Brightness ratio
API · /starmagnitude-api
Star Magnitude & Distance API
Stellar magnitude and distance maths as an API, computed locally and deterministically. The magnitude endpoint works the distance modulus, m − M = 5·log₁₀(d/pc) − 5 — give any two of the apparent magnitude m, the absolute magnitude M and the distance and it returns the third, with the distance in parsecs, light-years and astronomical units (the absolute magnitude is the apparent magnitude a star would have at 10 parsecs). The flux endpoint applies Pogson's relation to turn a magnitude difference into a brightness ratio, F₁/F₂ = 10^(0.4·(m₂ − m₁)), where five magnitudes is exactly a hundredfold change in brightness — from two magnitudes, a magnitude difference or a ratio. The parallax endpoint converts a parallax angle into a distance, d(pc) = 1 ÷ p(arcseconds), and back, the geometric method behind the parsec itself. Everything is computed locally and deterministically, so it is instant and private. Ideal for astronomy-education, planetarium, stargazing and science app developers, observing and astrophysics tools, and STEM teaching. Pure local computation — no key, no third-party service, instant. Live, nothing stored. 3 endpoints. This is stellar magnitude and distance; for orbital mechanics use an orbital API and for great-circle distances on Earth a geo-distance API.
API health
healthy- Uptime
- 100.00%
- Server probes · 24h
- Avg latency
- 75 ms
- Server probes · 24h
- Subscribers
- 3,856
- active
- Total calls
- 80
- last 7 days
Pricing
Pick a tier — billed monthly, cancel anytime.
Free
Free
- 3,000 calls / month
- 2 requests / second
- Hard cap (429 above quota, no overage)
- Apparent ↔ absolute magnitude via distance modulus m−M=5·log₁₀(d/pc)
- Parallax → distance in parsecs and light-years
- JSON responses, no API-data charges
Starter
€5.00 /month
- 40,000 calls / month
- 5 requests / second
- Hard cap (429 above quota, no overage)
- All magnitude & distance endpoints
- Parsec / light-year / AU unit conversions
- Deterministic results for classroom and lab use
- Email support
Pro
€15.00 /month
- 250,500 calls / month
- 15 requests / second
- Hard cap (429 above quota, no overage)
- Higher throughput for catalog batch jobs
- Distance modulus + parallax + extinction-aware magnitude
- Bulk-friendly low-latency local compute
- Priority support
Mega
€49.00 /month
- 1,608,000 calls / month
- 40 requests / second
- Hard cap (429 above quota, no overage)
- Maximum quota for survey-scale pipelines
- Full stellar magnitude & distance toolkit
- Highest rate limit for parallel workloads
- Priority support + SLA
Built by
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Meteorites API
NASA's catalogue of 45,000+ meteorites recovered on Earth as an API. For each meteorite: its name, NASA id, classification (recclass, e.g. L5, Iron), mass in grams, whether it was seen to fall or simply found, the year, and the latitude/longitude where it was recovered. Look one up by name or id, find the meteorites NEAR any coordinate (great-circle distance), rank by mass or year, list a classification or year, or search. Great for space, education, mapping and museum apps. Distinct from asteroids and close-approach data — these are rocks already on the ground.
api.oanor.com/meteorites-api
Constellations API
The 88 modern IAU constellations as an API — the reference an astronomy app, planetarium or education tool needs. For each constellation: its official IAU abbreviation, English name, the Latin genitive used when naming stars (e.g. "Alpha Andromedae"), a size rank, the approximate centre in equatorial coordinates (right ascension / declination) and the constellation name in roughly 25 languages. Look one up by abbreviation or name, search across every language, find which constellation a sky position falls nearest to, or list them all. Distinct from stars-api (individual stars) — this is the reference for the constellations themselves. Served from memory — always fast.
api.oanor.com/constellations-api
Observatory Codes API
The IAU Minor Planet Center list of observatory codes as an API — every site the MPC uses to identify a telescope when it publishes astrometric observations of asteroids and comets. For each of 2,700+ codes: the 3-character code, the observatory name, its east longitude and the parallax constants (rho·cos φ', rho·sin φ'). From those constants the API derives each site's geocentric latitude and a -180..180 longitude, so you can find the observatories nearest any point on Earth with a great-circle (haversine) search. Look one up by code, search by name, list them all, or find the closest sites to a latitude/longitude. Distinct from telescope-api (optics maths) — this is the registry of real observing sites and where they are. Served from memory — always fast.
api.oanor.com/observatories-api
Sundial API
Sundial gnomonics maths as an API, computed locally and deterministically — the hour-line, gnomon and longitude-correction numbers a dial maker, horologist or astronomy hobbyist lays a sundial out with. The hour-line-angle endpoint gives the angle of each hour line on the dial plate, measured from the noon line: for a horizontal dial tan(angle) = sin(latitude) × tan(hour angle), and for a vertical south-facing dial cos(latitude) is used instead, where the hour angle is 15° per hour from solar noon. At 50° latitude the 1-o'clock line sits about 11.6° from noon rather than 15° — the lines bunch near noon and spread toward the ends, which is exactly why a sundial's hours are unevenly spaced. The gnomon endpoint gives the style angle: the gnomon's shadow-casting edge must point at the celestial pole, so it rises at the latitude angle on a horizontal dial (50° at 50° N) and at 90° − latitude on a vertical dial — get this wrong and the dial keeps correct time at only one season. The longitude-correction endpoint converts the dial's local apparent time to clock time: 4 minutes of time per degree of longitude, correction = 4 × (reference meridian − local longitude), so a dial at 7.5° E on Central European Time reads 30 minutes slow versus the clock. Everything is computed locally and deterministically, so it is instant and private. Ideal for sundial-design and gnomonics tools, astronomy-education and maker apps, and horology calculators. Pure local computation — no key, no third-party service, instant. Add the equation of time for full clock accuracy. 3 compute endpoints. For the sun's position use a solar-position API; for sunrise and sunset a sunrise API.
api.oanor.com/sundial-api
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about pricing, quotas, and integration.
How do I get an API key for Star Magnitude & Distance API?
What's the rate limit for Star Magnitude & Distance API?
How much does Star Magnitude & Distance API cost?
Can I cancel my subscription anytime?
Is Star Magnitude & Distance API GDPR-compliant?
Pick an endpoint from the list on the left to see its details and try it.
Code snippets
Sign up to get an API key, then call any path under your slug.
curl https://api.oanor.com/starmagnitude-api/SOME_PATH \
-H "x-oanor-key: oanor_test_..."
const res = await fetch("https://api.oanor.com/starmagnitude-api/SOME_PATH", {
headers: { "x-oanor-key": "oanor_test_..." }
});
const data = await res.json();
$ch = curl_init("https://api.oanor.com/starmagnitude-api/SOME_PATH");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, ["x-oanor-key: oanor_test_..."]);
$response = curl_exec($ch);
import requests
r = requests.get(
"https://api.oanor.com/starmagnitude-api/SOME_PATH",
headers={"x-oanor-key": "oanor_test_..."},
)
print(r.json())
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