Show HN: Accurate orbital dynamics for asteroids/comets
3 ddahlen 0 6/17/2025, 8:47:48 PM github.com ↗
I am an astronomy PhD student who studies orbital dynamics for asteroids/comets/dust.
This is a rust backed python package which can handle accurate orbit calculations for all known asteroids at once.
I began writing this while I worked at CalTech on a NASA project, the Near Earth Object Surveyor space telescope. Its currently being used by NEO Surveyor and the SphereX telescope to identify already known asteroids and comets in images during data processing.
These are N-body calculations, with corrections for relativistic effects near the Sun, Jupiter, and a bunch of other physics. It can handle non-gravitational forces as well, such as solar radiation pressure (AKA: sunlight pushing stuff around).
The python is just a wrapper over the rust, and the rust can be used as a separate crate if wanted.
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