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starward v0.4.0: Deep Sky

· 3 min read
Oddur Sigurdsson
Oddur Sigurdsson
Creator of starward

The universe expands in starward v0.4.0. Five major astronomical catalogs join the toolkit, bringing thousands of deep-sky objects within reach of your terminal.

Deep Sky Catalogs​

Messier Catalog​

The classic list of 110 objects that every amateur astronomer knows:

# Look up the Andromeda Galaxy
starward messier M31

# Or just the number
starward messier 31

# The Orion Nebula
starward messier M42 --verbose

With --verbose, you'll see coordinates, object type, constellation, magnitude, and observational notes.

NGC Catalog​

The New General Catalogue with nearly 8,000 deep-sky objects:

# The North America Nebula
starward ngc 7000

# The Crab Nebula
starward ngc 1952

IC Catalog​

The Index Catalogue extends NGC with 5,386 additional objects:

# IC 434 (Horsehead Nebula region)
starward ic 434

Caldwell Catalog​

Patrick Moore's selection of 109 objects visible from both hemispheres:

# C14 - The Double Cluster
starward caldwell 14

# C49 - The Rosette Nebula
starward caldwell 49

Hipparcos Catalog​

Over 118,000 stars with precise positions and magnitudes:

# Look up a star by Hipparcos number
starward hipparcos 32349  # Sirius

# Search by name
starward hipparcos --name "Vega"

Searching Across Catalogs​

Find objects by name or type across all catalogs:

# Search by name
starward search "orion"

# Filter by object type
starward search --type galaxy
starward search --type "planetary nebula"

# Combine filters
starward search "ring" --type nebula

Python API​

All catalogs are accessible programmatically:

from starward.catalogs import messier, ngc, hipparcos

# Get M31
m31 = messier.get(31)
print(f"{m31.name}: {m31.coords}")

# Search NGC
galaxies = ngc.search(object_type="galaxy", mag_limit=10.0)

# Hipparcos lookup
sirius = hipparcos.get(32349)
print(f"{sirius.name}: mag {sirius.magnitude}")

Observation Planning​

Combine catalogs with visibility calculations:

# What Messier objects are up tonight?
starward messier list --tonight --observer "Home"

# Best NGC galaxies for my location
starward ngc search --type galaxy --altitude-min 30

Data Sources​

Each catalog is built from authoritative sources:

CatalogObjectsSource
Messier110SEDS Messier Database
NGC7,840NGC/IC Project
IC5,386NGC/IC Project
Caldwell109Patrick Moore's list
Hipparcos118,218ESA Hipparcos Catalogue

Educational Value​

True to starward's philosophy, each catalog lookup can show you how the data is structured:

starward messier M1 --verbose

See the object's coordinates in multiple systems, cross-references to other catalogs, and historical notes about discovery.

Getting Started​

pip install --upgrade starward

Explore the Catalogs Guide for complete documentation.

What's Next​

With the foundation of positions, ephemerides, and catalogs complete, future releases will focus on observation planning tools and visualization. The stars await.