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Heliocentric Ephemeris

A heliocentric ephemeris study generates a tabular listing of planetary positions as seen from the Sun at regular time intervals. This perspective is used in heliocentric astrology and astronomical research.

Creating a Heliocentric Ephemeris Study

Using the Menu

  1. Click Ephemerides on the menu bar.
  2. Click Heliocentric Ephemeris in the Ephemerides menu.

Using the Toolbar

  • Click the Heliocentric Ephemeris toolbar button.

A new heliocentric ephemeris study is added to the studies list and automatically selected.

Configuring the Study

The configuration panel for a heliocentric ephemeris study contains the following settings:

Heliocentric Ephemeris configuration panel highlighting the coordinate origin set to Heliocentric

Study Name

Each study has an editable name that appears in the studies list. You can change the name to describe the purpose of the study.

Location

Select a geographic location from the Location dropdown. The location determines the time zone used for displaying dates and times in the ephemeris table. Locations are managed through the Locations Editor.

info

A location is required for all ephemeris types, including heliocentric, because dates and times are displayed according to the location's time zone.

Zodiac System

Select the zodiac system from the Zodiac dropdown:

OptionDescription
TropicalPositions measured from the vernal equinox point
SiderealPositions measured from a fixed star reference

Reference Plane

Select the reference plane from the Reference Plane dropdown:

OptionDescription
EclipticPositions measured along the ecliptic plane
EquatorialPositions measured along the celestial equator

Date Range

Set the Start Date and End Date to define the time span for the ephemeris.

Time Interval

Configure the time interval between records by setting the Interval value and selecting a Time Unit from the dropdown:

Time Unit
Seconds
Minutes
Hours
Days
Months
Years

Bodies

Select the celestial bodies to include using the Bodies list. The heliocentric body list differs from the geocentric list:

  • Earth is included as an orbiting body (since the Sun is the coordinate center)
  • Sun and Moon are not available (the Sun is the origin; the Moon orbits Earth)
  • Cardinal points (Ascendant, Medium Coeli, Descendant, Imum Coeli) and lunar axis points are not available

The available heliocentric bodies are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Tenet, Vesta, Juno, Ceres, Pallas, Chiron, and Pholus.

See Body Selection for details on selecting and deselecting bodies.

Metrics

Select the metrics to include as columns in the ephemeris table using the Metrics list. See Ephemeris Metrics for details.

Generating the Ephemeris

Once all parameters are configured, generate the ephemeris by clicking the Run button. See Generating Records for details on generation, cancellation, and unlocking.

Working with Results

After generation completes, the ephemeris table displays the results. You can:

tip

Save study configurations as ephemeris presets to quickly apply the same settings to new studies.