Install calceph with Homebrew, apt, dnf, Nix

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• calceph_inspector
• calceph_queryorientation
• calceph_queryposition

Project history

The IMCCE project page describes CALCEPH as a library designed to access binary planetary ephemeris files, including INPOPxx, JPL DExxx, and SPICE files. The official release notes begin with version 1.0.0 as the initial release and show a steady expansion from C/Fortran access into SPICE support, Python bindings, Octave/Matlab support, Sphinx documentation, and CMake builds.

Version 2.0.0 was a major technical step: it added SPICE kernel support, `calceph_inspector`, multiple-file opening, unit-aware computation, and performance improvements. Later releases added Python support in 2.3.0, INPOP format 3.0 support and Sphinx documentation in 3.0.0, Octave/Matlab support in 3.1.0, thread-safety reporting and additional SPICE segment support in 3.4.x, and CMake in 4.0.0.

Adoption history

CALCEPH is adopted in astronomy and astrodynamics workflows where reproducible package installation matters as much as numerical correctness. The official page lists source downloads, the GitLab development repository, IMCCE package instructions, PyPI packaging for the Python interface, Homebrew on macOS, vcpkg and MSYS2 on Windows, FreeBSD, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora/RHEL/Rocky, Arch, and openSUSE-related packaging references.

Because it supports INPOP, JPL DE, and SPICE data, CALCEPH sits between institutional ephemeris producers and downstream scientific applications. Its package adoption is therefore less about general CLI popularity and more about making a specialized, tested library available across research operating systems.

How it is used

Developers link against the C or Fortran library, use the Python module, or call the Octave/Matlab interface to compute positions, velocities, orientations, time spans, constants, and metadata from ephemeris files. The Homebrew package also exposes inspection and query tools such as `calceph_inspector`, `calceph_queryposition`, and `calceph_queryorientation`.

Typical use is non-interactive scientific computation: install the library, obtain ephemeris files, open one or more files through CALCEPH, and query bodies, frames, or constants at requested epochs.

Why package nerds care

CALCEPH is significant because it packages a domain-specific binary data reader with ABI/API commitments across several language bindings. For scientific package maintainers, that means compilers, Fortran interfaces, Python/Cython compatibility, Octave/Matlab integration, and ephemeris-file correctness all matter in one small package.

It also demonstrates why niche packages deserve history: a formula like `calceph` encodes a long chain of institutional data formats, space-science standards, and cross-platform binary compatibility work.

Timeline

• 1.0.0: Initial CALCEPH release.
• 1.0.3: Added support for JPL ephemeris file DE423.
• 2.0.0: Added SPICE kernel support, multiple-file access, `calceph_inspector`, and performance improvements.
• 2.3.0: Added the Python interface for Python 2.6+ and Python 3.
• 3.0.0: Added INPOP file format 3.0 support and Sphinx-generated documentation.
• 3.1.0: Added Octave 4.0+ and Matlab 2017+ Mex interface.
• 4.0.0: Switched to CMake, with source compatibility but potential binary ABI breakage.
• 2025: IMCCE page lists CALCEPH 4.0.5 as the latest stable source release.

Related projects

• Related projects and data families include INPOP, JPL DE ephemerides, NAIF SPICE kernels, NASA SPICE tooling, astropy-adjacent Python astronomy workflows, and other ephemeris readers used in celestial mechanics and mission-analysis software.

Sources

• https://calceph.imcce.fr/docs/latest/html/c/calceph.final.html
• https://calceph.imcce.fr/documentations/latest/
• https://gitlab.obspm.fr/imcce_calceph/calceph
• https://www.imcce.fr/inpop/calceph