Planet Positions in Google Sheets & Excel

What this pulls

Look up a planet's sky position from a cell. Returns coordinates and distance — Sheets or Excel.

It's one of 250+ live sources you reach with a single =VERVE() function — served from APIVerve's production data engine, billed at 1 credit per resolved cell, and refreshed on whatever cadence you set. No API keys to wrangle, no scripts, no exports.

See it in a cell

A real example — the input you type, and the values you can pull from it. Click any cell to see the formula behind it.

planetpositions.xlsxsample data

D2fx=VERVE("planetpositions", A2, B2, C2, "field", "isBelowHorizon")

Lat

Lon

Planet

Is Below Horizon

Date

37.7749

-122.4194

Moon

FALSE

2025-04-15T10:37:00Z

click any cell to see its formula1 credit / cell

Ways to use it

One value per row

Fill =VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "isBelowHorizon") down a column and Planet Positions returns a result for every row — a batch of live values in a single drag, no code.

Enrich data in place

Add Planet Positions beside a table you already have to append its output right where your data lives, then sort, filter, or chart on it.

Stays fresh on its own

Set the sheet to refresh on a schedule and the planet positions values keep themselves current without anyone re-typing.

Use it in your sheet

The same function works in both apps — install once, sign in with your key, and type it into any cell.

Google SheetsAdd-on

Install from the Workspace Marketplace, then drop the formula into a cell. Autocomplete suggests the source and its fields.

=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "isBelowHorizon")

Microsoft ExcelAdd-in

Same source, same arguments, same key — in Excel on desktop, the web, or mobile. Excel namespaces it as VERVE.CALL. Drag to fill a whole column.

=VERVE.CALL("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "isBelowHorizon")

Optional inputs

Tune the result by adding name=value before the field argument — in any order. Leave one out and its default applies.

datePremium
The date to get planetary position data for (MM-DD-YYYY)
=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "date", "01-16-2026")
time
The time of day for the calculation (HH:mm format, 24-hour). Defaults to 00:00 if not provided
=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "time", "21:00")
alt
The altitude of the observer in meters
=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "alt", "0")

Fields you can pull

Add a field name as the last argument to land just that value in the cell.

Is Below Horizon
=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "isBelowHorizon")
Observer › Latitude
=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "observer.latitude")
Observer › Longitude
=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "observer.longitude")
Right AscensionPremium
=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "rightAscension")
Right Ascension › Hours
=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "rightAscension.hours")
Right Ascension › Minutes
=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "rightAscension.minutes")
Right Ascension › Seconds
=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "rightAscension.seconds")
DeclinationPremium
=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "declination")
Declination › Degrees
=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "declination.degrees")
Declination › Minutes
=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "declination.minutes")
Declination › Seconds
=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "declination.seconds")
DistancePremium
=VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "distance")

Premium marks data included on paid plans. On the Free plan a marked field is withheld and a marked input is ignored — either way the cell reads #PREMIUM(name) instead of a value, so a gated answer can never be mistaken for a real one. Everything unmarked works on every plan. Compare plans

Planet Positions, answered

Everything you need to wire it into a sheet.

How do I pull Planet Positions into Google Sheets?

Install the VerveSheets add-on, sign in once with your key, and type =VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "field", "isBelowHorizon") into any cell. The "field" argument names the value you want back, so the cell resolves to a single number or string you can chart, sort, or feed into another formula.

What data can I pull from Planet Positions?

Planet Positions returns isBelowHorizon, observer.latitude, observer.longitude, rightAscension.hours and rightAscension.minutes, plus 4 more — name any one of them as the "field" argument and that value lands in the cell. Leave the field out and the whole record spills into a two-column table instead.

Can I narrow what Planet Positions returns?

Yes — Planet Positions takes "date", "time" and "alt" as optional inputs. They go in as "name", value pairs after the required ones, in any order, so =VERVE("planetpositions", 37.7749, -122.4194, "Moon", "date", "01-16-2026") shapes the result without changing anything else.

Which Planet Positions fields need a paid plan?

rightAscension, declination and distance are included from the Starter plan up. On the Free plan the cell returns #PREMIUM(field) rather than a wrong or empty value, so it's always obvious which one to upgrade for. Every other field works on Free.

Can I fill a whole column of Planet Positions at once?

Yes. Put your lat values down a column and point the formula at the range — A2:A50 instead of A2 — and one call returns a value for every row. Dragging the formula down works too, but the range form is a single billed call per column rather than one per cell.

How many credits does each Planet Positions cell cost?

Each resolved cell costs 1 credit. A cell only re-bills when it actually refreshes, so a sheet you aren't touching doesn't keep charging.

Does Planet Positions work in Excel as well as Google Sheets?

Yes — same arguments, same key, same fields. Excel namespaces custom functions, so the call is =VERVE.CALL() there and =VERVE() in Google Sheets; nothing else about it changes.

Planet Positions

One value per row

Enrich data in place

Stays fresh on its own

Planet Positions, answered

Put Planet Positions in your next spreadsheet. Add the extension, paste the formula, and the cell keeps itself current.

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