Skyscript Astrology Forum

Hi,

Circling the Square

I am playing around with setting up Astro data on my PC.

I get to the point where I need to make calculations that need to handle the fact that 0 degrees comes after 360 degrees.

And that is prett well where I get stuck.

The example would be you are calculating an aspect for example 180 degrees and the orb will fall from 355 to 005 degrees.

How is that handled.

H

By subtracting 180 from both sides of the equation.

For example if Mars is at 355 Pisces and the Sun at 6 Aries...

355 - 180 = 175
6 - 180 = -174 (add 360 to bring within range)
-174 + 360 = 186

186 - 175 = 11

I assume you are programming and if so you will need a routine to bring the degrees within range whenever you add or subtract.

When dealing with synods it is best to regard one planet (usually the slower) as being at the zero degree of its own zodiac. For instance, lets say that Saturn is at 303.5 degrees (3.5 Aquarius) and the other (Jupiter) is at 336.5 (6.5 Pisces). What you do is subtract Saturn's position from itself so that it comes to zero:

303.5 - 303.5 = 0

Now subtract Saturn's position from Jupiter

336.5 - 303.5 = 33

If for some reason you end up with a negative number, then add 360 so that the result falls within range.