commons-suncalc

A Java library for calculation of sun and moon positions and phases.

The source code can be found at GitHub and is distributed under the terms of Apache License 2.0.

Accuracy

Astronomical calculations are far more complex than throwing a few numbers into an obscure formula and then getting a fully accurate result. There is always a tradeoff between accuracy and computing time.

This library has its focus on getting acceptable results at low cost, so it can also run on mobile devices, or devices with a low computing power. The results have an accuracy of about a minute, which should be good enough for common applications (like sunrise/sunset timers), but is probably not sufficient for astronomical purposes.

Dependencies and Requirements

commons-suncalc requires at least Java 8, but has no other runtime dependencies. It can also be used on Android, API level 26 (Android 8.0 "Oreo") or higher.

Note

For Android versions before API level 26, please use commons-suncalc v2. It is similar to this version, but does not use the Java Date/Time API. Also see the commons-suncalc v2 documentation.

Installation

commons-suncalc is available at Maven Central. Just add this snippet to your pom.xml:

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.shredzone.commons</groupId>
  <artifactId>commons-suncalc</artifactId>
  <version>$version</version>
</dependency>

Or use this snippet in your build.gradle (e.g. in Android Studio):

dependencies {
    compile('org.shredzone.commons:commons-suncalc:$version')
}

Replace $version with your desired version. The latest version is: maven central

Java Module

Add this line to your module descriptor:

requires org.shredzone.commons.suncalc;

References

This library bases on:

  • "Astronomy on the Personal Computer", 4th edition, by Oliver Montenbruck and Thomas Pfleger
  • "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus

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License

commons-suncalc is open source software. The source code is distributed under the terms of Apache License 2.0.