HEALPix TypeScript

TypeScript implementation of the HEALPix (Hierarchical Equal Area isoLatitude Pixelization) spherical projection system, with functions to convert HEALPix to longitude/latitude, and vice versa.

Based on Górski et al. (2005). A more in depth explanation of the concepts can be found in the CONCEPTS document.

Important

Attribution: This implementation is highly based on michitaro/healpix. Code was forked, organized, documented, and new features added.

What is HEALPix?

HEALPix is a scheme for dividing a sphere into pixels with three key properties:

1. Equal Area: Every pixel has exactly the same area (important for statistical analysis)
2. Hierarchical: Pixels can be subdivided into 4 children (enables multi-resolution)
3. Iso-Latitude: Pixel centers lie on rings of constant latitude (enables fast spherical harmonics)

HEALPix is widely used in astronomy (CMB analysis, sky surveys) and geospatial applications.

Installation

npm install healpix-ts

Quick Start

import { 
  order2nside,
  ang2PixNest, 
  pix2AngNest,
  pix2LonLatNest,
  cornersNestLonLat
} from 'healpix-ts'

// Resolution: order 8 = nside 256 = 786,432 pixels
const nside = order2nside(8)

// Convert position to pixel index
const theta = Math.PI / 4  // 45° from north pole
const phi = Math.PI / 2    // 90° longitude
const ipix = ang2PixNest(nside, theta, phi)

// Get pixel center in lat/lon
const [lon, lat] = pix2LonLatNest(nside, ipix)
console.log(`Pixel ${ipix}: lat=${lat.toFixed(2)}°, lon=${lon.toFixed(2)}°`)

// Get pixel corners
const corners = cornersNestLonLat(nside, ipix)
console.log('Corners:', corners)

See API for more details.

Resolution Levels

Order	Nside	Total Pixels	Pixel Size (deg²)	Approx. Resolution
0	1	12	3437.75	58.6°
1	2	48	859.44	29.3°
2	4	192	214.86	14.7°
3	8	768	53.72	7.3°
4	16	3,072	13.43	3.7°
8	256	786,432	0.052	13.7'
10	1024	12,582,912	0.003	3.4'

Numbering Schemes

NESTED Scheme

• Preserves spatial locality (nearby pixels have nearby indices)
• Efficient for hierarchical operations
• Parent pixel: ipix >> 2
• Children pixels: [4*ipix, 4*ipix+1, 4*ipix+2, 4*ipix+3]

RING Scheme

• Pixels numbered along iso-latitude rings
• Optimal for spherical harmonic transforms

UNIQ Scheme

• Packs (order, ipix) into a single integer
• Used for multi-resolution coverage maps (MOC)

Coordinate Systems

3D Vector (X,Y,Z)  ↔  Spherical (z,a)  ↔  Projection (t,u)  ↔  Pixel (f,x,y)  ↔  Index

• 3D Cartesian (X, Y, Z): Unit sphere, Z = north pole
• Spherical (z, a): z = cos(colatitude), a = azimuth
• Angular (theta, phi): theta = colatitude, phi = longitude
• Lat/Lon (lat, lon): Geographic coordinates in degrees
• Projection (t, u): HEALPix 2D projection
• Pixel (f, x, y): Base pixel + local coordinates
• Index: NESTED, RING, or UNIQ

File Structure

src/
├── index.ts           # Main entry point
├── types.ts           # Type definitions
├── constants.ts       # Mathematical constants
├── utils.ts           # Utility functions
├── resolution.ts      # Resolution conversions
├── coordinates/       # Coordinate transformations
│   ├── spherical.ts   # 3D ↔ spherical
│   └── projection.ts  # HEALPix projection
├── pixel/             # Pixel operations
│   ├── fxy.ts         # (f,x,y) coordinates
│   ├── geometry.ts    # Corners, sub-pixel positions
│   └── hierarchy.ts   # Parent/child relationships
├── schemes/           # Numbering schemes
│   ├── nested.ts      # NESTED scheme
│   ├── ring.ts        # RING scheme
│   ├── uniq.ts        # UNIQ scheme
│   └── conversion.ts  # Scheme conversions
├── lookup/            # High-level lookup functions
│   └── lookup.ts      # pix2ang, ang2pix, etc.
├── query/             # Spatial queries
│   ├── disc.ts        # Disc queries
│   └── box.ts         # Bounding box queries
└── geo/               # Geographic utilities
    └── latlon.ts      # Lat/lon conversions

References

• HEALPix Official Website
• HEALPix Paper (Górski et al. 2005)
• HEALPix Documentation
• michitaro/healpix – Original JavaScript/TypeScript implementation

License

MIT – see LICENSE