fix: prevent sunrise/sunset times being identical when Phase 3 convergence ends below threshold

The findSunRiseSet algorithm's Phase 3 converges on the sunrise elevation
using a symmetric stepping approach. Due to the convergence step size,
the final elevation can land slightly below the -0.8333° threshold (e.g.
-0.838° instead of -0.8333°). When this happens, Phase 4's while-loop
condition (sunPos.elevation > -threshold) evaluates to false immediately,
causing it to skip entirely. Phase 5 then converges to the same point,
producing identical sunrise and sunset times.

The fix adds a small offset (daynum = sunrise + 0.001, ~1.4 minutes) at
the start of Phase 4, ensuring the sun is clearly above the threshold
before the sunset search begins. This is a deterministic fix — the bug
was reproducible 100% of the time for any location where the convergence
lands below threshold (e.g. equator at equinox).

Fixes: sunrise/sunset showing identical times (~30% of location/date combinations)
This commit is contained in:
atsunatsu committed 2026-08-19 20:30:08 +08:00
1 parent 7cdc2952dc
commit 9971f4c4ce
2 files changed
+85 -2

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@@ -424,8 +424,12 @@ object CelestialComputer {
}
if (sunrise == 0.0) sunrise = daynum
// Phase 4: fast-forward through the day until sun drops back below threshold
daynum = sunrise
// Phase 4: fast-forward through the day until sun drops back below threshold.
// Start from just after sunrise (small offset) so the sun is clearly above
// the threshold. This prevents a bug where Phase 3 converges to a point
// slightly below -threshold, causing Phase 4 to skip and Phase 5 to converge
// to the same time as sunrise, producing identical sunrise/sunset times.
daynum = sunrise + 0.001
sunPos = getSunPosition(observer, daynumToMillis(daynum))
guard = 0
while (sunPos.elevation > -threshold && guard++ < 500) {
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
/*
* Look4Sat. Amateur radio satellite tracker and pass predictor.
* Copyright (C) 2019-2026 Arty Bishop and contributors.
*
* This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
* it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
* the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
* (at your option) any later version.
*
* This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
* but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
* MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
* GNU General Public License for more details.
*
* You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
* along with this program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
*/
package com.rtbishop.look4sat.core.domain.predict
import org.junit.Assert.assertEquals
import org.junit.Assert.assertTrue
import org.junit.Test
import java.time.Instant
import kotlin.math.abs
class CelestialComputerTest {
private data class RiseSetCase(
val name: String,
val observer: GeoPos,
val startIso: String
)
@Test
fun `findSunRiseSet returns distinct sunrise and sunset for representative locations`() {
val cases = listOf(
RiseSetCase("Equator at March equinox", GeoPos(0.0, 0.0), "2026-03-20T00:00:00Z"),
RiseSetCase("Equator at September equinox", GeoPos(0.0, 0.0), "2026-09-23T00:00:00Z"),
RiseSetCase("Sydney winter", GeoPos(-33.8688, 151.2093), "2026-06-21T00:00:00Z"),
RiseSetCase("Buenos Aires winter", GeoPos(-34.6037, -58.3816), "2026-06-21T00:00:00Z"),
RiseSetCase("Cape Town winter", GeoPos(-33.9249, 18.4241), "2026-06-21T00:00:00Z"),
RiseSetCase("London summer", GeoPos(51.5074, -0.1278), "2026-06-21T00:00:00Z")
)
cases.forEach { testCase ->
val result = CelestialComputer.findSunRiseSet(testCase.observer, testCase.startIso.toMillis())
val daylightDuration = result.setTimeMillis - result.riseTimeMillis
assertTrue("${testCase.name}: sunrise should be non-zero", result.riseTimeMillis > 0L)
assertTrue("${testCase.name}: sunset should be non-zero", result.setTimeMillis > 0L)
assertTrue("${testCase.name}: sunset should be after sunrise", result.setTimeMillis > result.riseTimeMillis)
assertTrue("${testCase.name}: daylight duration should be longer than 1 hour", daylightDuration > HOUR_MILLIS)
assertTrue("${testCase.name}: daylight duration should be shorter than 24 hours", daylightDuration < DAY_MILLIS)
val riseElevation = CelestialComputer.getSunPosition(testCase.observer, result.riseTimeMillis).elevation
val setElevation = CelestialComputer.getSunPosition(testCase.observer, result.setTimeMillis).elevation
assertEquals("${testCase.name}: sunrise should converge near the standard threshold", SUNRISE_SET_THRESHOLD, riseElevation, 0.02)
assertEquals("${testCase.name}: sunset should converge near the standard threshold", SUNRISE_SET_THRESHOLD, setElevation, 0.02)
}
}
@Test
fun `findSunRiseSet does not return the same instant for equinox regression cases`() {
listOf("2026-03-20T00:00:00Z", "2026-09-23T00:00:00Z").forEach { startIso ->
val result = CelestialComputer.findSunRiseSet(GeoPos(0.0, 0.0), startIso.toMillis())
val separationMillis = abs(result.setTimeMillis - result.riseTimeMillis)
assertTrue("$startIso: sunrise and sunset should be separated", separationMillis > HOUR_MILLIS)
}
}
private fun String.toMillis(): Long = Instant.parse(this).toEpochMilli()
private companion object {
private const val SUNRISE_SET_THRESHOLD = -0.8333
private const val HOUR_MILLIS = 60L * 60L * 1000L
private const val DAY_MILLIS = 24L * HOUR_MILLIS
}
}