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coords: add comprehensive docstring to CIRS frame (fixes #18981)#19307

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Omiii-215:fix/cirs-docstring-18981
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coords: add comprehensive docstring to CIRS frame (fixes #18981)#19307
Omiii-215 wants to merge 4 commits intoastropy:mainfrom
Omiii-215:fix/cirs-docstring-18981

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@Omiii-215 Omiii-215 commented Feb 18, 2026

Description

The CIRS class had only a one-line description with no explanation of what the frame physically represents. Add a full docstring covering:

  • What CIRS is (geocentric intermediate frame, IAU 2000/2006)
  • The Celestial Intermediate Pole (CIP) and its precession-nutation model
  • The Celestial Intermediate Origin (CIO) and why it replaces the equinox
  • The Earth Rotation Angle (ERA) and the CIRS → ITRS transformation
  • The relationship to GCRS (same pole, different RA origin) and the equation of the origins
  • Astropy's implementation via ERFA (IAU 2006/2000A models)
  • Reference to USNO Circular 179 Section 2.6

fixes #18981

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The CIRS class had only a one-line description with no explanation of
what the frame physically represents. Add a full docstring covering:

- What CIRS is (geocentric intermediate frame, IAU 2000/2006)
- The Celestial Intermediate Pole (CIP) and its precession-nutation model
- The Celestial Intermediate Origin (CIO) and why it replaces the equinox
- The Earth Rotation Angle (ERA) and the CIRS → ITRS transformation
- The relationship to GCRS (same pole, different RA origin) and the
  equation of the origins
- Astropy's implementation via ERFA (IAU 2006/2000A models)
- Reference to USNO Circular 179 Section 2.6

Closes astropy#18981
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@pllim pllim added this to the v8.0.0 milestone Feb 18, 2026
@pllim pllim requested a review from Cadair February 18, 2026 21:54
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Cadair commented Feb 18, 2026

I'm not the best person to review this as I don't know the details of the frame (hence the desire for docs lol).

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pllim commented Feb 18, 2026

Would @ayshih be interested?

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pllim commented Feb 18, 2026

The change log has to be removed and pre-commit has to be made happy, but I want to make sure the content is actually valid. Thanks, all.

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Omiii-215 commented Feb 19, 2026

@pllim Thank you
@Cadair Below are some content validations for the docstring:

The description has been cross-checked against the following primary sources:

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CIRS Frame is missing any description of its definition

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