[AstroPy] Wrong earth mass in astropy.constants

[Thomas Robitaille]

The main problem we are facing in Astropy is that if we update constants
from one release to the next, results might then change, which might not be
acceptable for some users. Therefore, we need to make sure we have a
mechanism for users to import a 'fixed/frozen' version of constants that
will not change in future releases of Astropy, and this is why there are
delays currently in updating some of the constants.

Cheers,
Tom



On 28 November 2016 at 15:20, Eric Jensen <ejensen1 at swarthmore.edu> wrote:

> The IAU passed a resolution relatively recently addressing exactly this
> problem, and recommending standard values, while acknowledging that best
> estimates might continue to diverge slightly from these.  So it seems like
> these IAU standard values would be a good option to consider for use in
> astropy:
>
> https://arxiv.org/abs/1510.07674
>
> Resolution B3 here:
>
> https://www.iau.org/static/resolutions/IAU2015_English.pdf
>
> Eric
>
> > On Nov 28, 2016, at 10:11 AM, Eric Winter <ewinter at stsci.edu> wrote:
> >
> > Therein lies the problem – who decides on the “best accepted value”? My
> initial thought would be to use values of constants defined by appropriate
> authorities, such as NASA, AAS, or IAU. But those values will always (and
> with good reason) lag behind the “latest value”. I think (this is just
> IMHO, of course) that official, vetted and reviewed values from trusted
> authorities should be used for AstroPy – and only such values. If a given
> user needs a more recent value, they can simply override it in their own
> code (and document said change, of course).
> >
> > FWIW
> > Eric Winter
>
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