[SOLVED] Is there a way to calculate transit times in Skyfield?

Is there a way to calculate transit times in Skyfield?

Skyfield currently offers a way to calculate rising and setting times of bodies. Does it offer a way to calculate the transit time of bodies?

Solution

Edit: Yes! Skyfield now directly supports transits, as described in a new section of its documentation:

https://rhodesmill.org/skyfield/almanac.html#meridian-transits

An example script:

from skyfield import api
from skyfield import almanac

bluffton = api.Topos('40.8939 N', '83.8917 W')

ts = api.load.timescale()
t0 = ts.utc(2020, 11, 6)
t1 = ts.utc(2020, 11, 7)

eph = api.load('de421.bsp')
f = almanac.meridian_transits(eph, eph['Mars'], bluffton)
t, y = almanac.find_discrete(t0, t1, f)

print(t.utc_strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M'))
print(y)
print([almanac.MERIDIAN_TRANSITS[yi] for yi in y])

And its output:

['2020-11-06 03:32', '2020-11-06 15:30']
[1 0]
['Meridian transit', 'Antimeridian transit']