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AstroGraphics

Updated in 14.1[Experimental]

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AstroGraphics[primitives,options]

represents a two-dimensional view of space and the celestial sphere.

Details and Options

Examples

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Basic Examples  (5)Summary of the most common use cases

Show a map of the current sky above you, showing the equatorial, ecliptic, galactic and horizon planes:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-u8w4sl
Out[1]=1

Show the sky above you on a given date, adding a background image:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-vekizk
Out[1]=1

Show an area of the sky around the star Betelgeuse:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-zzvxwg
Out[1]=1

Add constellation illustrations and remove the equatorial, ecliptic and galactic planes:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-zo1p6k
Out[2]=2

Visualize the neighborhood of the galactic center:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-skpfw
Out[1]=1

Compute weekly positions of Mars from January 2022 to July 2023:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-8mgwgd

Part of the trajectory was in retrograde motion:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-h91m1c
Out[2]=2

Options  (16)Common values & functionality for each option

AstroBackground  (3)

AstroGraphics uses the "BlackSky" style by default:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-ferkla
Out[1]=1

Use the "WhiteSky" style, with white background and dark colors for the stars:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-q72t3q
Out[1]=1

Specify styling directives for constellation:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-ftn5p2
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-82mrom
Out[2]=2

AstroCenter  (1)

Display Mercury and Venus, centering the map at the position of the Sun:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-7l6gwu
Out[1]=1

AstroGridLines  (2)

Show astro grid lines of the given frame:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-sx1xx9
Out[1]=1

Add astro grid lines of frames other than the frame used to construct the map:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-6xp5x5
Out[1]=1

The equatorial grid has its North Pole very close to Polaris:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-51qs2d
Out[2]=2

AstroGridLinesStyle  (1)

Change the default style of the astro grid lines:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-hsjwq1
Out[1]=1

AstroProjection  (1)

Use different projections:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-zvi3i
Out[1]=1
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-p43nbv
Out[2]=2

AstroRange  (1)

Show 10 angular degrees around the current position of Jupiter:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-bqex3c
Out[1]=1

Zoom in around Jupiter until you see the positions of the Galilean satellites:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-o8hpta
Out[2]=2

AstroRangePadding  (1)

Add 5 angular degrees of padding in all directions around the range including two stars:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-lgc857
Out[1]=1

AstroReferenceFrame  (5)

By default, AstroGraphics uses the local horizon frame and the "Stereographic" projection:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-0y7aq4
Out[1]=1

Show the full sky, using the equatorial frame, in the "Equirectangular" projection:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-fozkdz
Out[1]=1

Show the full sky, using the ecliptic frame, in the "Equirectangular" projection:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-h628dp
Out[1]=1

Show the full sky, using the galactic frame, with the result using the "Mollweide" projection:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-000hna
Out[1]=1

Compute the position of the North Celestial Pole every 1000 years for the past 14000 years:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-no3yl8

It was close to the star Vega around year −12000:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-44evxa
Out[2]=2

AstroZoomLevel  (1)

Use different zoom levels to get different levels of background image quality:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-qo6dj
Out[1]=1

Applications  (6)Sample problems that can be solved with this function

Construct the analemma of the Sun, formed by its positions every day at a fixed time for a year:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-vxy7l
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-lcukmr

Draw weekly positions, here shown over the sky of a date close to the vernal equinox:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-im40sw
Out[3]=3

Show the same analemma over the sky of a date close to the summer solstice:

In[4]:=4
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-mbtom2
Out[4]=4

Plot the positions of Venus at noon, every day over a period of 8 years:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-8taqpg
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-sp9c42
In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-e8wvpy
Out[3]=3

Show the southern sky at 2pm at your location:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-o6gmk5
Out[1]=1

Observe the transit of Venus in front of Jupiter, November 22, 2065, better viewed near the South Pole:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-lv9ie8
Out[1]=1

Visualize an annular solar eclipse:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-ze3uuv
Out[1]=1

Visualize the famous eclipse used by Eddington to confirm Einstein's prediction of light deflection:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-h2qqx1
Out[1]=1

Possible Issues  (1)Common pitfalls and unexpected behavior

Compute the position of Mars on this date:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-powba
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-d3r7j1
Out[2]=2

By default, the background in AstroGraphics shows the current region of the sky corresponding to the computed coordinates of Mars, which is not the region of the sky where Mars was on the observation date:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-gqp46
Out[3]=3

Specify the date of observation to show the correct region of the sky, near the ecliptic, where Mars was on that date, with the automatic background label for Mars now appearing:

In[4]:=4
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https://wolfram.com/xid/09by88ii6-o27uxa
Out[4]=4
Wolfram Research (2022), AstroGraphics, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/AstroGraphics.html (updated 2024).
✖
Wolfram Research (2022), AstroGraphics, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/AstroGraphics.html (updated 2024).

Text

Wolfram Research (2022), AstroGraphics, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/AstroGraphics.html (updated 2024).

✖
Wolfram Research (2022), AstroGraphics, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/AstroGraphics.html (updated 2024).

CMS

Wolfram Language. 2022. "AstroGraphics." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2024. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/AstroGraphics.html.

✖
Wolfram Language. 2022. "AstroGraphics." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2024. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/AstroGraphics.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (2022). AstroGraphics. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/AstroGraphics.html

✖
Wolfram Language. (2022). AstroGraphics. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/AstroGraphics.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_astrographics, author="Wolfram Research", title="{AstroGraphics}", year="2024", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/AstroGraphics.html}", note=[Accessed: 25-March-2025 ]}

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@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_astrographics, author="Wolfram Research", title="{AstroGraphics}", year="2024", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/AstroGraphics.html}", note=[Accessed: 25-March-2025 ]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2025_astrographics, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={AstroGraphics}, year={2024}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/AstroGraphics.html}, note=[Accessed: 25-March-2025 ]}

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@online{reference.wolfram_2025_astrographics, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={AstroGraphics}, year={2024}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/AstroGraphics.html}, note=[Accessed: 25-March-2025 ]}