Vedika Ephemeris API Guide: NASA-Grade Calculations

What is Vedika Ephemeris?

Vedika Ephemeris is our own high-precision astronomical engine, open-sourced as XALEN Ephemeris (Apache-2.0). It computes planetary positions from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) ephemeris data and is validated against JPL DE440 across millions of test charts. Vedika API runs it on our servers, giving you access via simple REST calls without needing local ephemeris files.

Why Use an API?

Get Planetary Positions

// Get planetary positions for a specific moment
const response = await fetch('https://api.vedika.io/v2/astrology/planets', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
        datetime: '2026-01-15T12:00:00Z',
        ayanamsa: 'lahiri' // Optional: for sidereal positions
    })
});

const planets = await response.json();

// Response:
{
    "julianDay": 2460690.0,
    "ayanamsa": 24.1847,
    "planets": [
        {
            "id": 0,
            "name": "Sun",
            "longitude": 294.7823,
            "latitude": 0.0001,
            "distance": 0.9836,
            "speedLongitude": 1.0195,
            "retrograde": false,
            "sign": "Capricorn",
            "signDegree": 24.7823,
            "nakshatra": "Dhanishta",
            "nakshatraPada": 2
        },
        {
            "id": 1,
            "name": "Moon",
            "longitude": 156.4521,
            "latitude": -4.2341,
            "distance": 0.0027,
            "speedLongitude": 13.1765,
            "retrograde": false,
            "sign": "Virgo",
            "signDegree": 6.4521,
            "nakshatra": "Uttara Phalguni",
            "nakshatraPada": 3
        }
        // ... all planets
    ]
}

Supported Celestial Bodies

Ayanamsa Options

// Get positions with different ayanamsa systems
const lahiri = await vedika.planets({
    datetime: '2026-01-15T12:00:00Z',
    ayanamsa: 'lahiri' // Default for Vedic astrology
});

const tropical = await vedika.planets({
    datetime: '2026-01-15T12:00:00Z',
    ayanamsa: 'none' // Western/Tropical zodiac
});

// Supported ayanamsas:
// - lahiri (default)
// - raman
// - krishnamurti (KP)
// - fagan_bradley
// - true_chitra
// - galactic_center
// - none (tropical)

House Calculations

// Get house cusps for a location
const houses = await fetch('https://api.vedika.io/v2/astrology/houses', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
        datetime: '2026-01-15T12:00:00Z',
        latitude: 28.6139,
        longitude: 77.2090,
        houseSystem: 'placidus' // or 'whole_sign', 'equal', 'koch'
    })
});

// Response includes:
// - ascendant
// - midheaven (MC)
// - 12 house cusps
// - vertex
// - part of fortune

Accuracy Comparison