Planet Positions API

Overview

To use Planet Positions, you need an API key. You can get one by creating a free account and visiting your dashboard.

POST Endpoint

https://api.apiverve.com/v1/planetpositions

Example

How to call the Planet Positions API in different programming languages.

curl -X POST \
  "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/planetpositions" \
  -H "X-API-Key: your_api_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "planet": "Moon",
  "date": "2025-04-15 10:37:00",
  "lat": 37.7749,
  "lon": -122.4194,
  "alt": 52
}'

const response = await fetch('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/planetpositions', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    "planet": "Moon",
    "date": "2025-04-15 10:37:00",
    "lat": 37.7749,
    "lon": -122.4194,
    "alt": 52
})
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);

import requests

headers = {
    'X-API-Key': 'your_api_key_here',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

payload = {
    "planet": "Moon",
    "date": "2025-04-15 10:37:00",
    "lat": 37.7749,
    "lon": -122.4194,
    "alt": 52
}

response = requests.post('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/planetpositions', headers=headers, json=payload)

data = response.json()
print(data)

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "io"
    "net/http"
    "bytes"
    "encoding/json"
)

func main() {
    payload := map[string]interface{}{
        "planet": "Moon",
        "date": "2025-04-15 10:37:00",
        "lat": "37.7749",
        "lon": "-122.4194",
        "alt": "52"
    }

    jsonPayload, _ := json.Marshal(payload)
    req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/planetpositions", bytes.NewBuffer(jsonPayload))

    req.Header.Set("X-API-Key", "your_api_key_here")
    req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    fmt.Println(string(body))
}

{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "planet": "Moon",
    "isBelowHorizon": false,
    "date": "2025-04-15T10:37:00Z",
    "observer": {
      "latitude": 37.7749,
      "longitude": -122.4194
    },
    "rightAscension": {
      "hours": 15,
      "minutes": 13,
      "seconds": 11
    },
    "declination": {
      "degrees": -23,
      "minutes": 10,
      "seconds": 56
    },
    "distance": {
      "km": 402457.36,
      "lightTravelSeconds": 1.342,
      "astronomicalUnits": 0.003
    },
    "siderealTime": {
      "hours": 16,
      "minutes": 2,
      "seconds": 42
    },
    "hourAngle": {
      "hours": 0,
      "minutes": 49,
      "seconds": 31
    },
    "vectors": {
      "x": -0.0016452947779903913,
      "y": -0.0018463324771434563,
      "z": -0.0010590407236111441
    }
  }
}

Authentication

The Planet Positions API requires authentication via API key. Include your API key in the request header:

X-API-Key: your_api_key_here

Learn more about authentication →

Interactive API Playground

Test the Planet Positions API directly in your browser with live requests and responses.

Parameters

The following parameters are available for the Planet Positions API:

Response

The Planet Positions API returns responses in JSON, XML, YAML, and CSV formats. The JSON response is shown in the Example section above; alternative formats below.

Other Response Formats

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<response>
  <status>ok</status>
  <error xsi:nil="true" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"/>
  <data>
    <planet>Moon</planet>
    <isBelowHorizon>false</isBelowHorizon>
    <date>2025-04-15T10:37:00Z</date>
    <observer>
      <latitude>37.7749</latitude>
      <longitude>-122.4194</longitude>
    </observer>
    <rightAscension>
      <hours>15</hours>
      <minutes>13</minutes>
      <seconds>11</seconds>
    </rightAscension>
    <declination>
      <degrees>-23</degrees>
      <minutes>10</minutes>
      <seconds>56</seconds>
    </declination>
    <distance>
      <km>402457.36</km>
      <lightTravelSeconds>1.342</lightTravelSeconds>
      <astronomicalUnits>0.003</astronomicalUnits>
    </distance>
    <siderealTime>
      <hours>16</hours>
      <minutes>2</minutes>
      <seconds>42</seconds>
    </siderealTime>
    <hourAngle>
      <hours>0</hours>
      <minutes>49</minutes>
      <seconds>31</seconds>
    </hourAngle>
    <vectors>
      <x>-0.0016452947779903913</x>
      <y>-0.0018463324771434563</y>
      <z>-0.0010590407236111441</z>
    </vectors>
  </data>
</response>

status: ok
error: null
data:
  planet: Moon
  isBelowHorizon: false
  date: '2025-04-15T10:37:00Z'
  observer:
    latitude: 37.7749
    longitude: -122.4194
  rightAscension:
    hours: 15
    minutes: 13
    seconds: 11
  declination:
    degrees: -23
    minutes: 10
    seconds: 56
  distance:
    km: 402457.36
    lightTravelSeconds: 1.342
    astronomicalUnits: 0.003
  siderealTime:
    hours: 16
    minutes: 2
    seconds: 42
  hourAngle:
    hours: 0
    minutes: 49
    seconds: 31
  vectors:
    x: -0.0016452947779903913
    'y': -0.0018463324771434563
    z: -0.0010590407236111441

Response Structure

All API responses follow a consistent structure with the following fields:

Learn more about response formats →

Response Data Fields

When the request is successful, the data object contains the following fields:

Headers

Only X-API-Key is required. Optional headers include Accept for response format negotiation (JSON, XML, or YAML), User-Agent, and X-Request-ID for request tracing. See all request headers →

GraphQL AccessALPHA

Access Planet Positions through GraphQL to combine it with other API calls in a single request. Query only the planet positions data you need with precise field selection, and orchestrate complex data fetching workflows.

Credit Cost: Each API called in your GraphQL query consumes its standard credit cost.

POST https://api.apiverve.com/v1/graphql

query {
  planetpositions(
    input: {
      planet: "Moon"
      date: "2025-04-15 10:37:00"
      lat: 37.7749
      lon: -122.4194
      alt: 52
    }
  ) {
    planet
    isBelowHorizon
    date
    observer {
      latitude
      longitude
    }
    rightAscension {
      hours
      minutes
      seconds
    }
    declination {
      degrees
      minutes
      seconds
    }
    distance {
      km
      lightTravelSeconds
      astronomicalUnits
    }
    siderealTime {
      hours
      minutes
      seconds
    }
    hourAngle {
      hours
      minutes
      seconds
    }
    vectors {
      x
      y
      z
    }
  }
}

Note: Authentication is handled via the x-api-key header in your GraphQL request, not as a query parameter.

CORS Support

The Planet Positions API accepts cross-origin requests from any origin, so it can be called directly from browser-based applications without a proxy. See CORS support →

Rate Limiting

Planet Positions requests are throttled per minute on the Free plan and unthrottled on paid plans. Exceeding the limit returns 429 Too Many Requests; rate-limit usage is reported in the X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining, and X-RateLimit-Reset response headers. See per-plan limits and best practices →

Error Codes

The Planet Positions API uses standard HTTP status codes — 200 on success, 400 for invalid parameters, 401 for missing or invalid keys, 403 for insufficient credits, 429 for rate-limit exhaustion, and 500/503 for server-side issues. Each error response includes an X-Request-ID header you can quote when contacting support. See full error handling guide →

SDKs for Planet Positions

Official Planet Positions packages on npm, PyPI, NuGet, and JitPack — plus a Postman collection and an OpenAPI spec. See the SDK guide →

JitPack

No-Code Integrations

Planet Positions works with Zapier, Make, Pipedream, n8n, and Power Automate using the same API key. See setup guides →

Zapier

Make

Pipedream

n8n

Power Automate

Frequently Asked Questions

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