astropy / astropy/astropy

Decide if obstime transformations of coordinates with velocities should result in motion

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coordinates needs-reconfirmation
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Python
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Description

This issues is a follow-up discussion to an unresolved question from #6219 (in that PR we are punting on the question by raising an error).

The starting point for the topic is https://github.com/astropy/astropy/pull/6219#issuecomment-309399689 - @StuartLittlefair's position is that if you transform to a frame with a different `obstime`, a coordinate with velocities should be moved to a different position based on its velocity vector. @StuartLittlefair added more in https://github.com/astropy/astropy/pull/6219#issuecomment-310907959 and https://github.com/astropy/astropy/pull/6219#issuecomment-310908691 and @mhvk agreed in https://github.com/astropy/astropy/pull/6219#issuecomment-310911108

By contrast, I think this is *not* what we want and will be extremely confusing and inconsistent with the other coordinate machinery - see https://github.com/astropy/astropy/pull/6219#issuecomment-310881737. In https://github.com/astropy/astropy/pull/6219#issuecomment-310906282 and https://github.com/astropy/astropy/pull/6219#issuecomment-310908439 @adrn agreed.

This issue is hence a placeholder, because this is a somewhat significant philosophical question for `coordinates`, so we should resolve it for the next version.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by reading the linked discussion in pull request #6219, including the referenced comments, and compare the two positions on obstime transformations in coordinates with velocities. Done means reaching and recording a decision for the next version about whether the transformation should move the coordinate based on its velocity.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
data
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
20/100

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