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sincpt_c
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Procedure
Abstract
Required_Reading
Keywords
Brief_I/O
Detailed_Input
Detailed_Output
Parameters
Exceptions
Files
Particulars
Examples
Restrictions
Literature_References
Author_and_Institution
Version
Index_Entries

Procedure

   void sincpt_c ( ConstSpiceChar      * method,
                   ConstSpiceChar      * target,
                   SpiceDouble           et,
                   ConstSpiceChar      * fixref,
                   ConstSpiceChar      * abcorr,
                   ConstSpiceChar      * obsrvr,
                   ConstSpiceChar      * dref,
                   ConstSpiceDouble      dvec   [3],
                   SpiceDouble           spoint [3],
                   SpiceDouble         * trgepc,
                   SpiceDouble           srfvec [3],
                   SpiceBoolean        * found       )

Abstract

 
   Given an observer and a direction vector defining a ray, compute 
   the surface intercept of the ray on a target body at a specified 
   epoch, optionally corrected for light time and stellar 
   aberration. 
 
   The surface of the target body may be represented by a triaxial 
   ellipsoid or by topographic data provided by DSK files. 
 
   This routine supersedes srfxpt_c. 
 

Required_Reading

   CK 
   DSK 
   FRAMES 
   NAIF_IDS 
   PCK
   SCLK 
   SPK 
   TIME 
 

Keywords

 
   GEOMETRY 
 

Brief_I/O

 
   Variable  I/O  Description 
   --------  ---  -------------------------------------------------- 
   method     I   Computation method. 
   target     I   Name of target body. 
   et         I   Epoch in TDB seconds past J2000 TDB. 
   fixref     I   Body-fixed, body-centered target body frame. 
   abcorr     I   Aberration correction flag. 
   obsrvr     I   Name of observing body. 
   dref       I   Reference frame of ray's direction vector. 
   dvec       I   Ray's direction vector. 
   spoint     O   Surface intercept point on the target body. 
   trgepc     O   Intercept epoch. 
   srfvec     O   Vector from observer to intercept point. 
   found      O   Flag indicating whether intercept was found. 
 

Detailed_Input

 
   method      is a short string providing parameters defining 
               the computation method to be used. In the syntax 
               descriptions below, items delimited by brackets 
               are optional. 
               
               `method' may be assigned the following values:    
 
                  "ELLIPSOID" 
  
                     The intercept computation uses a triaxial 
                     ellipsoid to model the surface of the target 
                     body. The ellipsoid's radii must be available 
                     in the kernel pool. 
 
 
                  "DSK/UNPRIORITIZED[/SURFACES = <surface list>]" 
 
                     The intercept computation uses topographic data 
                     to model the surface of the target body. These 
                     data must be provided by loaded DSK files. 
 
                     The surface list specification is optional. The 
                     syntax of the list is 
 
                        <surface 1> [, <surface 2>...] 
 
                     If present, it indicates that data only for the 
                     listed surfaces are to be used; however, data 
                     need not be available for all surfaces in the 
                     list. If absent, loaded DSK data for any surface 
                     associated with the target body are used. 
 
                     The surface list may contain surface names or 
                     surface ID codes. Names containing blanks must 
                     be delimited by escaped double quotes, for example 
 
                        "SURFACES = \"Mars MEGDR 128 PIXEL/DEG\"" 
                                        
                     If multiple surfaces are specified, their names 
                     or IDs must be separated by commas. 
 
                     See the Particulars section below for details 
                     concerning use of DSK data. 
 
 
               Neither case nor white space are significant in 
               `method', except within double-quoted strings. For 
               example, the string " eLLipsoid " is valid. 
 
               Within double-quoted strings, blank characters are 
               significant, but multiple consecutive blanks are 
               considered equivalent to a single blank. Case is  
               not significant. So 
 
                  "Mars MEGDR 128 PIXEL/DEG" 
 
               is equivalent to  
 
                  " mars megdr  128  pixel/deg " 
 
               but not to 
 
                  "MARS MEGDR128PIXEL/DEG" 
  
                
   target      is the name of the target body. `target' is 
               case-insensitive, and leading and trailing blanks in 
               `target' are not significant. Optionally, you may 
               supply a string containing the integer ID code  
               for the object. For example both "MOON" and "301" 
               are legitimate strings that indicate the moon is the 
               target body. 
 
               When the target body's surface is represented by a 
               tri-axial ellipsoid, this routine assumes that a 
               kernel variable representing the ellipsoid's radii is 
               present in the kernel pool. Normally the kernel 
               variable would be defined by loading a PCK file. 
 
 
   et          is the epoch of participation of the observer, expressed
               as TDB seconds past J2000 TDB: `et' is the epoch at
               which the observer's state is computed.
 
               When aberration corrections are not used, `et' is also 
               the epoch at which the state and orientation of the 
               target body are computed. 
 
               When aberration corrections are used, the position 
               and orientation of the target body are computed at 
               et-lt or et+lt, where `lt' is the one-way light time 
               between the intercept point and the observer, and the 
               sign applied to `lt' depends on the selected 
               correction. See the description of `abcorr' below for 
               details. 
 
                                 
   fixref      is the name of a body-fixed reference frame centered 
               on the target body. `fixref' may be any such frame 
               supported by the SPICE system, including built-in 
               frames (documented in the Frames Required Reading) 
               and frames defined by a loaded frame kernel (FK). The 
               string `fixref' is case-insensitive, and leading and 
               trailing blanks in `fixref' are not significant. 
 
               The output intercept point `spoint' and the observer-to- 
               intercept vector `srfvec' will be expressed relative to 
               this reference frame. 
 
 
   abcorr      indicates the aberration corrections to be applied 
               when computing the target's position and orientation. 
 
               For remote sensing applications, where the apparent 
               surface intercept point seen by the observer is 
               desired, normally the correction 
             
                  "CN+S" 
    
               should be used. This and the other supported options 
               are described below. `abcorr' may be any of the  
               following: 
 
                  "NONE"     Apply no correction. Return the  
                             geometric surface intercept point on the 
                             target body. 
 
               Let `lt' represent the one-way light time between the 
               observer and the surface intercept point (note: NOT 
               between the observer and the target body's center). 
               The following values of `abcorr' apply to the 
               "reception" case in which photons depart from the 
               intercept point's location at the light-time 
               corrected epoch et-lt and *arrive* at the observer's 
               location at `et': 
 
                  "LT"       Correct for one-way light time (also 
                             called "planetary aberration") using a 
                             Newtonian formulation. This correction 
                             yields the location of the surface 
                             intercept point at the moment it 
                             emitted photons arriving at the 
                             observer at `et'. 
  
                             The light time correction uses an 
                             iterative solution of the light time 
                             equation. The solution invoked by the 
                             "LT" option uses one iteration. 
 
                             Both the target position as seen by the 
                             observer, and rotation of the target 
                             body, are corrected for light time. 
 
                  "LT+S"     Correct for one-way light time and 
                             stellar aberration using a Newtonian 
                             formulation. This option modifies the 
                             surface intercept obtained with the 
                             "LT" option to account for the 
                             observer's velocity relative to the 
                             solar system barycenter. These 
                             computations yield the apparent surface 
                             intercept point. 
 
                  "CN"       Converged Newtonian light time 
                             correction. In solving the light time 
                             equation, the "CN" correction iterates 
                             until the solution converges. Both the 
                             position and rotation of the target 
                             body are corrected for light time. 
 
                  "CN+S"     Converged Newtonian light time and 
                             stellar aberration corrections. This 
                             option produces a solution that is at 
                             least as accurate at that obtainable 
                             with the "LT+S" option. Whether the 
                             "CN+S" solution is substantially more 
                             accurate depends on the geometry of the 
                             participating objects and on the 
                             accuracy of the input data. In all 
                             cases this routine will execute more 
                             slowly when a converged solution is 
                             computed. 
 
                             For reception-case applications 
                             involving intercepts near the target 
                             body limb, this option should be used. 
 
               The following values of `abcorr' apply to the 
               "transmission" case in which photons *depart* from 
               the observer's location at `et' and arrive at the 
               intercept point at the light-time corrected epoch 
               et+lt: 
 
                  "XLT"      "Transmission" case: correct for 
                             one-way light time using a Newtonian 
                             formulation. This correction yields the 
                             intercept location at the moment it 
                             receives photons emitted from the 
                             observer's location at `et'.  
 
                             The light time correction uses an 
                             iterative solution of the light time 
                             equation. The solution invoked by the 
                             "XLT" option uses one iteration. 
 
                             Both the target position as seen by the 
                             observer, and rotation of the target 
                             body, are corrected for light time. 
 
                  "XLT+S"    "Transmission" case: correct for 
                             one-way light time and stellar 
                             aberration using a Newtonian 
                             formulation. This option modifies the 
                             intercept obtained with the "XLT" 
                             option to account for the observer's 
                             velocity relative to the solar system 
                             barycenter. 
 
                  "XCN"      Converged Newtonian light time 
                             correction. This is the same as "XLT" 
                             correction but with further iterations 
                             to a converged Newtonian light time 
                             solution.  
 
                  "XCN+S"    "Transmission" case: converged 
                             Newtonian light time and stellar 
                             aberration corrections. This option 
                             produces a solution that is at least as 
                             accurate at that obtainable with the 
                             "XLT+S" option. Whether the "XCN+S" 
                             solution is substantially more accurate 
                             depends on the geometry of the 
                             participating objects and on the 
                             accuracy of the input data. In all 
                             cases this routine will execute more 
                             slowly when a converged solution is 
                             computed. 
 
                             For transmission-case applications 
                             involving intercepts near the target 
                             body limb, this option should be used. 
 
              Case and embedded blanks are not significant in 
              `abcorr'. For example, the string 
 
                 "Cn + s" 
 
               is valid. 
 
 
   obsrvr      is the name of the observing body. This is typically 
               a spacecraft, the earth, or a surface point on the 
               earth. `obsrvr' is case-insensitive, and leading and 
               trailing blanks in `obsrvr' are not significant. 
               Optionally, you may supply a string containing the 
               integer ID code for the object. For example both 
               "MOON" and "301" are legitimate strings that indicate 
               the moon is the observer. 
 
 
   dref        is the name of the reference frame relative to which 
               the ray's direction vector is expressed. This may be 
               any frame supported by the SPICE system, including 
               built-in frames (documented in the Frames Required 
               Reading) and frames defined by a loaded frame kernel 
               (FK). The string `dref' is case-insensitive, and 
               leading and trailing blanks in `dref' are not 
               significant. 
 
               When `dref' designates a non-inertial frame, the 
               orientation of the frame is evaluated at an epoch 
               dependent on the frame's center and, if the center is 
               not the observer, on the selected aberration 
               correction. See the description of the direction 
               vector `dvec' for details. 
 
 
   dvec        Ray direction vector emanating from the observer. The 
               intercept with the target body's surface of the ray 
               defined by the observer and `dvec' is sought. 
 
               `dvec' is specified relative to the reference frame 
               designated by `dref'. 
 
               Non-inertial reference frames are treated as follows: 
               if the center of the frame is at the observer's 
               location, the frame is evaluated at `et'. If the 
               frame's center is located elsewhere, then letting 
               `ltcent' be the one-way light time between the observer 
               and the central body associated with the frame, the 
               orientation of the frame is evaluated at et-ltcent, 
               et+ltcent, or `et' depending on whether the requested 
               aberration correction is, respectively, for received 
               radiation, transmitted radiation, or is omitted. 
               `ltcent' is computed using the method indicated by 
               `abcorr'. 
                
 

Detailed_Output

 
 
   spoint      is the surface intercept point on the target body of 
               the ray defined by the observer and the direction 
               vector. If the ray intersects the target body in 
               multiple points, the selected intersection point is 
               the one closest to the observer. The output argument 
               `found' (see below) indicates whether an intercept was 
               found. 
 
               `spoint' is expressed in Cartesian coordinates, 
               relative to the target body-fixed frame designated by 
               `fixref'. The body-fixed target frame is evaluated at 
               the intercept epoch `trgepc' (see description below). 
 
               When light time correction is used, the duration of
               light travel between `spoint' to the observer is
               considered to be the one way light time. When both light
               time and stellar aberration corrections are used,
               `spoint' is computed such that, when the vector from the
               observer to `spoint' is corrected for light time and
               stellar aberration, the resulting vector lies on the ray
               defined by the observer's location and `dvec'.
 
               The components of `spoint' are given in units of km. 
 
 
   trgepc      is the "intercept epoch." `trgepc' is defined as 
               follows: letting `lt' be the one-way light time between 
               the observer and the intercept point, `trgepc' is the 
               epoch et-lt, et+lt, or `et' depending on whether the 
               requested aberration correction is, respectively, for 
               received radiation, transmitted radiation, or 
               omitted. `lt' is computed using the method indicated by 
               `abcorr'. 
 
               `trgepc' is expressed as TDB seconds past J2000 TDB. 
 
 
   srfvec      is the vector from the observer's position at `et' to 
               the aberration-corrected (or optionally, geometric) 
               position of `spoint', where the aberration corrections 
               are specified by `abcorr'. `srfvec' is expressed in the 
               target body-fixed reference frame designated by 
               `fixref', evaluated at `trgepc'. 
 
               The components of `srfvec' are given in units of km. 
 
               One can use the CSPICE function vnorm_c to obtain the 
               distance between the observer and `spoint': 
 
                  dist = vnorm_c ( srfvec );
 
               The observer's position `obspos', relative to the 
               target body's center, where the center's position is 
               corrected for aberration effects as indicated by 
               `abcorr', can be computed via the call: 
 
                  vsub_c ( spoint, srfvec, obspos );
 
               To transform the vector `srfvec' from a reference frame 
               `fixref' at time `trgepc' to a time-dependent reference 
               frame `ref' at time `et', the routine pxfrm2_c should be 
               called. Let `xform' be the 3x3 matrix representing the 
               rotation from the reference frame `fixref' at time 
               `trgepc' to the reference frame `ref' at time `et'. Then 
               `srfvec' can be transformed to the result `refvec' as 
               follows: 
 
                   pxfrm2_c ( fixref, ref,    trgepc, et, xform );
                   mxv_c    ( xform,  srfvec, refvec );
 
               The second example in the Examples header section 
               below presents a complete program that demonstrates 
               this procedure. 
    
 
   found       A logical flag indicating whether or not the ray
               intersects the target. If an intersection exists `found'
               will be returned as SPICETRUE. If the ray misses the
               target, `found' will be returned as SPICEFALSE.
 

Parameters

 
   None. 
 

Exceptions

  
 
   1)  If the specified aberration correction is unrecognized, the 
       error will be diagnosed and signaled by a routine in the call 
       tree of this routine. 
 
   2)  If either the target or observer input strings cannot be 
       converted to an integer ID code, the error 
       SPICE(IDCODENOTFOUND) is signaled. 
 
   3)  If `obsrvr' and `target' map to the same NAIF integer ID code, 
       the error SPICE(BODIESNOTDISTINCT) is signaled. 
 
   4)  If the input target body-fixed frame `fixref' is not 
       recognized, the error SPICE(NOFRAME) is signaled. A frame 
       name may fail to be recognized because a required frame 
       specification kernel has not been loaded; another cause is a 
       misspelling of the frame name. 
 
   5)  If the input frame `fixref' is not centered at the target body, 
       the error SPICE(INVALIDFRAME) is signaled. 
 
   6)  If the input argument `method' cannot be parsed, the error 
       is signaled either by this routine or by a routine in the 
       call tree of this routine. 
 
   7)  If the target and observer have distinct identities but are 
       at the same location (for example, the target is Mars and the 
       observer is the Mars barycenter), the error 
       SPICE(NOSEPARATION) is signaled. 
 
   8)  If insufficient ephemeris data have been loaded prior to 
       calling sincpt_c, the error will be diagnosed and signaled by a 
       routine in the call tree of this routine. Note that when 
       light time correction is used, sufficient ephemeris data must 
       be available to propagate the states of both observer and 
       target to the solar system barycenter. 
 
   9)  If the computation method specifies an ellipsoidal target 
       shape and triaxial radii of the target body have not been 
       loaded into the kernel pool prior to calling sincpt_c, the 
       error will be diagnosed and signaled by a routine in the call 
       tree of this routine. 
 
   10) The target must be an extended body: if the target shape is
       modeled as an ellipsoid and any of the radii of the target body
       are non-positive, the error will be diagnosed and signaled by
       routines in the call tree of this routine.
 
   11) If PCK or CK data specifying the target body-fixed frame 
       orientation have not been loaded prior to calling sincpt_c, 
       the error will be diagnosed and signaled by a routine in the 
       call tree of this routine. 
 
   12) If the reference frame designated by `dref' is not recognized 
       by the SPICE frame subsystem, the error SPICE(NOFRAME) 
       will be signaled. 
 
   13) If the direction vector `dvec' is the zero vector, the error 
       SPICE(ZEROVECTOR) will be signaled. 
 
   14) If `method' specifies that the target surface is represented by 
       DSK data, and no DSK files are loaded for the specified 
       target, the error is signaled by a routine in the call tree 
       of this routine. 
        
   15) If `method' specifies that the target surface is represented 
       by DSK data, and DSK data are not available for a portion of  
       the target body's surface, an intercept might not be found. 
       This routine does not revert to using an ellipsoidal surface 
       in this case. 
 

Files

 
   Appropriate kernels must be loaded by the calling program before 
   this routine is called. 
 
   The following data are required: 
 
      - SPK data: ephemeris data for target and observer must be 
        loaded. If aberration corrections are used, the states of
        target and observer relative to the solar system barycenter
        must be calculable from the available ephemeris data. Ephemeris
        data are made available by loading one or more SPK files via
        furnsh_c.
 
      - PCK data: if the computation method is specified as 
        "Ellipsoid," triaxial radii for the target body must be  
        loaded into the kernel pool. Typically this is done by 
        loading a text PCK file via furnsh_c. 
  
      - Target body orientation data: these may be provided in a text or 
        binary PCK file. In some cases, target body orientation may
        be provided by one more more CK files. In either case, data
        are made available by loading the files via furnsh_c.
 
   The following data may be required: 
 
      - DSK data: if `method' indicates that DSK data are to be used, 
        DSK files containing topographic data for the target body 
        must be loaded. If a surface list is specified, data for 
        at least one of the listed surfaces must be loaded. 
 
      - Surface name-ID associations: if surface names are specified 
        in `method', the association of these names with their 
        corresponding surface ID codes must be established by  
        assignments of the kernel variables 
 
           NAIF_SURFACE_NAME 
           NAIF_SURFACE_CODE 
           NAIF_SURFACE_BODY 
 
        Normally these associations are made by loading a text 
        kernel containing the necessary assignments. An example 
        of such assignments is 
 
           NAIF_SURFACE_NAME += 'Mars MEGDR 128 PIXEL/DEG' 
           NAIF_SURFACE_CODE += 1                     
           NAIF_SURFACE_BODY += 499 
 
      - Frame data: if a frame definition is required to convert 
        the observer and target states to the body-fixed frame of 
        the target, that definition must be available in the kernel 
        pool. Similarly, the frame definition required to map 
        between the frame designated by `dref' and the target 
        body-fixed frame must be available. Typically the 
        definitions of frames not already built-in to SPICE are 
        supplied by loading a frame kernel. 
 
      - CK data: if the frame to which `dref' refers is fixed to a 
        spacecraft instrument or structure, at least one CK file 
        will be needed to permit transformation of vectors between 
        that frame and both the J2000 and the target body-fixed 
        frames. 
 
      - SCLK data: if a CK file is needed, an associated SCLK 
        kernel is required to enable conversion between encoded SCLK 
        (used to time-tag CK data) and barycentric dynamical time 
        (TDB). 
 
   In all cases, kernel data are normally loaded once per program 
   run, NOT every time this routine is called. 
 

Particulars

 
   Given a ray defined by a direction vector and the location of an 
   observer, sincpt_c computes the surface intercept point of the ray 
   on a specified target body. sincpt_c also determines the vector 
   from the observer to the surface intercept point. If the ray 
   intersects the target in multiple locations, the intercept 
   closest to the observer is selected. 
 
   When aberration corrections are used, this routine finds the 
   value of `spoint' such that, if `spoint' is regarded as an ephemeris 
   object, after the selected aberration corrections are applied to 
   the vector from the observer to `spoint', the resulting vector is 
   parallel to the direction vector `dvec'. 
 
   This routine computes light time corrections using light time 
   between the observer and the surface intercept point, as opposed 
   to the center of the target. Similarly, stellar aberration 
   corrections done by this routine are based on the direction of 
   the vector from the observer to the light-time corrected 
   intercept point, not to the target center. This technique avoids 
   errors due to the differential between aberration corrections 
   across the target body. Therefore it's valid to use aberration 
   corrections with this routine even when the observer is very 
   close to the intercept point, in particular when the 
   observer-intercept point distance is much less than the 
   observer-target center distance. It's also valid to use stellar 
   aberration corrections even when the intercept point is near or 
   on the limb (as may occur in occultation computations using a 
   point target). 
 
   When comparing surface intercept point computations with results 
   from sources other than SPICE, it's essential to make sure the 
   same geometric definitions are used. 
 
 
   Using DSK data 
   ============== 
 
      DSK loading and unloading 
      ------------------------- 
 
      DSK files providing data used by this routine are loaded by 
      calling furnsh_c and can be unloaded by calling unload_c or 
      kclear_c. See the documentation of furnsh_c for limits on numbers 
      of loaded DSK files. 
 
      For run-time efficiency, it's desirable to avoid frequent 
      loading and unloading of DSK files. When there is a reason to 
      use multiple versions of data for a given target body---for 
      example, if topographic data at varying resolutions are to be 
      used---the surface list can be used to select DSK data to be 
      used for a given computation. It is not necessary to unload 
      the data that are not to be used. This recommendation presumes 
      that DSKs containing different versions of surface data for a 
      given body have different surface ID codes. 
 
 
      DSK data priority 
      ----------------- 
 
      A DSK coverage overlap occurs when two segments in loaded DSK 
      files cover part or all of the same domain---for example, a 
      given longitude-latitude rectangle---and when the time 
      intervals of the segments overlap as well. 
 
      When DSK data selection is prioritized, in case of a coverage 
      overlap, if the two competing segments are in different DSK 
      files, the segment in the DSK file loaded last takes 
      precedence. If the two segments are in the same file, the 
      segment located closer to the end of the file takes 
      precedence. 
 
      When DSK data selection is unprioritized, data from competing 
      segments are combined. For example, if two competing segments 
      both represent a surface as a set of triangular plates, the 
      union of those sets of plates is considered to represent the 
      surface.  
 
      Currently only unprioritized data selection is supported. 
      Because prioritized data selection may be the default behavior 
      in a later version of the routine, the UNPRIORITIZED keyword is 
      required in the `method' argument. 
 
       
      Syntax of the `method' input argument 
      ----------------------------------- 
 
      The keywords and surface list in the `method' argument 
      are called "clauses." The clauses may appear in any 
      order, for example 
 
         "DSK/<surface list>/UNPRIORITIZED"
         "DSK/UNPRIORITIZED/<surface list>"
         "UNPRIORITIZED/<surface list>/DSK"
 
      The simplest form of the `method' argument specifying use of 
      DSK data is one that lacks a surface list, for example: 
 
         "DSK/UNPRIORITIZED" 
 
      For applications in which all loaded DSK data for the target 
      body are for a single surface, and there are no competing 
      segments, the above string suffices. This is expected to be 
      the usual case. 
 
      When, for the specified target body, there are loaded DSK 
      files providing data for multiple surfaces for that body, the 
      surfaces to be used by this routine for a given call must be 
      specified in a surface list, unless data from all of the 
      surfaces are to be used together. 
 
      The surface list consists of the string 
 
         "SURFACES = "
 
      followed by a comma-separated list of one or more surface 
      identifiers. The identifiers may be names or integer codes in 
      string format. For example, suppose we have the surface 
      names and corresponding ID codes shown below: 
 
         Surface Name                              ID code 
         ------------                              ------- 
         "Mars MEGDR 128 PIXEL/DEG"                1 
         "Mars MEGDR 64 PIXEL/DEG"                 2 
         "Mars_MRO_HIRISE"                         3 
 
      If data for all of the above surfaces are loaded, then 
      data for surface 1 can be specified by either 
 
         "SURFACES = 1" 
 
      or 
 
         "SURFACES = \"Mars MEGDR 128 PIXEL/DEG\"" 
 
      Escaped double quotes are used to delimit the surface name because 
      it contains blank characters.  
          
      To use data for surfaces 2 and 3 together, any 
      of the following surface lists could be used: 
 
         "SURFACES = 2, 3" 
 
         "SURFACES = \"Mars MEGDR  64 PIXEL/DEG\", 3" 
 
         "SURFACES = 2, Mars_MRO_HIRISE" 
 
         "SURFACES = \"Mars MEGDR 64 PIXEL/DEG\", Mars_MRO_HIRISE" 
        
      An example of a `method' argument that could be constructed 
      using one of the surface lists above is 
 
         "DSK/UNPRIORITIZED/SURFACES = \"Mars MEGDR 64 PIXEL/DEG\", 3" 
 
 
      Round-off errors and mitigating algorithms 
      ------------------------------------------ 
 
      When topographic data are used to represent the surface of a 
      target body, round-off errors can produce some results that 
      may seem surprising. 
 
      Note that, since the surface in question might have mountains, 
      valleys, and cliffs, the points of intersection found for 
      nearly identical sets of inputs may be quite far apart from 
      each other: for example, a ray that hits a mountain side in a 
      nearly tangent fashion may, on a different host computer, be 
      found to miss the mountain and hit a valley floor much farther 
      from the observer, or even miss the target altogether. 
       
      Round-off errors can affect segment selection: for example, a 
      ray that is expected to intersect the target body's surface 
      near the boundary between two segments might hit either 
      segment, or neither of them; the result may be 
      platform-dependent. 
 
      A similar situation exists when a surface is modeled by a set 
      of triangular plates, and the ray is expected to intersect the 
      surface near a plate boundary. 
       
      To avoid having the routine fail to find an intersection when 
      one clearly should exist, this routine uses two "greedy" 
      algorithms: 
      
         1) If the ray passes sufficiently close to any of the  
            boundary surfaces of a segment (for example, surfaces of 
            maximum and minimum longitude or latitude), that segment 
            is tested for an intersection of the ray with the 
            surface represented by the segment's data. 
 
            This choice prevents all of the segments from being 
            missed when at least one should be hit, but it could, on 
            rare occasions, cause an intersection to be found in a 
            segment other than the one that would be found if higher 
            precision arithmetic were used. 
             
         2) For type 2 segments, which represent surfaces as  
            sets of triangular plates, each plate is expanded very 
            slightly before a ray-plate intersection test is 
            performed. The default plate expansion factor is  
 
               1 + 1.e-10 
 
            In other words, the sides of the plate are lengthened by 
            1/10 of a micron per km. The expansion keeps the centroid 
            of the plate fixed. 
 
            Plate expansion prevents all plates from being missed 
            in cases where clearly at least one should be hit. 
 
            As with the greedy segment selection algorithm, plate 
            expansion can occasionally cause an intercept to be 
            found on a different plate than would be found if higher 
            precision arithmetic were used. It also can occasionally 
            cause an intersection to be found when the ray misses 
            the target by a very small distance.  
 
        
      Aberration corrections 
      ---------------------- 
 
      For irregularly shaped target bodies, the distance between the 
      observer and the nearest surface intercept need not be a 
      continuous function of time; hence the one-way light time 
      between the intercept and the observer may be discontinuous as 
      well. In such cases, the computed light time, which is found 
      using an iterative algorithm, may converge slowly or not at all. 
      In all cases, the light time computation will terminate, but 
      the result may be less accurate than expected. 
    
 

Examples

 
   The numerical results shown for this example may differ across 
   platforms. The results depend on the SPICE kernels used as 
   input, the compiler and supporting libraries, and the machine  
   specific arithmetic implementation.  
 
 
   1) The following program computes surface intercept points on Mars 
      for the boresight and FOV boundary vectors of the MGS MOC 
      narrow angle camera. The intercepts are computed for a single
      observation epoch. Converged Newtonian light time and stellar
      aberration corrections are used. For simplicity, camera
      distortion is ignored.
 
      Intercepts are computed using both triaxial ellipsoid and  
      topographic surface models.  
 
      The topographic model is based on data from the MGS MOLA DEM 
      megr90n000cb, which has a resolution of 4 pixels/degree. A 
      triangular plate model was produced by computing a 720 x 1440 
      grid of interpolated heights from this DEM, then tessellating 
      the height grid. The plate model is stored in a type 2 segment 
      in the referenced DSK file. 
 
      Use the meta-kernel shown below to load the required SPICE 
      kernels. 
          
 
         KPL/MK 
 
         File: sincpt_ex1.tm 
 
         This meta-kernel is intended to support operation of SPICE 
         example programs. The kernels shown here should not be 
         assumed to contain adequate or correct versions of data 
         required by SPICE-based user applications. 
 
         In order for an application to use this meta-kernel, the 
         kernels referenced here must be present in the user's 
         current working directory. 
 
         The names and contents of the kernels referenced 
         by this meta-kernel are as follows: 
 
            File name                        Contents 
            ---------                        -------- 
            de430.bsp                        Planetary ephemeris 
            mar097.bsp                       Mars satellite ephemeris 
            pck00010.tpc                     Planet orientation and 
                                             radii 
            naif0011.tls                     Leapseconds  
            mgs_moc_v20.ti                   MGS MOC instrument 
                                             parameters 
            mgs_sclkscet_00061.tsc           MGS SCLK coefficients 
            mgs_sc_ext12.bc                  MGS s/c bus attitude 
            mgs_ext12_ipng_mgs95j.bsp        MGS ephemeris 
            megr90n000cb_plate.bds           Plate model based on 
                                             MEGDR DEM, resolution 
                                             4 pixels/degree. 
 
         \begindata 
 
            KERNELS_TO_LOAD = ( 'de430.bsp', 
                                'mar097.bsp', 
                                'pck00010.tpc', 
                                'naif0011.tls', 
                                'mgs_moc_v20.ti', 
                                'mgs_sclkscet_00061.tsc', 
                                'mgs_sc_ext12.bc', 
                                'mgs_ext12_ipng_mgs95j.bsp', 
                                'megr90n000cb_plate.bds'      ) 
         \begintext 
 
 
      Example code begins here.  
 
         #include <stdio.h>
         #include <string.h>
         #include "SpiceUsr.h"
         #include "SpiceZmc.h"

         int main()
         {
            /.
            Local parameters 
            ./
            #define META                "sincpt_ex1.tm" 
            #define ABCLEN              20
            #define LNSIZE              81
            #define NAMLEN              33
            #define TIMLEN              51
            #define SHPLEN              81
            #define NCORNR               4
            #define NMETH                2

            /. 
            Local variables 
            ./
            SpiceBoolean            found;

            SpiceChar             * abcorr          = "CN+S";
            SpiceChar             * camera          = "MGS_MOC_NA";
            SpiceChar               dref    [NAMLEN];
            SpiceChar             * fixref          = "IAU_MARS";
            SpiceChar             * methds  [NMETH] = 
                                  { 
                                     "Ellipsoid",
                                     "DSK/UNPRIORITIZED" 
                                  };

            SpiceChar             * obsrvr  = "MGS";
            SpiceChar               shape   [SHPLEN];

            SpiceChar             * srftyp  [NMETH] = 
                                  { 
                                    "Ellipsoid", 
                                    "MGS/MOLA topography, 4 pixel/deg"
                                  };

            SpiceChar             * target  = "Mars";
            SpiceChar               title   [LNSIZE];

            SpiceChar             * utc     = "2003 OCT 13 06:00:00 UTC";

            SpiceDouble             bounds  [NCORNR][3];
            SpiceDouble             bsight  [3];
            SpiceDouble             dist;
            SpiceDouble             dvec    [3];
            SpiceDouble             et;
            SpiceDouble             lat;
            SpiceDouble             lon;
            SpiceDouble             radius;
            SpiceDouble             spoint [3];
            SpiceDouble             srfvec [3];
            SpiceDouble             trgepc;

            SpiceInt                camid;
            SpiceInt                i;
            SpiceInt                k;
            SpiceInt                n;


            /.
            Load kernel files:
            ./
            furnsh_c ( META );

            /.
            Convert the UTC request time to ET (seconds past
            J2000, TDB). 
            ./ 
            str2et_c ( utc, &et );

            /.
            Get the MGS MOC Narrow angle camera (MGS_MOC_NA) 
            ID code. Then look up the field of view (FOV) 
            parameters. 
            ./ 
            bodn2c_c ( camera, &camid, &found );

            if ( !found )
            {
                setmsg_c ( "Could not find ID code for "
                           "instrument #."               );
                errch_c  ( "#", camera                   );
                sigerr_c ( "SPICE(NOTRANSLATION)"        );
            }

            /.
            getfov_c will return the name of the camera-fixed frame
            in the string `dref', the camera boresight vector in
            the array `bsight', and the FOV corner vectors in the
            array `bounds'.
            ./
            getfov_c ( camid, NCORNR, SHPLEN, NAMLEN,
                       shape, dref,   bsight, &n,     bounds );

            printf ( "\n"
                     "Surface Intercept Locations for Camera\n" 
                     "FOV Boundary and Boresight Vectors\n" 
                     "\n" 
                     "   Instrument:             %s\n" 
                     "   Epoch:                  %s\n" 
                     "   Aberration correction:  %s\n" 
                     "\n",
                     camera, utc, abcorr                             ); 

            /. 
            Now compute and display the surface intercepts for the 
            boresight and all of the FOV boundary vectors. 
            ./ 

            for ( i = 0;  i <= NCORNR;  i++ )
            {
               if ( i < NCORNR )
               {
                  sprintf ( title, "Corner vector %d", (int)(i+1) );

                  vequ_c ( bounds[i], dvec );
               }
               else
               {
                  strcpy ( title,  "Boresight vector" );

                  vequ_c ( bsight, dvec );
               }

               printf ( "\n"
                        "%s\n", title );

               sprintf ( title, "  Vector in %s frame = ", dref );

               printf ( "\n"
                        "%s\n", title );

               if ( i < NCORNR )
               {
                   printf ( "   %18.10e %18.10e %18.10e\n", 
                            bounds[i][0], bounds[i][1], bounds[i][2] );
               }
               else
               {
                  printf ( "   %18.10e %18.10e %18.10e\n", 
                           bsight[0],    bsight[1],    bsight[2]    );
               }

               printf ( "\n"
                        "  Intercept:\n" );

               /.
               Compute the surface intercept point using
               the specified aberration corrections. Loop
               over the set of computation methods.
               ./
               for ( k = 0;  k < NMETH;  k++ )
               {

                  sincpt_c ( methds[k], 
                             target,  et,     fixref, abcorr, 
                             obsrvr,  dref,   dvec,   spoint,  
                             &trgepc, srfvec, &found         );

                  if ( found )
                  {
                     /.
                     Compute range from observer to apparent intercept. 
                     ./
                     dist = vnorm_c( srfvec );

                     /.
                     Convert rectangular coordinates to planetocentric 
                     latitude and longitude. Convert radians to degrees. 
                     ./ 
                     reclat_c ( spoint, &radius, &lon, &lat );

                     lon *= dpr_c ();
                     lat *= dpr_c ();

                     /.
                     Display the results. 
                     ./
                     printf ( "\n"
                              "    Surface representation: %s\n"
                              "\n"                     
                              "     Radius                   (km)  = %18.10f\n"
                              "     Planetocentric Latitude  (deg) = %18.10f\n"
                              "     Planetocentric Longitude (deg) = %18.10f\n"
                              "     Range                    (km)  = %18.10f\n"
                              "\n",
                              srftyp[k], radius,  lat,  lon,  dist            );
                  } 
                  else 
                  { 
                      printf ( "\n"
                               "Intercept not found.\n"
                               "\n"                     );
                  }
               }
            }
            return ( 0 );
         }

   When this program was executed on a PC/Linux/gcc 64-bit  
   platform, the output was: 
 

      Surface Intercept Locations for Camera
      FOV Boundary and Boresight Vectors

         Instrument:             MGS_MOC_NA
         Epoch:                  2003 OCT 13 06:00:00 UTC
         Aberration correction:  CN+S


      Corner vector 1

        Vector in MGS_MOC_NA frame = 
           1.8571383810e-06  -3.8015622659e-03   9.9999277403e-01

        Intercept:

          Surface representation: Ellipsoid

           Radius                   (km)  =    3384.9411357607
           Planetocentric Latitude  (deg) =     -48.4774823672
           Planetocentric Longitude (deg) =    -123.4740748197
           Range                    (km)  =     388.9830822570


          Surface representation: MGS/MOLA topography, 4 pixel/deg

           Radius                   (km)  =    3387.6408267726
           Planetocentric Latitude  (deg) =     -48.4922595600
           Planetocentric Longitude (deg) =    -123.4754119350
           Range                    (km)  =     386.1451004041


      Corner vector 2

        Vector in MGS_MOC_NA frame = 
           1.8571383810e-06   3.8015622659e-03   9.9999277403e-01

        Intercept:

          Surface representation: Ellipsoid

           Radius                   (km)  =    3384.9396985743
           Planetocentric Latitude  (deg) =     -48.4816367789
           Planetocentric Longitude (deg) =    -123.3988187487
           Range                    (km)  =     388.9751000527


          Surface representation: MGS/MOLA topography, 4 pixel/deg

           Radius                   (km)  =    3387.6403704508
           Planetocentric Latitude  (deg) =     -48.4963866889
           Planetocentric Longitude (deg) =    -123.4007435481
           Range                    (km)  =     386.1361644332


      Corner vector 3

        Vector in MGS_MOC_NA frame = 
          -1.8571383810e-06   3.8015622659e-03   9.9999277403e-01

        Intercept:

          Surface representation: Ellipsoid

           Radius                   (km)  =    3384.9396897287
           Planetocentric Latitude  (deg) =     -48.4816623489
           Planetocentric Longitude (deg) =    -123.3988219550
           Range                    (km)  =     388.9746411355


          Surface representation: MGS/MOLA topography, 4 pixel/deg

           Radius                   (km)  =    3387.6403603146
           Planetocentric Latitude  (deg) =     -48.4964120424
           Planetocentric Longitude (deg) =    -123.4007467292
           Range                    (km)  =     386.1357106985


      Corner vector 4

        Vector in MGS_MOC_NA frame = 
          -1.8571383810e-06  -3.8015622659e-03   9.9999277403e-01

        Intercept:

          Surface representation: Ellipsoid

           Radius                   (km)  =    3384.9411269138
           Planetocentric Latitude  (deg) =     -48.4775079405
           Planetocentric Longitude (deg) =    -123.4740779752
           Range                    (km)  =     388.9826233195


          Surface representation: MGS/MOLA topography, 4 pixel/deg

           Radius                   (km)  =    3387.6408166345
           Planetocentric Latitude  (deg) =     -48.4922849169
           Planetocentric Longitude (deg) =    -123.4754150656
           Range                    (km)  =     386.1446466486


      Boresight vector

        Vector in MGS_MOC_NA frame = 
           0.0000000000e+00   0.0000000000e+00   1.0000000000e+00

        Intercept:

          Surface representation: Ellipsoid

           Radius                   (km)  =    3384.9404100069
           Planetocentric Latitude  (deg) =     -48.4795802622
           Planetocentric Longitude (deg) =    -123.4364497355
           Range                    (km)  =     388.9757144062


          Surface representation: MGS/MOLA topography, 4 pixel/deg

           Radius                   (km)  =    3387.6402755068
           Planetocentric Latitude  (deg) =     -48.4943418633
           Planetocentric Longitude (deg) =    -123.4380804236
           Range                    (km)  =     386.1376152656


 
   2) Use sincpt_c to perform a consistency check on a sub-observer
      point computation.
 
      Use subpnt_c to find the sub-spacecraft point on Mars for the 
      Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft (MRO) at a specified time,
      using both the 'Ellipsoid/Near point' computation method and an
      ellipsoidal target shape, and the "DSK/Unprioritized/Nadir"
      method and a DSK-based shape model.
 
      Use both LT+S and CN+S aberration corrections to illustrate 
      the differences. 
  
      Convert the spacecraft to sub-observer point vector obtained from
      subpnt_c into the MRO_HIRISE_LOOK_DIRECTION reference frame at
      the observation time. Perform a consistency check with this
      vector: compare the Mars surface intercept of the ray emanating
      from the spacecraft and pointed along this vector with the
      sub-observer point.
 
      Perform the sub-observer point and surface intercept computations
      using both triaxial ellipsoid and topographic surface models.
 
      For this example, the topographic model is based on the MGS MOLA
      DEM megr90n000eb, which has a resolution of 16 pixels/degree.
      Eight DSKs, each covering longitude and latitude ranges of 90
      degrees, were made from this data set. For the region covered by
      a given DSK, a grid of approximately 1500 x 1500 interpolated
      heights was produced, and this grid was tessellated using
      approximately 4.5 million triangular plates, giving a total plate
      count of about 36 million for the entire DSK set.
 
      All DSKs in the set use the surface ID code 499001, so there is
      no need to specify the surface ID in the `method' strings passed
      to sincpt_c and subpnt_c.
 
      Use the meta-kernel shown below to load the required SPICE
      kernels.
 
 
         KPL/MK 
 
         This meta-kernel is intended to support operation of SPICE 
         example programs. The kernels shown here should not be 
         assumed to contain adequate or correct versions of data 
         required by SPICE-based user applications. 
 
         In order for an application to use this meta-kernel, the 
         kernels referenced here must be present in the user's 
         current working directory. 
 
         The names and contents of the kernels referenced 
         by this meta-kernel are as follows: 
 
            File name                        Contents 
            ---------                        -------- 
            de430.bsp                        Planetary ephemeris 
            mar097.bsp                       Mars satellite ephemeris 
            pck00010.tpc                     Planet orientation and 
                                             radii 
            naif0011.tls                     Leapseconds 
            mro_psp4_ssd_mro95a.bsp          MRO ephemeris 
            mro_v11.tf                       MRO frame specifications 
            mro_sclkscet_00022_65536.tsc     MRO SCLK coefficients 
                                             parameters 
            mro_sc_psp_070925_071001.bc      MRO attitude 
            megr90n000eb_*_plate.bds         Plate model DSKs based  
                                             on MEGDR DEM, resolution 
                                             16 pixels/degree. 
 
         \begindata 
 
            KERNELS_TO_LOAD = (  
 
               'de430.bsp', 
               'mar097.bsp', 
               'pck00010.tpc', 
               'naif0011.tls', 
               'mro_psp4_ssd_mro95a.bsp', 
               'mro_v11.tf', 
               'mro_sclkscet_00022_65536.tsc', 
               'mro_sc_psp_070925_071001.bc', 
               'megr90n000eb_LL000E00N_UR090E90N_plate.bds' 
               'megr90n000eb_LL000E90S_UR090E00S_plate.bds' 
               'megr90n000eb_LL090E00N_UR180E90N_plate.bds' 
               'megr90n000eb_LL090E90S_UR180E00S_plate.bds' 
               'megr90n000eb_LL180E00N_UR270E90N_plate.bds' 
               'megr90n000eb_LL180E90S_UR270E00S_plate.bds' 
               'megr90n000eb_LL270E00N_UR360E90N_plate.bds' 
               'megr90n000eb_LL270E90S_UR360E00S_plate.bds'  ) 
                                 
         \begintext  
 
 
 
     Example code begins here. 
         

        /.
        Program subpnt_ex2
        ./
        #include <stdio.h>
        #include "SpiceUsr.h"

        int main()
        {
           /.
           Local constants
           ./
           #define META            "subpnt_ex2.tm"
           #define NCORR           2
           #define NMETH           2

           /.    
           Local variables
           ./
           SpiceBoolean            found;

           static SpiceChar      * abcorr[NCORR] =
                                   {
                                      "LT+S", "CN+S"
                                   };

           static SpiceChar      * fixref = "IAU_MARS";

           static SpiceChar      * sinmth[NMETH] = 
                                   { 
                                      "Ellipsoid",
                                      "DSK/Unprioritized"
                                   };

           static SpiceChar      * submth[NMETH] = 
                                   { 
                                      "Ellipsoid/Near point",
                                      "DSK/Unprioritized/Nadir"
                                   };

           static SpiceChar      * hiref;

           SpiceDouble             alt;
           SpiceDouble             et;
           SpiceDouble             lat;
           SpiceDouble             lon;
           SpiceDouble             mrovec [3];
           SpiceDouble             radius;
           SpiceDouble             spoint [3];
           SpiceDouble             srfvec [3];
           SpiceDouble             trgepc;
           SpiceDouble             xepoch;
           SpiceDouble             xform  [3][3];
           SpiceDouble             xpoint [3];
           SpiceDouble             xvec   [3];

           SpiceInt                i;
           SpiceInt                j;

           /.
           Load kernel files via the meta-kernel.
           ./
           furnsh_c ( META );

           /.
           Convert the TDB request time string to seconds past
           J2000, TDB.
           ./
           str2et_c ( "2007 SEP 30 00:00:00 TDB", &et );

           /.
           Compute the sub-spacecraft point using each method. 
           Compute the results using both LT+S and CN+S aberration 
           corrections.
           ./
           for ( i = 0;  i < NMETH;  i++ )
           {

              printf ( "\nSub-observer point computation "
                       "method = %s\n",  submth[i] );

              for ( j = 0;  j < NCORR;  j++ )
              {
                 subpnt_c ( submth[i],                                      
                            "mars", et,     fixref,  abcorr[j], 
                            "mro",  spoint, &trgepc, srfvec    );

                 /.
                 Compute the observer's altitude above `spoint'.
                 ./
                 alt = vnorm_c ( srfvec );

                 /.
                 Express `srfvec' in the MRO_HIRISE_LOOK_DIRECTION
                 reference frame at epoch `et'. Since `srfvec' is expressed
                 relative to the IAU_MARS frame at `trgepc', we must
                 call pxfrm2_c to compute the position transformation matrix
                 from IAU_MARS at `trgepc' to the MRO_HIRISE_LOOK_DIRECTION
                 frame at time `et'.

                 To make code formatting a little easier, we'll store
                 the long MRO reference frame name in a variable:
                 ./
                 hiref = "MRO_HIRISE_LOOK_DIRECTION";

                 pxfrm2_c ( "iau_mars", hiref,  trgepc, et, xform );
                 mxv_c    (  xform,     srfvec, mrovec            );

                 /.
                 Convert sub-observer point rectangular coordinates to
                 planetocentric latitude and longitude. Convert radians to 
                 degrees.
                 ./
                 reclat_c ( spoint, &radius, &lon, &lat );

                 lon *= dpr_c();
                 lat *= dpr_c();

                 /.
                 Write the results.
                 ./
                 printf ( "\n"
                          "   Aberration correction = %s\n\n"
                          "      MRO-to-sub-observer vector in\n"
                          "      MRO HIRISE look direction frame\n"
                          "         X-component             (km) = %21.9f\n"
                          "         Y-component             (km) = %21.9f\n"
                          "         Z-component             (km) = %21.9f\n"
                          "      Sub-observer point radius  (km) = %21.9f\n"
                          "      Planetocentric latitude   (deg) = %21.9f\n"
                          "      Planetocentric longitude  (deg) = %21.9f\n"
                          "      Observer altitude          (km) = %21.9f\n",
                          abcorr[j],
                          mrovec[0],
                          mrovec[1],
                          mrovec[2],
                          radius,
                          lat,
                          lon,
                          alt         );

                 /.
                 Consistency check: find the surface intercept on
                 Mars of the ray emanating from the spacecraft and having
                 direction vector `mrovec' in the MRO HIRISE look direction
                 reference frame at `et'. Call the intercept point
                 `xpoint'. `xpoint' should coincide with `spoint', up to a
                 small round-off error.
                 ./
                 sincpt_c ( sinmth[i], "mars",  et,    "iau_mars",  
                            abcorr[j], "mro",   hiref, mrovec, 
                            xpoint,    &xepoch, xvec,  &found     );

                 if ( !found )
                 {
                    printf ( "Bug: no intercept\n" );        
                 }
                 else
                 {
                    /.
                    Report the distance between `xpoint' and `spoint'.
                    ./
                    printf ( "      Intercept comparison error (km) = "
                             "%21.9f\n\n",
                             vdist_c( xpoint, spoint )                  );
                 }
              }
           }
           return ( 0 );
        } 


   When this program was executed on a PC/Linux/gcc 64-bit  
   platform, the output was: 
          

      Sub-observer point computation method = Ellipsoid/Near point

         Aberration correction = LT+S

            MRO-to-sub-observer vector in
            MRO HIRISE look direction frame
               X-component             (km) =           0.286933229
               Y-component             (km) =          -0.260425939
               Z-component             (km) =         253.816326386
            Sub-observer point radius  (km) =        3388.299078378
            Planetocentric latitude   (deg) =         -38.799836378
            Planetocentric longitude  (deg) =        -114.995297227
            Observer altitude          (km) =         253.816622175
            Intercept comparison error (km) =           0.000002144


         Aberration correction = CN+S

            MRO-to-sub-observer vector in
            MRO HIRISE look direction frame
               X-component             (km) =           0.286933107
               Y-component             (km) =          -0.260426683
               Z-component             (km) =         253.816315915
            Sub-observer point radius  (km) =        3388.299078376
            Planetocentric latitude   (deg) =         -38.799836382
            Planetocentric longitude  (deg) =        -114.995297449
            Observer altitude          (km) =         253.816611705
            Intercept comparison error (km) =           0.000000001


      Sub-observer point computation method = DSK/Unprioritized/Nadir

         Aberration correction = LT+S

            MRO-to-sub-observer vector in
            MRO HIRISE look direction frame
               X-component             (km) =           0.282372596
               Y-component             (km) =          -0.256289313
               Z-component             (km) =         249.784871247
            Sub-observer point radius  (km) =        3392.330239436
            Planetocentric latitude   (deg) =         -38.800230156
            Planetocentric longitude  (deg) =        -114.995297338
            Observer altitude          (km) =         249.785162334
            Intercept comparison error (km) =           0.000002412


         Aberration correction = CN+S

            MRO-to-sub-observer vector in
            MRO HIRISE look direction frame
               X-component             (km) =           0.282372464
               Y-component             (km) =          -0.256290075
               Z-component             (km) =         249.784860121
            Sub-observer point radius  (km) =        3392.330239564
            Planetocentric latitude   (deg) =         -38.800230162
            Planetocentric longitude  (deg) =        -114.995297569
            Observer altitude          (km) =         249.785151209
            Intercept comparison error (km) =           0.000000001
           
 

Restrictions

 
   A cautionary note: if aberration corrections are used, and  
   if `dref' is the target body-fixed frame, the epoch at which that 
   frame is evaluated is offset from `et' by the light time between 
   the observer and the *center* of the target body. This light time 
   normally will differ from the light time between the observer and 
   intercept point. Consequently the orientation of the target 
   body-fixed frame at `trgepc' will not match that of the target 
   body-fixed frame at the epoch associated with `dref'. As a result, 
   various derived quantities may not be as expected: for example, 
   `srfvec' would not be parallel to `dvec'. 
 
   In many applications the errors arising from this frame 
   discrepancy may be insignificant; however a safe approach is to 
   always use as `dref' a frame other than the target body-fixed 
   frame. 
    

Literature_References

 
   None. 
 

Author_and_Institution

 
   N.J. Bachman   (JPL) 
   S.C. Krening   (JPL) 
   B.V. Semenov   (JPL) 
 

Version

 
   -CSPICE Version 2.0.0, 05-APR-2017 (NJB) (SCK) (BVS)

       Updated to support use of DSKs.

   -CSPICE Version 1.0.2, 02-APR-2011 (NJB) (SCK)

       References to the new pxfrm2_c routine were added, which
       changed the Detailed Output section and the second example. 

       Miscellaneous, minor header comment corrections were made.

   -CSPICE Version 1.0.1, 06-FEB-2009 (NJB)
 
       Typos in the Detailed Input section's description of `dref'
       were corrected. Incorrect frame name fixfrm was changed to
       fixref in documentation.

       In the header examples, meta-kernel names were updated to use
       the suffix

          ".tm"

   -CSPICE Version 1.0.0, 02-MAR-2008 (NJB)

Index_Entries

 
   find surface intercept point 
   find intersection of ray and target body surface 
   find intercept of ray on target body surface 
 

Link to routine sincpt_c source file sincpt_c.c

Wed Apr  5 17:54:42 2017