Provided by: libswe-dev_1.80.00.0002-1ubuntu1_amd64 
NAME
swetest - swetest.c
SYNOPSIS
swetest Swiss Ephemeris test program.
DESCRIPTION
Swetest computes a complete set of geocentric planetary positions, for a given date or a sequence of
dates. Input can either be a date or an absolute julian day number. 0:00 (midnight). With the proper
options, swetest can be used to output a printed ephemeris and transfer the data into other programs like
spreadsheets for graphical display.
The Swiss Ephemeris did not arise in the UNIX/Gnu Linux world and hence the people at Astrodienst did not
create UNIX/Gnu Linux style manpage for swetest. Please consult the following files:
/usr/share/doc/libswe-doc/swephprg.pdf
/usr/share/doc/libswe-doc/swisseph.pdf
/usr/share/doc/libswe-doc/swephprg.html
/usr/share/doc/libswe-doc/swisseph.html
This documentation can also be found on line on astrodienst's web pages.
General Documentation ⟨http://www.astro.com/swisseph/swisseph.htm⟩
Programmer's Documentation ⟨http://www.astro.com/swisseph/swephprg.htm⟩
However, below is the result of "swetest -h".
Command line options:
help commands:
-?, -h
display whole info
-hcmd display commands
-hplan display planet numbers
-hform display format characters
-hdate display input date format
-hexamp
display examples
input time formats:
-bDATE begin date; e.g. -b1.1.1992 if Note: the date format is day month year (European style).
-bj... begin date as an absolute Julian day number; e.g. -bj2415020.5
-j... same as -bj
-tHH.MMSS
input time (ephemeris time)
-ut input date is universal time -utHH:MM:SS input time -utHH.MMSS input time
object, number of steps, step with
-pSEQ planet sequence to be computed. See the letter coding below.
-dX differential ephemeris: print differential ephemeris between body X and each body in
list given by -p example: -p2 -d0 -fJl -n366 -b1.1.1992 prints the longitude distance
between SUN (planet 0) and MERCURY (planet 2) for a full year starting at 1 Jan 1992.
-DX midpoint ephemeris, works the same way as the differential mode -d described above, but
outputs the midpoint position.
-nN output data for N consecutive days; if no -n option is given, the default is 1. If the
option -n without a number is given, the default is 20.
-sN timestep N days, default 1. This option is only meaningful when combined with option -n.
output format:
-fSEQ use SEQ as format sequence for the output columns; default is PLBRS.
-head don't print the header before the planet data. This option is useful when you want to
paste the output into a spreadsheet for displaying graphical ephemeris.
+head header before every step (with -s..)
-gPPP use PPP as gap between output columns; default is a single
blank. -g followed by white space sets the gap to the TAB character; which is useful for
data entry into spreadsheets.
astrological house system:
-house[long,lat,hsys]
include house cusps. The longitude, latitude (degrees with DECIMAL fraction) and house
system letter can be given, with commas separated, + for east and north. If none are
given, Greenwich UK and Placidus is used: 0.00,51.50,p. The output lists 12 house
cusps, Asc, MC, ARMC and Vertex. Houses can only be computed if option -ut is given.
-hsy[hsys]
house system to be used (for house positions of planets) for long, lat, hsys, see -house
-geopos[long,lat,elev]
Geographic position. Can be used for azimuth and altitude or topocentric or house cups
calculations. The longitude, latitude (degrees with DECIMAL fraction) and elevation
(meters) can be given, with commas separated, + for east and north. If none are given,
Greenwich is used: 0,51.5,0
sidereal astrology:
-ay.. ayanamsa, with number of method, e.g. ay0 for Fagan/Bradley
-sid.. sidereal, with number of method; 'sid0' for Fagan/Bradley 'sid1' for Lahiri
-sidt0..
sidereal, projection on ecliptic of t0
-sidsp..
sidereal, projection on solar system plane ephemeris specifications:
-edirPATH change the directory of the ephemeris files
-eswe swiss ephemeris
-ejpl jpl ephemeris (DE406), or with ephemeris file name -ejplde200.eph
-emos moshier ephemeris
-true true positions
-noaberr
no aberration
-nodefl
no gravitational light deflection
-noaberr -nodefl
astrometric positions
-j2000 no precession (i.e. J2000 positions)
-icrs ICRS (use Internat. Celestial Reference System)
-nonut no nutation
-speed calculate high precision speed
-speed3
´low' precision speed from 3 positions do not use this option. -speed parameter is
faster and preciser
-iXX force iflag to value XX
-testaa96
test example in AA 96, B37, i.e. venus, j2450442.5, DE200. attention: use precession
IAU1976 and nutation 1980 (s. swephlib.h) -testaa95 -testaa97
-roundsec
round to seconds
-roundmin
round to minutes
observer position:
-hel compute heliocentric positions
-bary compute barycentric positions (bar. earth instead of node)
-topo[long,lat,elev]
topocentric positions. The longitude, latitude (degrees with DECIMAL fraction) and
elevation (meters) can be given, with commas separated, + for east and north. If none
are given, Zuerich is used: 8.55,47.38,400
special events:
-solecl solar eclipse
output 1st line:
eclipse date, time of maximum (UT), core shadow width (negative with total eclipses),
fraction of solar diameter that is eclipsed Julian day number (6-digit fraction) of
maximum
output 2nd line:
start and end times for partial and total phase
output 3rd line:
geographical longitude and latitude of maximum eclipse, totality duration at that
geographical position,
output with -local, see below.
-occult occultation of planet or star by the moon. Use -p to
specify planet (-pf -xfAldebaran for stars) output format same as with -solecl
-lunecl lunar eclipse
output 1st line:
eclipse date, time of maximum (UT), Julian day number (6-digit fraction) of
maximum
output 2nd line:
6 contacts for start and end of penumbral, partial, and total phase
-local only with -solecl or -occult, if the next event of this kind is wanted for a given
geogr. position. Use -geopos[long,lat,elev] to specify that position. If -local is not
set, the program searches for the next event anywhere on earth.
output 1st line:
eclipse date, time of maximum, fraction of solar diameter that is eclipsed
output 2nd line:
local eclipse duration, local four contacts,
-hev[type] heliacal events,
type 1 = heliacal rising
type 2 = heliacal setting
type 3 = evening first
type 4 = morning last
type 0 or missing = all four events are listed.
-rise rising and setting of a planet or star.
Use -geopos[long,lat,elev] to specify geographical position.
-metr southern and northern meridian transit of a planet of star Use -geopos[long,lat,elev] to
specify geographical position.
specifications for eclipses:
-total total eclipse (only with -solecl, -lunecl)
-partial partial eclipse (only with -solecl, -lunecl)
-annular annular eclipse (only with -solecl)
-anntot annular-total (hybrid) eclipse (only with -solecl)
-penumbral penumbral lunar eclipse (only with -lunecl)
-central central eclipse (only with -solecl, nonlocal)
-noncentral non-central eclipse (only with -solecl, nonlocal)
specifications for risings and settings:
-norefrac neglect refraction (with option -rise)
-disccenter find rise of disc center (with option -rise)
-hindu hindu version of sunrise (with option -rise)
specifications for heliacal events:
-at[press,temp,rhum,visr]:
pressure in hPa
temperature in degrees Celsius
relative humidity in %
visual range, interpreted as follows:
> 1 : meteorological range in km
1>visr>0 : total atmospheric coefficient (ktot)
= 0 : calculated from press, temp, rhum
Default values are -at1013.25,15,40,0
-obs[age,SN] age of observer and Snellen ratio
Default values are -obs36,1
-opt[age,SN,binocular,magn,diam,transm]
age and SN as with -obs
0 monocular or 1 binocular
telescope magnification
optical aperture in mm
optical transmission
Default values: -opt36,1,1,1,0,0 (naked eye)
backward search:
-bwd
-rise rising and setting of a planet or star. Use -geopos[long,lat,elev] to specify
geographical position.
-metr southern and northern meridian transit of a planet of star Use -geopos[long,lat,elev] to
specify geographical position.
specifications for eclipses:
-total total eclipse (only with -solecl, -lunecl)
-partial partial eclipse (only with -solecl, -lunecl)
-annular annular eclipse (only with -solecl)
-anntot annular-total (hybrid) eclipse (only with -solecl)
-penumbral penumbral lunar eclipse (only with -lunecl)
-central central eclipse (only with -solecl, nonlocal)
-noncentral non-central eclipse (only with -solecl, nonlocal)
specifications for risings and settings:
-norefrac neglect refraction (with option -rise)
-disccenter find rise of disc center (with option -rise)
-hindu hindu version of sunrise (with option -rise)
specifications for heliacal events:
-at[press,temp,rhum,visr]:
pressure in hPa
temperature in degrees Celsius
relative humidity in %
visual range, interpreted as follows:
> 1 : meteorological range in km
1>visr>0 : total atmospheric coefficient (ktot)
= 0 : calculated from press, temp, rhum
Default values are -at1013.25,15,40,0
-obs[age,SN] age of observer and Snellen ratio
Default values are -obs36,1
-opt[age,SN,binocular,magn,diam,transm]
age and SN as with -obs
0 monocular or 1 binocular
telescope magnification
optical aperture in mm
optical transmission
Default values: -opt36,1,1,1,0,0 (naked eye)
backward search:
-bwd
Planet selection letters:
planetary lists:
d (default) main factors 0123456789mtABCcg
p main factors as above, plus main asteroids DEFGHI
h ficticious factors J..X
a all factors
(the letters above can only appear as a single letter)
single planet letters:
0 Sun (character zero)
1 Moon (character 1)
2 Mercury
....
9 Pluto
m mean lunar node
t true lunar node
n nutation
• obliquity of ecliptic
q delta t
A mean lunar apogee (Lilith, Black Moon)
B osculating lunar apogee
c intp. lunar apogee
g intp. lunar perigee
C Earth (in heliocentric or barycentric calculation)
dwarf planets, plutoids
F Ceres
9 Pluto
s -xs136199 Eris
s -xs136472 Makemake
s -xs136108 Haumea
some minor planets:
D Chiron
E Pholus
G Pallas
H Juno
I Vesta
s minor planet, with MPC number given in -xs
fixed stars:
f fixed star, with name or number given in -xf option
f -xfSirius Sirius
fictitious objects:
J Cupido
K Hades
L Zeus
M Kronos
N Apollon
O Admetos
P Vulkanus
Q Poseidon
R Isis (Sevin)
S Nibiru (Sitchin)
T Harrington
U Leverrier's Neptune
V Adams' Neptune
W Lowell's Pluto
X Pickering's Pluto
Y Vulcan
Z White Moon
w Waldemath's dark Moon
z hypothetical body, with number given in -xz
e print a line of labels
Output format SEQ letters: In the standard setting five columns of coordinates are printed with the
default format PLBRS. You can change the default by providing an option like -fCCCC where CCCC is your
sequence of columns. The coding of the sequence is like this:
y year
Y year.fraction_of_year
p planet index
P planet name
J absolute juldate
T date formatted like 23.02.1992
t date formatted like 920223 for 1992 february 23
L longitude in degree ddd mm'ss"
l longitude decimal
Z longitude ddsignmm'ss"
S speed in longitude in degree ddd:mm:ss per day
SS speed for all values specified in fmt
s speed longitude decimal (degrees/day)
ss speed for all values specified in fmt
B latitude degree
b latitude decimal
R distance decimal in AU
r distance decimal in AU, Moon in seconds parallax
relative distance (1000=nearest, 0=furthest)
A right ascension in hh:mm:ss
a right ascension hours decimal
D declination degree
d declination decimal
I Azimuth degree
i Azimuth decimal
H Height degree
h Height decimal
K Height (with refraction) degree
k Height (with refraction) decimal
G house position in degrees
g house position in degrees decimal
j house number 1.0 - 12.99999
X x-, y-, and z-coordinates ecliptical
x x-, y-, and z-coordinates equatorial
U unit vector ecliptical
u unit vector equatorial
Q l, b, r, dl, db, dr, a, d, da, dd
n nodes (mean): ascending/descending (Me - Ne); longitude decimal
N nodes (osculating): ascending/descending, longitude; decimal
f apsides (mean): perihel, aphel, second focal point; longitude dec.
F apsides (osc.): perihel, aphel, second focal point; longitude dec.
+ phase angle
- phase
elongation
/ apparent diameter of disc (without refraction)
= magnitude
v (reserved)
V (reserved)
Date entry: In the interactive mode, when you are asked for a start date, you can enter data in one of
the following formats:
1.2.1991 three integers separated by a nondigit character for
day month year. Dates are interpreted as Gregorian
after 4.10.1582 and as Julian Calendar before.
Time is always set to midnight.
If the three letters jul are appended to the date,
the Julian calendar is used even after 1582.
If the four letters greg are appended to the date,
the Gregorian calendar is used even before 1582.
j2400123.67 the letter j followed by a real number, for
the absolute Julian daynumber of the start date.
Fraction .5 indicates midnight, fraction .0
indicates noon, other times of the day can be
chosen accordingly.
<RETURN> repeat the last entry
. stop the program
+20 advance the date by 20 days
-10 go back in time 10 days
Examples:
swetest -p2 -b1.12.1900 -n15 -s2
ephemeris of Mercury (-p2) starting on 1 Dec 1900,
15 positions (-n15) in two-day steps (-s2)
swetest -p2 -b1.12.1900 -n15 -s2 -fTZ -roundsec -g, -head
same, but output format = date and zodiacal position (-fTZ),
separated by comma (-g,) and rounded to seconds (-roundsec),
without header (-head).
swetest -ps -xs433 -b1.12.1900
position of asteroid 433 Eros (-ps -xs433)
swetest -pf -xfAldebaran -b1.1.2000
position of fixed star Aldebaran
swetest -p1 -d0 -b1.12.1900 -n10 -fPTl -head
angular distance of moon (-p1) from sun (-d0) for 10
consecutive days (-n10).
swetest -p6 -DD -b1.12.1900 -n100 -s5 -fPTZ -head -roundmin
Midpoints between Saturn (-p6) and Chiron (-DD) for 100
consecutive steps (-n100) with 5‐day steps (-s5) with
longitude in degree‐sign format (-f..Z) rounded to minutes (-roundmin)
swetest -b5.1.2002 -p -house12.05,49.50,k -ut12:30
Koch houses for a location in Germany at a given date and time
AUTHOR
The Swiss Ephemeris and swetest were written by Dieter Koch and Alois Treindl of Astrodienst.
This manual page was transcribed by Paul Elliott <pelliott@blackpatchpanel.com> using the results of
"swetest -h", for the Debian project (and may be used by others).
August 10, 2011 swetest(1)