🌌 Cloud-Based Planetary Ephemerides

Cloud-Based Planetary Ephemerides is a capstone project designed to provide accurate planetary position data through a scalable, cloud-hosted API. This project integrates astronomical computation with modern web technologies to deliver real-time ephemeris data, suitable for applications in astronomy, education, and software development.

Features

● RESTful API: Access planetary positions via HTTP endpoints.

● Cloud Deployment: Hosted on cloud platforms for high availability and scalability.

● Modular Architecture: Separation of concerns between computation, API handling, and frontend presentation.

● User Interface: Web-based frontend for interactive exploration of planetary data.

Project Structure

Cloud-Based-Planetary-Ephemerides/

├── API/ # Backend API code

├── deliverable/ # Project documentation and reports

├── website/ # Frontend web application

├── LICENSE # Project license (CC0-1.0)

└── README.md # Project overview and setup instructions

Technologies Used

● Backend: Python, Flask, and astronomical libraries for ephemeris calculations.

● Frontend: HTML, CSS, JavaScript (possibly with frameworks like React or Vue.js).

● Cloud Services: Deployment on platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Heroku.

● Data Sources: Integration with astronomical datasets (e.g., NASA JPL ephemerides).

Getting Started

Prerequisites

● Python 3.8+

● Node.js (for frontend development)

● Docker (optional, for containerized deployment)

Backend Setup (API)

1. Navigate to the API directory: cd API
2. Create a virtual environment and activate it: python3 -m venv venv source venv/bin/activate
3. Install the required dependencies: pip install -r requirements.txt
4. Run the API server: python app.py The API will be accessible at http://localhost:5000.

Frontend Setup (Web Interface)

1. Navigate to the website directory: cd website
2. Install the required dependencies: npm install
3. Start the development server: npm start The web application will be accessible at http://localhost:3000.

Usage

● Access the web interface to visualize planetary data.

● Utilize the API endpoints to programmatically retrieve ephemeris data. Detailed API documentation is available in the API/ directory.

License

This project is licensed under the CC0-1.0 License, dedicating it to the public domain.

Acknowledgments

● Developed as a capstone project by Austin Carlile, Nicholas Gonzalez, Minuka Trikawalagoda, and Noah Schwartz.

● Inspired by existing astronomical computation tools and ephemeris data services.