Put accurate mass, distance, and classification behind any star name.
Stars Lookup retrieves physical and positional stellar data by star name or astronomical classification. Query individual stars or filter by spectral class to obtain mass in kilograms, distance in light-years, and stellar type.
Try it — live request, no key required
No key required to try it. Get a key to use it in your app.
{
"status": "ok",
"error": null,
"data": {
"starName": "Sirius",
"mass": 4.674385e+30,
"diameter": 2825760,
"galX": -5.895,
"galY": -6.152,
"galZ": -1.167,
"dist": 8.6,
"starType": "A1(V)",
"temp": 9500,
"color": "0xbaccff"
}
}
About the Stars Lookup API
Requests accept a specific star name or astronomical classification, such as spectral codes, spectral classes, or categories like red dwarf and supergiant. Classification queries return up to ten matching entries. Each record supplies mass in kilograms, distance in light-years, and stellar classification, while paid plans add surface temperature, diameter, hex color codes, and 3D galactic coordinates.
What people use it for
- Planetarium Display Systems
- Stargazing apps query star names to show visitors distance from Earth, stellar classification, and real celestial mass during live sky tours.
- Sci-Fi Worldbuilding
- To build believable galaxy maps, game developers pull spectral classes like red dwarf or main sequence to seed star systems with authentic physics.
- Astronomy Curriculum Portals
- When students compare celestial bodies, digital textbooks pull mass in kilograms and stellar types to demonstrate the Hertzsprung-Russell relationship.
- Telescope Calibration Software
- Align optical tracking mounts by looking up known reference stars to verify catalog identity and light-year distance against visual field observations.
Ways to call it
One endpoint, many ways in — REST with JSON, XML, YAML and CSV, plus GraphQL and an MCP interface for AI agents.
- JSON
- Default REST response
- XML
- Markup format
- YAML
- Human-readable
- CSV
- Tabular export
- GraphQL
- Query language
- MCP
- For AI agents
Other ways to use Stars Lookup
Same data, same APIVerve account, same credit balance — one key works on all of them.
Is it cheap enough to look up star data for every search query in my app?
Are star diameter, temperature, and coordinates included on the Free plan?
Can I search for stars by classification instead of a specific name?
What units of measurement are used for the returned values?
Can I use this star data inside a commercial stargazing app?
Request parameters — GET /v1/starslookup
Sent in the query string. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them. Anything not listed here is dropped rather than passed through.
Required
| Parameter | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
nameRequired | string | Sirius | The name of the star for which you want to get the data (e.g., Sirius) |
curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/starslookup?name=Sirius" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"Authentication
Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — no token exchange, and no per-endpoint scope to configure.
| Header | When | Value |
|---|---|---|
x-api-keyRequired | Every request | Your API key. Header names are case-insensitive, so X-API-Key is the same header. |
AuthorizationAlternate | Instead of the above | Bearer <key> — for clients that only expose bearer auth. Resolves to the same account and the same billing. |
A 401 means the key is missing, invalid or expired. A 403 means the key is valid but not permitted here — blocked by a key restriction or an IP allow-list. Running out of credits is a 429.
Response — GET /v1/starslookup
Every APIVerve endpoint returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape.
{
"status": "ok",
"error": null,
"data": {
"starName": "Sirius",
"mass": 4.674385e+30,
"diameter": 2825760,
"galX": -5.895,
"galY": -6.152,
"galZ": -1.167,
"dist": 8.6,
"starType": "A1(V)",
"temp": 9500,
"color": "0xbaccff"
}
}
Response fields
Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.
| Field | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
starName | string | "Sirius" | The name of the star |
mass | number | 4.674385e+30 | Mass of the star in kilograms |
diameterPremium | number | 2825760 | Diameter of the star in kilometers |
galXPremium | number | -5.895 | Galactic X coordinate position |
galYPremium | number | -6.152 | Galactic Y coordinate position |
galZPremium | number | -1.167 | Galactic Z coordinate position |
dist | number | 8.6 | Distance to star in light-years |
starType | string | "A1(V)" | Stellar classification type (e.g., A1V) |
tempPremium | number | 9500 | Surface temperature of the star in Kelvin |
colorPremium | string | "0xbaccff" | Color representation as hex code |
Response headers
Every response carries your balance, so your own code always knows where it stands without polling anything. All four are exposed to browsers through CORS.
| Header | What it carries |
|---|---|
x-api-remaining-credits | Credits left in the current cycle |
x-api-credits-used | Credits spent in the current cycle |
x-api-max-credits | The allowance for the cycle |
x-api-version | Version of the endpoint that answered |
Errors
Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change.
| Status | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
400 | Input was rejected | Read error; it names the parameter that has to change. |
401 | Key missing or invalid | Check the header name and the key value. |
403 | Key valid, but not permitted here | A key restriction or an IP allow-list — never a bad key. |
429 | Rate limited, or out of credits | Read error to tell them apart, then back off or top up. |
What a call costs — 2 credits per call
Credits are shared across every APIVerve API — one balance, one key, one bill. Failed requests never count against it, so a rejected input costs nothing.
| Plan | Per month | Credits | Stars Lookup calls | Per 1,000 calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 200 | 100 | Free |
| Starter | $29.99 | 200,000 | 100,000 | $0.30 |
| Pro | $99.99 | 1,000,000 | 500,000 | $0.20 |
| Mega | $299.99 | 4,000,000 | 2,000,000 | $0.15 |
Calls are what the credits buy at this API's rate — spend them here, on any of the other APIs, or across both. Nothing is reserved per endpoint.
Call it from cURL — GET /v1/starslookup
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/starslookup with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/starslookup" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Node.js — GET /v1/starslookup
Install the Node.js SDK, then call the Stars Lookup API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.
npm install @apiverve/starslookupconst res = await fetch("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/starslookup", {
headers: { "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" },
});
const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data);Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Python — GET /v1/starslookup
Install the Python SDK, then call the Stars Lookup API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.
pip install apiverve-starslookupimport requests
res = requests.get(
"https://api.apiverve.com/v1/starslookup",
headers={"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
print(res.json()["data"])Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from C# / .NET — GET /v1/starslookup
Install the C# / .NET SDK, then call the Stars Lookup API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.
dotnet add package APIVerve.API.StarsLookupusing var client = new HttpClient();
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY");
var json = await client.GetStringAsync("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/starslookup");
Console.WriteLine(json);Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Go — GET /v1/starslookup
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/starslookup with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/starslookup", nil)
req.Header.Set("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
defer res.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from PHP — GET /v1/starslookup
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/starslookup with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
$ch = curl_init("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/starslookup");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, ["x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"]);
$response = curl_exec($ch);
echo $response;Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Ruby — GET /v1/starslookup
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/starslookup with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
require "net/http"
uri = URI("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/starslookup")
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["x-api-key"] = "YOUR_API_KEY"
res = Net::HTTP.start(uri.hostname, uri.port, use_ssl: true) { |h| h.request(req) }
puts res.bodyResources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Zero-code embed — one snippet, no backend
Drop an interactive Stars Lookup form onto any page. The widget calls the API for you, so no key ever appears in your markup and there is nothing to deploy.
Changelog — Stars Lookup API
Every change to this endpoint, newest first. Breaking changes ship as a new version and the previous one keeps serving — response fields are added, never removed or retyped in place, so an integration written against v1 keeps working.
Entries are picked up from dated catalog snapshots, so the first one appears after the next snapshot that moves something. A period where nothing changed produces no entry — silence is a valid changelog for the Stars Lookup API.
Science
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