Celest is a Python library designed to determine when a satellite is positioned for transmission and imaging encounters. In solving the encounter problem, Celest solves many smaller problems including:
Celest is published on the Python Package Index (PyPI) found here and can be installed on the command line via:
pip install celest
Version 0.3.0 has the most accurate window definitions of all versions due to the integration of the Polare Python library. However, this package was removed to remedy overhaul efforts necessary for the 1.0.0 release. To get the best experience, it is recommended to use the most recent version (currently 1.0.0) which has an improved user interface and encounter scheduler.
It should be noted that versions greater than 0.1.6 require Python 3.8 and above due to the presence of type hints. Since Google Colab does not use Python 3.8 or above, only Celest versions up to and including 0.1.6 are available on Google Colab.
Celest has been thoroughly documented using Sphinx and ReadTheDocs. The documentation can be found here.
The Celest code base is open source and can be found on GitHub here. Anyone can contribute to the libraries code base by following the contributing guidelines. Additionally, software bugs, desired features, or general questions can be raised or suggested by filing a formal issue on the programs GitHub issues page.