Venus Atmosphere & Position Tracking System

A Python-based system for tracking the position of Venus and modeling its atmosphere.

Overview

This project provides tools to:

• Calculate the position of Venus in the sky from any location on Earth
• Model Venus's atmospheric conditions
• Log position and atmospheric data over time
• Generate visualizations of tracking data
• View Venus-centric perspectives of Earth and the Sun

Installation

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/PranavTamada/Venus-Tracking.git
   cd Venus-Tracking

2. Create and activate a virtual environment (optional but recommended):

   # Using conda
   conda create -n venus python=3.9
   conda activate venus
   
   # Or using venv
   python -m venv venv
   # On Windows
   venv\Scripts\activate
   # On Linux/Mac
   source venv/bin/activate

3. Install required packages:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

Running the Application

Using the Demo Script

The easiest way to explore the functionality is through the enhanced demo script:

python demo_enhanced.py

This will:

• Initialize the application with default settings
• Demonstrate location management
• Show Venus position calculations
• Generate sample data and visualizations
• Provide instructions for real-time tracking

Using the Main Application

Basic Position Tracking

To track Venus's current position from your location:

python venus_app.py --location "New York City"

Or with coordinates:

python venus_app.py --location "51.4778,-0.0015,0"

Track Over Time

To track Venus over a period of time:

python venus_app.py --mode track --location "New York City" --duration 60 --interval 10

This will track Venus's position for 60 minutes, taking measurements every 10 seconds.

Calculate Position for a Specific Time

To calculate Venus's position at a specific time:

python venus_app.py --time "2025-06-01 12:00:00" --location "New York City"

Export Data

All tracking data is automatically saved to CSV and can be exported in various formats:

python venus_app.py --mode export --format json

Visualize Data

To generate visualizations from collected data:

python venus_app.py --mode visualize

Configuration

The default configuration is in config/default.yml. You can create custom config files based on this template.

Key configuration options:

• location: Observer's location (latitude, longitude, elevation)
• tracking_interval: Time between position calculations in seconds
• real_time: Whether to track in real-time or as fast as possible
• atmospheric_model: Settings for the atmospheric model
• visualization: Options for data visualization

Project Structure

• venus_app.py: Main application entry point
• demo_enhanced.py: Interactive demonstration of all features
• src/position_tracking/: Venus position calculation
• src/atmospheric_model/: Venus atmosphere modeling
• src/data_logging/: Data logging and visualization
• src/config/: Configuration management
• config/: Configuration files
• data/: Stored tracking data
• plots/: Generated visualizations

Recent Updates

• Fixed calculation of Venus perspective using Skyfield's proper coordinate system
• Corrected phase angle calculations using separation_from instead of deprecated from_star
• Improved orbital parameter calculations using ecliptic coordinates
• Enhanced error handling and encoding issue detection

Requirements

• Python 3.9+
• skyfield
• numpy
• pandas
• matplotlib
• pyyaml
• astropy
• geopy (for location lookups)
• plotly (for interactive visualizations)

The full list of dependencies is available in requirements.txt.

Troubleshooting

Encoding Issues

If you encounter errors related to null bytes or encoding issues, run the provided fix script:

python fix_null_bytes.py

Missing Dependencies

If you receive errors about missing modules, ensure all dependencies are installed:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Coordinate System Errors

When working with celestial coordinates, be aware that:

1. Altitude/azimuth calculations require an observer on a defined celestial body
2. Venus-centric views use right ascension/declination coordinates instead of altitude/azimuth

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• The Skyfield library for astronomical calculations
• NASA JPL for providing the planetary ephemeris data