pymap3d 1.7.8

pure Python coordinate conversions, following convention of several popular Matlab routines.

[](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.213676)
[](https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.00580)
[](http://www.astropy.org/)
[](https://travis-ci.org/scivision/pymap3d)
[](https://coveralls.io/github/scivision/pymap3d?branch=master)
[](https://ci.appveyor.com/project/scivision/pymap3d)
[](https://lgtm.com/projects/g/scivision/pymap3d/context:python)
[](https://codeclimate.com/github/scivision/pymap3d/maintainability)
[](https://pypi.python.org/pypi/pymap3d)
[](https://pypi.python.org/pypi/pymap3d)
[](http://pepy.tech/project/pymap3d)

# Python 3-D coordinate conversions

3-D geographic coordinate conversions, with API similar to popular $1000 Matlab Mapping Toolbox routines for:

* Python
* [Matlab, GNU Octave](https://github.com/scivision/matmap3d)
* [modern Fortran](https://github.com/scivision/maptran)

PyMap3D is intended for non-interactive use on massively parallel (HPC) and embedded systems.
Includes some relevant
[Vallado's algorithms](http://www.smad.com/vallado/fortran/fortran.html).

[API docs](https://www.scivision.co/pymap3d)

Why not [PyProj](https://github.com/jswhit/pyproj)?

- PyMap3D does not require anything beyond pure Python + Numpy.
- PyMap3D API is similar to Matlab Mapping Toolbox, while PyProj's interface is quite distinct
- PyMap3D intrinsically handles local coordinate systems such as ENU,
while for PyProj ENU requires some [additional
effort](https://github.com/jswhit/pyproj/issues/105).
- PyProj is oriented towards points on the planet surface, while
PyMap3D handles points on or above the planet surface equally well,
particularly important for airborne vehicles and remote sensing.

## Prerequisites

* Python ≥ 3.5 or PyPy3
* [AstroPy](http://www.astropy.org/) (optional, used for ECI coordinates)


## Install

```sh
pip install pymap3d
```

or for the latest development code:
```sh
git clone https://github.com/scivision/pymap3d

pip install -e .
```

One can verify Python functionality after installation by:
```sh
pip install -e .[tests]
pytest -rsv
```

## Usage

Where consistent with the definition of the functions, all arguments may
be arbitrarily shaped (scalar, N-D array).

```python
import pymap3d as pm

x,y,z = pm.geodetic2ecef(lat,lon,alt)

az,el,range = pm.geodetic2aer(lat, lon, alt, observer_lat, observer_lon, 0)
```

[Python](https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0448/)
[argument unpacking](https://docs.python.org/3.6/tutorial/controlflow.html#unpacking-argument-lists)
can be used for compact function arguments with scalars or arbitrarily
shaped N-D arrays:

```python
aer = (az,el,slantrange)
obslla = (obs_lat,obs_lon,obs_alt)

lla = pm.aer2geodetic(*aer,*obslla)
```

where tuple `lla` is comprised of scalar or N-D arrays `(lat,lon,alt)`.


### Functions

Popular mapping toolbox functions ported to Python include the
following, where the source coordinate system (before the "2") is
converted to the desired coordinate system:

aer2ecef aer2enu aer2geodetic aer2ned
ecef2aer ecef2enu ecef2enuv ecef2geodetic ecef2ned ecef2nedv
ecef2eci eci2ecef
enu2aer enu2ecef enu2geodetic
geodetic2aer geodetic2ecef geodetic2enu geodetic2ned
ned2aer ned2ecef ned2geodetic
azel2radec radec2azel
vreckon vdist
lookAtSpheroid
track2


Additional functions:

* `loxodrome_inverse`: rhumb line distance and azimuth between ellipsoid points (lat,lon) akin to Matlab `distance('rh', ...)` and `azimuth('rh', ...)`


Abbreviations:

- [AER: Azimuth, Elevation, Range](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_coordinate_system)
- [ECEF: Earth-centered, Earth-fixed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECEF)
- [ECI: Earth-centered Inertial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth-centered_inertial)
- [ENU: East North Up](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axes_conventions#Ground_reference_frames:_ENU_and_NED)
- [NED: North East Down](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_east_down)
- [radec: right ascension, declination](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_ascension)

### Caveats

* Atmospheric effects neglected in all functions not invoking AstroPy.
Would need to update code to add these input parameters (just start a GitHub Issue to request).
* Planetary perturbations and nutation etc. not fully considered.