Computational Ephemeris Standards & Classical Sanskrit Textology
Astrowikipedia enforces a strict two-layer verification standard: every astronomical coordinate is derived from National Aeronautics and Space Administration Jet Propulsion Laboratory (DE441) numerical integration via Swiss Ephemeris (SEFLG_SWIEPH | SEFLG_SIDEREAL), and every interpretive rule is anchored to a verifiable chapter and verse across 18 primary Sanskrit treatises.
For any Julian Ephemeris Day (JDE), true sidereal longitude λsid is computed as (λtrop(JDE) − ALahiri(JDE)) mod 360°, where ALahiri is the official Indian Calendar Reform Committee Chitrapaksha Ayanamsha (SE_SIDM_LAHIRI), calibrated so that the star Chitra (α Virginis / Spica) stands at 180° 00' 00" (0° Tula).
| Astronomical Parameter | Standard Implemented in Codex | Precision / Classical Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Ephemeris Integration | DE441 / Swiss Ephemeris 2.10.03 |
±0.001 arc-seconds (13,000 Before Common Era – 17,000 Common Era) |
| Ayanamsha Reference | Chitrapaksha Lahiri (SE_SIDM_LAHIRI) |
24° 13' 18" at Epoch 2026.83 (Surya Siddhanta Chapter 8) |
| Lunar Nodes (Rahu & Ketu) | True Osculating Node (SE_TRUE_NODE) + Mean Differential |
Exact 180°00'00" opposition (Parashara Hora Chapter 3) |
| Sunrise & Vara Boundary | Center of Solar Disk at Apparent Horizon (Atmospheric Refraction) | Topocentric geographic latitude/longitude (Muhurta Chintamani) |
| Divisional Harmonics (Vargas) | 16 Shodashavarga (D1 Rashi to D60 Shashtiamsa) |
Parashari standard (Parashara Hora Chapters 6–8) |
The 18-Treatise Reference Corpus (17,136 Indexed Passages)
To eliminate the citation hallucinations common to general-purpose language models, the Astrowikipedia Editorial Collegium maintains a structured philological corpus (jyotish_corpus_core_v3) covering 18 classical works across 24 scholarly editions.
During corpus compilation, 18,729 candidate segments were filtered through automated optical character recognition noise removal, shingle deduplication, and verse-number extraction, yielding 17,136 verified passages. Of these, 16,180 (94.42%) carry verified chapter numbers, 9,152 (53.41%) carry explicit shloka numbers, and 16,250 (94.83%) are classified across nine taxonomic families: Planets (11,109), Houses (6,331), Topics (14,252), Vargas (4,649), Nakshatras (2,031), Strength / Shadbala (5,537), Jaimini (627), Tajika (37), and Ashtakoota Kutas (36).
Three-Desk Peer Review Protocol
Positional Ephemeris Desk
Verifies all ecliptic longitudes, retrograde stations, combustion orbs, and Shadbala tables against Swiss Ephemeris numerical output.
Sanskrit Textology Desk
Audits every treatise citation against the 18-work corpus, preserving fair-use quote bounds (≤ 50 words for modern translations, ≤ 110 words for public domain editions).
Comparative Horoscopy Desk
Maps the structural divergence between Western Tropical horoscopy, Parashari Jyotish, Jaimini Upadesha Sutras, and Tajika Varshaphala.
Almanac Light & Astra Dark Design System
Astrowikipedia implements the unified brass-and-verdigris visual geometry modeled after historical astronomical instruments on vellum ephemeris folios. Both the Almanac (light) and Astra (dark) themes maintain Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1 AA) contrast ratios (≥ 4.5:1 on both page and card surfaces), respect prefers-color-scheme on initial visit without flash, and honor prefers-reduced-motion across all vector chart animations.