profoundly cut down on file sizes needed to run the program.

3A. Static Alternative for Mobile

Claude suggested that I could offer static ephemeris data, also, for people using mobile devices (apparently dynamically creating them uses up more CPU/battery). But, it may be that that issue doesn’t exist by the time I get that far.

3B. Robust Data Query Pairing

I love the idea of ephemeris data that is dynamically created. It could be paired with a robust query engine to pull up ephemeris data for different considerations, eg, all dates Neptune entered Aries over the last 1,000 years, or all 8 Moon phases for a given month, etc.

4. Research Support and Sharing

Perhaps another part of the platform could include people sharing their research. Example: sharing historical research into dates/signs for all Neptune ingresses into Aries for the last 1,000 years.

4A. Research Repos

Perhaps teams could emerge to tackle a given research interest or need. Like with an open source development project, people could create research “repos” and people could contribute. That would be pretty cool.

Decision: Continue with Astronomy Dictionaries

So, I will continue with the astronomy_data planet dictionaries. Perhaps some day we can even build an astrology-focused observatory and pull our data from that.

Current Template

Here is the current template I’m using for the planets:

"""
TEMPLATE
    "planet_name": {
        # Classifications
        "name": "Planet Name",  # Proper case for readability/display
        "class": "star/planet/satellite",  # Choose as appropriate
        "type": "terrestrial/gas_giant/ice_giant/dwarf",  # Choose as appropriate

        # Physical properties
        "mass": ,  # 10²⁴ kg
        "equatorial_radius": ,  # km
        "polar_radius": ,  # km
        "mean_density": ,  # kg/m³ 
        "mean_surface_gravity": ,  # m/s²
        "escape_velocity": ,  # km/s
        "average_temperature": ,  # Celsius
        "surface_pressure": ,  # bars

        # Atmosphere
        "number_of_moons": ,
        "ring_system": ,
        "global_magnetic_field": ,

        # Relational data
        "synodic_period": ,  # days
        "distance_from_earth_minimum": ,  # 10⁶ km
        "distance_from_earth_maximum": ,  # 10⁶ km
        "perihelion": ,  # 10⁶ km
        "aphelion": ,  # 10⁶ km

        # Rotation
        "length_of_day": ,  # hours
        "rotation_sidereal": ,  # hours
        "rotation_direction": ,

        # Orbital data
        "orbital_period_sidereal": ,  # days
        "orbital_period_tropical": ,  # days
        "mean_orbital_velocity": ,  # km/s
        "semi_major_axis": ,  # AU
        "orbital_inclination": ,  # degrees
        "longitude_of_ascending_node": ,  # degrees
        "longitude_of_perihelion": ,  # degrees
        "mean_longitude": ,  # degrees

        # Orientation
        "orbital_eccentricity": ,
        "obliquity_to_orbit": ,  # degrees
        "inclination_of_equator": ,  # degrees

        # Motion
        "retrograde": False,
        "retrograde_frequency": ,  # months 
        "retrograde_period": ,  # days
        "station_length": ,  # days
    }
"""

planet-dictionaries #astronomy-dictionaries

About This Newsletter

The content shared in this newsletter documents the development of what will become a free, non-commercial astrology platform. Until the project reaches a viable stage for public release, all newsletter materials remain under copyright to ensure the project's thoughtful development and eventual launch into the commons.