Table of contents
CSPICE_LIMBPT finds limb points on a target body. The limb is the set
of points of tangency on the target of rays emanating from the observer.
The caller specifies half-planes bounded by the observer-target
center vector in which to search for limb points.
Given:
method a short string providing parameters defining the computation
method to be used.
help, method
STRING = Scalar
In the syntax descriptions below, items delimited by brackets
are optional.
`method' may be assigned the following values:
'TANGENT/DSK/UNPRIORITIZED[/SURFACES = <surface list>]'
The limb point computation uses topographic data
provided by DSK files (abbreviated as "DSK data"
below) to model the surface of the target body. A
limb point is defined as the point of tangency, on
the surface represented by the DSK data, of a ray
emanating from the observer.
Limb points are generated within a specified set
of "cutting" half-planes that have as an edge the
line containing the observer-target vector.
Multiple limb points may be found within a given
half-plane, if the target body shape allows for
this.
The surface list specification is optional. The
syntax of the list is
<surface 1> [, <surface 2>...]
If present, it indicates that data only for the
listed surfaces are to be used; however, data need
not be available for all surfaces in the list. If
the list is absent, loaded DSK data for any
surface associated with the target body are used.
The surface list may contain surface names or
surface ID codes. Names containing blanks must
be delimited by double quotes, for example
SURFACES = "Mars MEGDR 128 PIXEL/DEG"
If multiple surfaces are specified, their names
or IDs must be separated by commas.
See the -Particulars section below for details
concerning use of DSK data.
This is the highest-accuracy method supported by
this routine. It generally executes much more
slowly than the 'GUIDED' method described below.
'GUIDED/DSK/UNPRIORITIZED[/SURFACES = <surface list>]'
This method uses DSK data as described above, but
limb points generated by this method are "guided"
so as to lie in the limb plane of the target
body's reference ellipsoid, on the target body's
surface. This method produces a unique limb point
for each cutting half-plane. If multiple limb
point candidates lie in a given cutting
half-plane, the outermost one is chosen.
This method may be used only with the 'CENTER'
aberration correction locus (see the description
of `corloc' below).
Limb points generated by this method are
approximations; they are generally not true
ray-surface tangent points. However, these
approximations can be generated much more quickly
than tangent points.
'TANGENT/ELLIPSOID'
'GUIDED/ELLIPSOID'
Both of these methods generate limb points on the
target body's reference ellipsoid. The 'TANGENT'
option may be used with any aberration correction
locus, while the 'GUIDED' option may be used only
with the 'CENTER' locus (see the description of
`corloc' below).
When the locus is set to 'CENTER', these methods
produce the same results.
Neither case nor white space are significant in
`method', except within double-quoted strings. For
example, the string ' eLLipsoid/tAnGenT ' is valid.
Within double-quoted strings, blank characters are
significant, but multiple consecutive blanks are
considered equivalent to a single blank. Case is
not significant. So
"Mars MEGDR 128 PIXEL/DEG"
is equivalent to
" mars megdr 128 pixel/deg "
but not to
"MARS MEGDR128PIXEL/DEG"
target the name of the target body.
help, target
STRING = Scalar
The target body is an extended ephemeris object.
The string `target' is case-insensitive, and leading
and trailing blanks in `target' are not significant.
Optionally, you may supply a string containing the
integer ID code for the object. For example both
'MOON' and '301' are legitimate strings that indicate
the Moon is the target body.
When the target body's surface is represented by a
tri-axial ellipsoid, this routine assumes that a
kernel variable representing the ellipsoid's radii is
present in the kernel pool. Normally the kernel
variable would be defined by loading a PCK file.
et the epoch of participation of the observer, expressed as TDB
seconds past J2000 TDB: `et' is the epoch at which the
observer's state is computed.
help, et
DOUBLE = Scalar
When aberration corrections are not used, `et' is also
the epoch at which the position and orientation of
the target body are computed.
When aberration corrections are used, the position
and orientation of the target body are computed at
et-ltime, where `ltime' is the one-way light time between the
aberration correction locus and the observer. The
locus is specified by the input argument `corloc'.
See the descriptions of `abcorr' and `corloc' below for
details.
fixref the name of a body-fixed reference frame centered on the
target body.
help, fixref
STRING = Scalar
`fixref' may be any such frame supported by the SPICE system,
including built-in frames (documented in the Frames Required
Reading) and frames defined by a loaded frame kernel (FK).
The string `fixref' is case-insensitive, and leading and
trailing blanks in `fixref' are not significant.
The output limb points in the array `points' and the
output observer-target tangent vectors in the array
`tangts' are expressed relative to this reference frame.
abcorr indicates the aberration corrections to be applied when
computing the target's position and orientation.
help, abcorr
STRING = Scalar
Corrections are applied at the location specified by the
aberration correction locus argument `corloc', which is
described below.
For remote sensing applications, where apparent limb
points seen by the observer are desired, normally
either of the corrections
'LT+S'
'CN+S'
should be used. The correction 'NONE' may be suitable
for cases in which the target is very small and the
observer is close to, and has small velocity relative
to, the target (e.g. comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko and
the Rosetta Orbiter).
These and the other supported options are described
below. `abcorr' may be any of the following:
'NONE' Apply no correction. Return the
geometric limb points on the target
body.
Let `ltime' represent the one-way light time between the
observer and the aberration correction locus. The
following values of `abcorr' apply to the "reception"
case in which photons depart from the locus at the
light-time corrected epoch et-ltime and *arrive* at the
observer's location at `et':
'LT' Correct for one-way light time (also
called "planetary aberration") using a
Newtonian formulation. This correction
yields the locus at the moment it
emitted photons arriving at the
observer at `et'.
The light time correction uses an
iterative solution of the light time
equation. The solution invoked by the
'LT' option uses two iterations.
Both the target position as seen by the
observer, and rotation of the target
body, are corrected for light time.
'LT+S' Correct for one-way light time and
stellar aberration using a Newtonian
formulation. This option modifies the
locus obtained with the 'LT' option to
account for the observer's velocity
relative to the solar system
barycenter. These corrections yield
points on the apparent limb.
'CN' Converged Newtonian light time
correction. In solving the light time
equation, the 'CN' correction iterates
until the solution converges. Both the
position and rotation of the target
body are corrected for light time.
'CN+S' Converged Newtonian light time and
stellar aberration corrections. This
option produces a solution that is at
least as accurate at that obtainable
with the 'LT+S' option. Whether the
'CN+S' solution is substantially more
accurate depends on the geometry of the
participating objects and on the
accuracy of the input data. In all
cases this routine will execute more
slowly when a converged solution is
computed.
The following values of `abcorr' apply to the
"transmission" case in which photons depart from the
observer's location at `et' and arrive at the aberration
correction locus at the light-time corrected epoch
et+ltime:
'XLT' Correct for one-way light time (also
called "planetary aberration") using a
Newtonian formulation. This correction
yields the locus at the moment it
receives photons departing from the
observer at `et'.
The light time correction uses an
iterative solution of the light time
equation. The solution invoked by the
'LT' option uses two iterations.
Both the target position as seen by the
observer, and rotation of the target
body, are corrected for light time.
'XLT+S' Correct for one-way transmission light
time and stellar aberration using a
Newtonian formulation. This option
modifies the locus obtained with the 'XLT'
option to account for the observer's
velocity relative to the solar system
barycenter. These corrections yield points
on the apparent limb.
'XCN' Converged transmission Newtonian light
time correction. In solving the light time
equation, the 'XCN' correction iterates
until the solution converges. Both the
position and rotation of the target body
are corrected for light time.
'XCN+S' Converged transmission Newtonian light
time and stellar aberration corrections.
This option produces a solution that is at
least as accurate at that obtainable with
the `XLT+S' option. Whether the 'XCN+S'
solution is substantially more accurate
depends on the geometry of the
participating objects and on the accuracy
of the input data. In all cases this
routine will execute more slowly when a
converged solution is computed.
corloc a string specifying the aberration correction locus: the
point or set of points for which aberration corrections are
performed.
help, corloc
STRING = Scalar
`corloc' may be assigned the values:
'CENTER'
Light time and stellar aberration corrections
are applied to the vector from the observer to
the center of the target body. The one way
light time from the target center to the
observer is used to determine the epoch at
which the target body orientation is computed.
This choice is appropriate for small target
objects for which the light time from the
surface to the observer varies little across
the entire target. It may also be appropriate
for large, nearly ellipsoidal targets when the
observer is very far from the target.
Computation speed for this option is faster
than for the 'ELLIPSOID LIMB' option.
'ELLIPSOID LIMB'
Light time and stellar aberration corrections
are applied to individual limb points on the
reference ellipsoid. For a limb point on the
surface described by topographic data, lying
in a specified cutting half-plane, the unique
reference ellipsoid limb point in the same
half-plane is used as the locus of the
aberration corrections.
This choice is appropriate for large target
objects for which the light time from the limb
to the observer is significantly different
from the light time from the target center to
the observer.
Because aberration corrections are repeated for
individual limb points, computational speed for
this option is relatively slow.
obsrvr the name of the observing body.
help, obsrvr
STRING = Scalar
The observing body is an ephemeris object: it typically is a
spacecraft, the earth, or a surface point on the earth.
`obsrvr' is case-insensitive, and leading and trailing blanks
in `obsrvr' are not significant. Optionally, you may supply a
string containing the integer ID code for the object. For
example both 'MOON' and '301' are legitimate strings that
indicate the Moon is the observer.
refvec,
rolstp,
ncuts respectively, a reference vector, a roll step angle, and a
count of cutting half-planes.
help, refvec
DOUBLE = Array[3]
help, rolstp
DOUBLE = Scalar
help, ncuts
LONG = Scalar
`refvec' defines the first of a sequence of cutting
half-planes in which limb points are to be found.
Each cutting half-plane has as its edge the line
containing the observer-target vector; the first
half-plane contains `refvec'.
`refvec' is expressed in the body-fixed reference frame
designated by `fixref'.
`rolstp' is an angular step by which to roll the
cutting half-planes about the observer-target vector.
The first half-plane is aligned with `refvec'; the ith
half-plane is rotated from `refvec' about the
observer-target vector in the counter-clockwise
direction by (i-1)*rolstp. Units are radians.
`rolstp' should be set to
2*pi/ncuts
to generate an approximately uniform distribution of
limb points along the limb.
`ncuts' is the number of cutting half-planes used to
find limb points; the angular positions of
consecutive half-planes increase in the positive
sense (counterclockwise) about the target-observer
vector and are distributed roughly equally about that
vector: each half-plane has angular separation of
approximately
`rolstp' radians
from each of its neighbors. When the aberration
correction locus is set to 'CENTER', the angular
separation is the value above, up to round-off. When
the locus is 'ELLIPSOID LIMB', the separations are
less uniform due to differences in the aberration
corrections used for the respective limb points.
schstp,
soltol used only for DSK-based surfaces.
help, schstp
DOUBLE = Scalar
help, soltol
DOUBLE = Scalar
These inputs are, respectively, the search angular step size
and solution convergence tolerance used to find tangent rays
and associated limb points within each cutting half plane.
These values are used when the `method' argument includes the
'TANGENT' option. In this case, limb points are found by a
two-step search process:
1) Bracketing: starting with the direction
opposite the observer-target vector, rays
emanating from the observer are generated
within the half-plane at successively greater
angular separations from the initial direction,
where the increment of angular separation is
`schstp'. The rays are tested for intersection
with the target surface. When a transition
between non-intersection to intersection is
found, the angular separation of a tangent ray
has been bracketed.
2) Root finding: each time a tangent ray is
bracketed, a search is done to find the angular
separation from the starting direction at which
a tangent ray exists. The search terminates
when successive rays are separated by no more
than `soltol'. When the search converges, the
last ray-surface intersection point found in
the convergence process is considered to be a
limb point.
`schstp' and `soltol' have units of radians.
Target bodies with simple surfaces---for example,
convex shapes---will have a single limb point within
each cutting half-plane. For such surfaces, `schstp'
can be set large enough so that only one bracketing
step is taken. A value greater than pi, for example
4.0, is recommended.
Target bodies with complex surfaces can have
multiple limb points within a given cutting
half-plane. To find all limb points, `schstp' must be
set to a value smaller than the angular separation
of any two limb points in any cutting half-plane,
where the vertex of the angle is the observer.
`schstp' must not be too small, or the search will be
excessively slow.
For both kinds of surfaces, `soltol' must be chosen so
that the results will have the desired precision.
Note that the choice of `soltol' required to meet a
specified bound on limb point height errors depends
on the observer-target distance.
maxn the maximum number of limb points that can be stored in the
output array `points'.
help, maxn
LONG = Scalar
the call:
cspice_limbpt, method, target, et, fixref, abcorr, corloc, $
obsrvr, refvec, rolstp, ncuts, schstp, soltol, $
maxn, npts, points, epochs, tangts
returns:
npts an array of counts of limb points within the specified set of
cutting half-planes.
help, npts
LONG = Array[maxn]
The ith element of `npts' is the limb point count in the ith
half-plane.
For most target bodies, there will be one limb point
per half-plane. For complex target shapes, the limb
point count in a given half-plane can be greater
than one (see example 3 below), and it can be zero.
points an array containing the limb points found by this routine.
help, points
DOUBLE = Array[3,maxn]
Sets of limb points associated with half-planes are ordered
by the indices of the half-planes in which they're found. The
limb points in a given half-plane are ordered by decreasing
angular separation from the observer-target direction; the
outermost limb point in a given half-plane is the first of
that set.
The limb points for the half-plane containing `refvec'
occupy array elements
points[0,0] through
points[2,npts[0]-1]
Limb points for the second half plane occupy
elements
points[0,npts[0]] through
points[2,npts[0]+npts[1]-1]
and so on.
Limb points are expressed in the reference frame
designated by `fixref'. For each limb point, the
orientation of the frame is evaluated at the epoch
corresponding to the limb point; the epoch is
provided in the output array `epochs' (described
below).
Units of the limb points are km.
epochs an array of epochs associated with the limb points,
accounting for light time if aberration corrections are used.
help, epochs
DOUBLE = Array[maxn]
`epochs' contains one element for each limb point.
The element
epochs[i]
is associated with the limb point
points[j,i], j = 0 to 2
If `corloc' is set to 'CENTER', all values of `epochs'
will be the epoch associated with the target body
center. That is, if aberration corrections are used,
and if `ltime' is the one-way light time from the target
center to the observer, the elements of `epochs' will
all be set to
et - ltime
If `corloc' is set to 'ELLIPSOID LIMB', all values of
`epochs' for the limb points in a given half plane
will be those for the reference ellipsoid limb point
in that half plane. That is, if aberration
corrections are used, and if ltime[i] is the one-way
light time to the observer from the reference
ellipsoid limb point in the ith half plane, the
elements of `epochs' for that half plane will all be
set to
et - ltime[i]
When the target shape is given by DSK data, there
normally will be a small difference in the light
time between an actual limb point and that implied
by the corresponding element of `epochs'. See the
description of `tangts' below.
tangts an array of tangent vectors connecting the observer to the
limb points.
help, tangts
DOUBLE = Array[3,maxn]
The tangent vectors are expressed in the frame designated by
`fixref'. For the ith vector, the orientation of the frame is
evaluated at the ith epoch provided in the output array
`epochs' (described above).
The elements
tangts[j,i], j = 0 to 2
are associated with the limb point
points[j,i], j = 0 to 2
Units of the tangent vectors are km.
When the target shape is given by DSK data, there
normally will be a small difference in the light
time between an actual limb point and that implied
by the corresponding element of `epochs'. This
difference will affect the orientation of the target
body-fixed frame and the output tangent vectors
returned in the array `tangts'. All other factors
being equal, the error in the tangent vector due to
the light time error is proportional to the
observer-target distance.
None.
Any numerical results shown for this example may differ between
platforms as the results depend on the SPICE kernels used as input
and the machine specific arithmetic implementation.
1) Find apparent limb points on Phobos as seen from Mars.
Due to Phobos' irregular shape, the TANGENT limb point
definition will used. It suffices to compute light time and
stellar aberration corrections for the center of Phobos, so
the "CENTER" aberration correction locus will be used. Use
converged Newtonian light time and stellar aberration
corrections in order to model the apparent position and
orientation of Phobos.
For comparison, compute limb points using both ellipsoid
and topographic shape models.
Use the target body-fixed +Z axis as the reference direction
for generating cutting half-planes. This choice enables the
user to see whether the first limb point is near the target's
north pole.
For each option, use just three cutting half-planes, in order
to keep the volume of output manageable. In most applications,
the number of cuts and the number of resulting limb points
would be much greater.
Use the meta-kernel shown below to load the required SPICE
kernels.
KPL/MK
File: limbpt_ex1.tm
This meta-kernel is intended to support operation of SPICE
example programs. The kernels shown here should not be
assumed to contain adequate or correct versions of data
required by SPICE-based user applications.
In order for an application to use this meta-kernel, the
kernels referenced here must be present in the user's
current working directory.
The names and contents of the kernels referenced
by this meta-kernel are as follows:
File name Contents
--------- --------
de430.bsp Planetary ephemeris
mar097.bsp Mars satellite ephemeris
pck00010.tpc Planet orientation and
radii
naif0011.tls Leapseconds
phobos512.bds DSK based on
Gaskell ICQ Q=512
Phobos plate model
\begindata
KERNELS_TO_LOAD = ( 'de430.bsp',
'mar097.bsp',
'pck00010.tpc',
'naif0011.tls',
'phobos512.bds' )
\begintext
End of meta-kernel
Example code begins here.
PRO limbpt_ex1
;;
;; Local constants
;;
NMETH = 2
MAXN = 10000L
;;
;; Local variables
;;
method = [ 'TANGENT/ELLIPSOID', $
'TANGENT/DSK/UNPRIORITIZED' ]
z = [ 0.D, 0.0, 1.0 ]
;;
;; Load kernel files via the meta-kernel.
;;
cspice_furnsh, 'limbpt_ex1.tm'
;;
;; Set target, observer, and target body-fixed,
;; body-centered reference frame.
;;
obsrvr = 'MARS'
target = 'PHOBOS'
fixref = 'IAU_PHOBOS'
;;
;; Set aberration correction and correction locus.
;;
abcorr = 'CN+S'
corloc = 'CENTER'
;;
;; Convert the UTC request time string seconds past
;; J2000, TDB.
;;
cspice_str2et, '2008 AUG 11 00:00:00', et
;;
;; Compute a set of limb points using light time and
;; stellar aberration corrections. Use both ellipsoid
;; and DSK shape models. Use a step size of 100
;; microradians to ensure we don't miss the limb.
;; Set the convergence tolerance to 100 nanoradians,
;; which will limit the height error to about 1 meter.
;; Compute 3 limb points for each computation method.
;;
schstp = 1.0d-4
soltol = 1.0d-7
ncuts = 3
print
print, 'Observer: ', obsrvr
print, 'Target: ', target
print, 'Frame: ', fixref
print
print, 'Number of cuts: ', ncuts
delrol = cspice_twopi() / ncuts
for i = 0, NMETH-1 do begin
cspice_limbpt, method[i], $
target, et, fixref, $
abcorr, corloc, obsrvr, z, $
delrol, ncuts, schstp, soltol, $
MAXN, npts, points, trgeps, tangts
;;
;; Write the results.
;;
print
print, 'Computation method = ', method[i]
print, 'Locus = ', corloc
start = 0
for j = 0, ncuts-1 do begin
roll = j * delrol
print
print, ' Roll angle (deg) = ', roll * cspice_dpr()
print, ' Target epoch = ', trgeps[j]
print, ' Number of limb points at this roll angle:', $
npts[j]
print, ' Limb points'
for k = 0, npts[j]-1 do begin
print, points[*, k+start]
endfor
start = start + npts[j]
endfor
endfor
print
END
When this program was executed on a Mac/Intel/IDL8.x/64-bit
platform, the output was:
Observer: MARS
Target: PHOBOS
Frame: IAU_PHOBOS
Number of cuts: 3
Computation method = TANGENT/ELLIPSOID
Locus = CENTER
Roll angle (deg) = 0.0000000
Target epoch = 2.7168487e+08
Number of limb points at this roll angle: 1
Limb points
0.016445326 -0.00030611419 9.0999927
Roll angle (deg) = 120.00000
Target epoch = 2.7168487e+08
Number of limb points at this roll angle: 1
Limb points
-0.20428838 -9.2352308 -5.3332377
Roll angle (deg) = 240.00000
Target epoch = 2.7168487e+08
Number of limb points at this roll angle: 1
Limb points
0.24278522 9.2345201 -5.3332313
Computation method = TANGENT/DSK/UNPRIORITIZED
Locus = CENTER
Roll angle (deg) = 0.0000000
Target epoch = 2.7168487e+08
Number of limb points at this roll angle: 1
Limb points
-0.39890167 0.0074251775 9.9737206
Roll angle (deg) = 120.00000
Target epoch = 2.7168487e+08
Number of limb points at this roll angle: 1
Limb points
-0.95930028 -8.5375734 -4.9387004
Roll angle (deg) = 240.00000
Target epoch = 2.7168487e+08
Number of limb points at this roll angle: 1
Limb points
-1.3805367 9.7143340 -5.5929168
Using DSK data
==============
DSK loading and unloading
-------------------------
DSK files providing data used by this routine are loaded by
calling cspice_furnsh and can be unloaded by calling cspice_unload or
cspice_kclear. See the documentation of cspice furnsh for limits on
numbers of loaded DSK files.
For run-time efficiency, it's desirable to avoid frequent
loading and unloading of DSK files. When there is a reason to
use multiple versions of data for a given target body---for
example, if topographic data at varying resolutions are to be
used---the surface list can be used to select DSK data to be
used for a given computation. It is not necessary to unload
the data that are not to be used. This recommendation presumes
that DSKs containing different versions of surface data for a
given body have different surface ID codes.
DSK data priority
-----------------
A DSK coverage overlap occurs when two segments in loaded DSK
files cover part or all of the same domain---for example, a
given longitude-latitude rectangle---and when the time
intervals of the segments overlap as well.
When DSK data selection is prioritized, in case of a coverage
overlap, if the two competing segments are in different DSK
files, the segment in the DSK file loaded last takes
precedence. If the two segments are in the same file, the
segment located closer to the end of the file takes
precedence.
When DSK data selection is unprioritized, data from competing
segments are combined. For example, if two competing segments
both represent a surface as sets of triangular plates, the
union of those sets of plates is considered to represent the
surface.
Currently only unprioritized data selection is supported.
Because prioritized data selection may be the default behavior
in a later version of the routine, the UNPRIORITIZED keyword is
required in the `method' argument.
Syntax of the `method' input argument
-------------------------------------
The keywords and surface list in the `method' argument
are called "clauses." The clauses may appear in any
order, for example
UMBRAL/TANGENT/DSK/UNPRIORITIZED/<surface list>
DSK/UMBRAL/TANGENT/<surface list>/UNPRIORITIZED
UNPRIORITIZED/<surface list>/DSK/TANGENT/UMBRAL
The simplest form of the `method' argument specifying use of
DSK data is one that lacks a surface list, for example:
'PENUMBRAL/TANGENT/DSK/UNPRIORITIZED'
'UMBRAL/GUIDED/DSK/UNPRIORITIZED'
For applications in which all loaded DSK data for the target
body are for a single surface, and there are no competing
segments, the above strings suffice. This is expected to be
the usual case.
When, for the specified target body, there are loaded DSK
files providing data for multiple surfaces for that body, the
surfaces to be used by this routine for a given call must be
specified in a surface list, unless data from all of the
surfaces are to be used together.
The surface list consists of the string
SURFACES =
followed by a comma-separated list of one or more surface
identifiers. The identifiers may be names or integer codes in
string format. For example, suppose we have the surface
names and corresponding ID codes shown below:
Surface Name ID code
------------ -------
"Mars MEGDR 128 PIXEL/DEG" 1
"Mars MEGDR 64 PIXEL/DEG" 2
"Mars_MRO_HIRISE" 3
If data for all of the above surfaces are loaded, then
data for surface 1 can be specified by either
'SURFACES = 1'
or
'SURFACES = "Mars MEGDR 128 PIXEL/DEG"'
Double quotes are used to delimit the surface name because
it contains blank characters.
To use data for surfaces 2 and 3 together, any
of the following surface lists could be used:
'SURFACES = 2, 3'
'SURFACES = "Mars MEGDR 64 PIXEL/DEG", 3'
'SURFACES = 2, Mars_MRO_HIRISE'
'SURFACES = "Mars MEGDR 64 PIXEL/DEG", Mars_MRO_HIRISE'
An example of a `method' argument that could be constructed
using one of the surface lists above is
'NADIR/DSK/UNPRIORITIZED/SURFACES= "Mars MEGDR 64 PIXEL/DEG",3'
1) If the specified aberration correction is unrecognized, an
error is signaled by a routine in the call tree of this
routine.
2) If either the target or observer input strings cannot be
converted to an integer ID code, the error
SPICE(IDCODENOTFOUND) is signaled by a routine in the call
tree of this routine.
3) If `obsrvr' and `target' map to the same NAIF integer ID code, the
error SPICE(BODIESNOTDISTINCT) is signaled by a routine in the
call tree of this routine.
4) If the input target body-fixed frame `fixref' is not recognized,
the error SPICE(NOFRAME) is signaled by a routine in the call
tree of this routine. A frame name may fail to be recognized
because a required frame specification kernel has not been
loaded; another cause is a misspelling of the frame name.
5) If the input frame `fixref' is not centered at the target body,
the error SPICE(INVALIDFRAME) is signaled by a routine in the
call tree of this routine.
6) If the input argument `method' is not recognized, the error
SPICE(INVALIDMETHOD) is signaled by either this routine or a
routine in the call tree of this routine.
7) If `method' contains an invalid limb type, the error
SPICE(INVALIDLIMBTYPE) is signaled by a routine in the call
tree of this routine.
8) If the target and observer have distinct identities but are
at the same location, the error SPICE(NOSEPARATION) is
signaled by a routine in the call tree of this routine.
9) If insufficient ephemeris data have been loaded prior to
calling cspice_limbpt, an error is signaled by a routine in
the call tree of this routine. When light time correction is
used, sufficient ephemeris data must be available to
propagate the states of both observer and target to the solar
system barycenter.
10) If the computation method requires an ellipsoidal target shape
and triaxial radii of the target body have not been loaded
into the kernel pool prior to calling cspice_limbpt, an error is
signaled by a routine in the call tree of this routine.
When the target shape is modeled by topographic data, radii
of the reference triaxial ellipsoid are still required if
the aberration correction locus is ELLIPSOID LIMB or if
the limb point generation method is GUIDED.
11) If the radii are available in the kernel pool but the count
of radii values is not three, the error SPICE(BADRADIUSCOUNT)
is signaled by a routine in the call tree of this routine.
12) If the target body's shape is modeled as an ellipsoid, and if
any of the radii of the target body are non-positive, an error
is signaled by a routine in the call tree of this routine. The
target must be an extended body.
13) If PCK data specifying the target body-fixed frame orientation
have not been loaded prior to calling cspice_limbpt, an error is
signaled by a routine in the call tree of this routine.
14) If `method' specifies that the target surface is represented by
DSK data, and no DSK files are loaded for the specified
target, an error is signaled by a routine in the call tree
of this routine.
15) If the array bound `maxn' is less than 1, the error
SPICE(INVALIDSIZE) is signaled by a routine in the call tree
of this routine.
16) If the number of cutting half-planes specified by `ncuts' is
negative or greater than `maxn', the error SPICE(INVALIDCOUNT)
is signaled by a routine in the call tree of this routine.
17) If the aberration correction locus is not recognized, the
error SPICE(INVALIDLOCUS) is signaled by a routine in the call
tree of this routine.
18) If the aberration correction locus is 'ELLIPSOID LIMB' but
limb type is not 'TANGENT', the error SPICE(BADLIMBLOCUSMIX)
is signaled by a routine in the call tree of this routine.
19) If the reference vector `refvec' is the zero vector, the error
SPICE(ZEROVECTOR) is signaled by a routine in the call tree of
this routine.
20) If the reference vector `refvec' and the observer target vector
are linearly dependent, the error SPICE(DEGENERATECASE) is
signaled by a routine in the call tree of this routine.
21) If the limb computation uses the target ellipsoid limb plane,
and the limb plane normal and reference vector `refvec' are
linearly dependent, the error SPICE(DEGENERATECASE) is
signaled by a routine in the call tree of this routine.
22) If the limb points cannot all be stored in the output `points'
array, the error SPICE(OUTOFROOM) is signaled by a routine in
the call tree of this routine.
23) If the surface is represented by DSK data, and if the search
step is non-positive, the error SPICE(INVALIDSEARCHSTEP) is
signaled by a routine in the call tree of this routine.
24) If the surface is represented by DSK data, and if the search
tolerance is non-positive, the error SPICE(INVALIDTOLERANCE)
is signaled by a routine in the call tree of this routine.
25) If the roll step is non-positive and `ncuts' is greater than 1,
the error SPICE(INVALIDROLLSTEP) is signaled by a routine in
the call tree of this routine.
26) If any of the input arguments, `method', `target', `et',
`fixref', `abcorr', `corloc', `obsrvr', `refvec', `rolstp',
`ncuts', `schstp', `soltol' or `maxn', is undefined, an error
is signaled by the IDL error handling system.
27) If any of the input arguments, `method', `target', `et',
`fixref', `abcorr', `corloc', `obsrvr', `refvec', `rolstp',
`ncuts', `schstp', `soltol' or `maxn', is not of the expected
type, or it does not have the expected dimensions and size, an
error is signaled by the Icy interface.
28) If any of the output arguments, `npts', `points', `epochs' or
`tangts', is not a named variable, an error is signaled by the
Icy interface.
Appropriate kernels must be loaded by the calling program before
this routine is called.
The following data are required:
- SPK data: ephemeris data for target and observer must be
loaded. If aberration corrections are used, the states of
target and observer relative to the solar system barycenter
must be calculable from the available ephemeris data.
Typically ephemeris data are made available by loading one
or more SPK files via cspice_furnsh.
- Target body orientation data: these may be provided in a text
or binary PCK file. In some cases, target body orientation
may be provided by one more more CK files. In either case,
data are made available by loading the files via cspice_furnsh.
- Shape data for the target body:
PCK data:
If the target body shape is modeled as an ellipsoid,
triaxial radii for the target body must be loaded into
the kernel pool. Typically this is done by loading a
text PCK file via cspice_furnsh.
Triaxial radii are also needed if the target shape is
modeled by DSK data but one or both of the GUIDED limb
definition method or the ELLIPSOID LIMB aberration
correction locus are selected.
DSK data:
If the target shape is modeled by DSK data, DSK files
containing topographic data for the target body must be
loaded. If a surface list is specified, data for at
least one of the listed surfaces must be loaded.
The following data may be required:
- Frame data: if a frame definition is required to convert the
observer and target states to the body-fixed frame of the
target, that definition must be available in the kernel
pool. Typically the definition is supplied by loading a
frame kernel via cspice_furnsh.
- Surface name-ID associations: if surface names are specified
in `method', the association of these names with their
corresponding surface ID codes must be established by
assignments of the kernel variables
NAIF_SURFACE_NAME
NAIF_SURFACE_CODE
NAIF_SURFACE_BODY
Normally these associations are made by loading a text
kernel containing the necessary assignments. An example
of such a set of assignments is
NAIF_SURFACE_NAME += 'Mars MEGDR 128 PIXEL/DEG'
NAIF_SURFACE_CODE += 1
NAIF_SURFACE_BODY += 499
- SCLK data: if the target body's orientation is provided by
CK files, an associated SCLK kernel must be loaded.
In all cases, kernel data are normally loaded once per program
run, NOT every time this routine is called.
1) The light time approximations made by this routine may be
unsuitable for some observation geometries. For example, when
computing the limb of Mars as seen from the Earth, the
tangent vectors returned by this routine may be in error by
several km due to the light time error.
ICY.REQ
ABCORR.REQ
CK.REQ
DSK.REQ
FRAMES.REQ
NAIF_IDS.REQ
PCK.REQ
SPK.REQ
TIME.REQ
None.
N.J. Bachman (JPL)
J. Diaz del Rio (ODC Space)
M. Liukis (JPL)
E.D. Wright (JPL)
-Icy Version 2.0.0, 01-NOV-2021 (NJB) (JDR)
Added support for transmission aberration corrections.
Corrected description of iteration count for non-converged
corrections.
Changed the variable name used for light time to "ltime" in the
header comments.
Edited the header to comply with NAIF standard.
Added -Parameters, -Exceptions, -Files, -Restrictions,
-Literature_References and -Author_and_Institution sections.
Removed reference to the routine's corresponding CSPICE header from
-Abstract section.
Added arguments' type and size information in the -I/O section.
-Icy Version 1.0.0, 15-DEC-2016 (ML) (EDW)
find limb points on target body
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