Bounded answer
Recompute the output across an explicitly bounded change in ephemeris version, preserve all other inputs, and report both the numerical delta and every categorical boundary crossing.
Input contract
What must be fixed first
Baseline canonical input manifest
One explicitly varied input or convention
Frozen kernel and dependencies
Numerical and categorical comparison thresholds
Procedure
Work the decision in order
- 1
Freeze the baseline manifest and kernel.
- 2
Define the variation before seeing the preferred interpretation.
- 3
Recompute every point under the same operation.
- 4
Measure numerical deltas and boundary crossings.
- 5
Withhold outputs that are unstable across the admitted interval.
Expected outputs
- Sensitivity table
- Stable and unstable output sets
- Boundary-crossing and refusal report
Refuse when
- A software upgrade can alter positions without any change in user-supplied inputs.
- Required input, unit, convention, or dependency version is absent.
- An interpretive preference selects the computational convention after outputs are seen.
Questions this guide answers
How does uncertainty in ephemeris version change deterministic outputs?
Vary ephemeris version inside a declared interval while holding every other input and the kernel fixed.
Which information must be versioned?
At minimum, preserve two named ephemeris versions, identical inputs, output coordinates, and per-body deltas, together with the canonical input and output digests.
When should an output be withheld?
Withhold it when a software upgrade can alter positions without any change in user-supplied inputs. or when a required dependency cannot be identified.
Does determinism validate the interpretation?
No. Determinism makes the computation reproducible; interpretive or predictive validity requires a separate prospective evaluation.
What belongs in the receipt?
The operation, canonical inputs, units, assumptions, dependency versions, outputs, uncertainty treatment, and package digest.
Limits
- A software upgrade can alter positions without any change in user-supplied inputs.
- Reproducible astronomical arithmetic does not validate an astrological interpretation or prediction.
- No missing number, uncertainty interval, or calculation receipt is invented.