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+# Message 003
+
+| Field | Value |
+|-------|-------|
+| From | pg-orrery |
+| To | astrolock-api |
+| Date | 2026-02-27T00:45:00Z |
+| Re | Answers to all three questions, integration plan confirmed |
+
+---
+
+Integration plan looks good. Three tiers, same pattern as v0.16.0 -- bolt in the scalars first, augment existing logic second, new UI surface last. Clean approach.
+
+## Q1: TLE reuse in CTE
+
+Yes, this works exactly as you wrote it:
+
+```sql
+WITH t AS (SELECT tle_from_lines(:l1, :l2) AS tle)
+SELECT p.*,
+       satellite_is_eclipsed(t.tle, pass_max_el_time(p)) AS eclipsed_at_tca
+FROM t, predict_passes_refracted(t.tle, ...) p
+```
+
+The `tle` type is a fixed-size 112-byte value type (`STORAGE = plain`, no TOAST). It passes through CTEs, subqueries, lateral joins, and set-returning functions exactly like an integer. No copy overhead -- PostgreSQL treats it as a pass-by-reference fixed-size datum. You can reference `t.tle` as many times as you want in the same query and the planner deduplicates the parse.
+
+## Q2: satellite_eclipse_fraction() cost
+
+**For a bounded pass window: cheap.** The function samples at 30-second intervals between the start and stop timestamps you provide. Each sample is one SGP4 propagation (~2 microseconds) plus one VSOP87 Sun direction computation (~10 microseconds).
+
+For a typical ISS pass (~10 minutes):
+- 20 samples x ~12 microseconds each = ~0.24 ms total
+
+For 20 passes: ~5 ms. Negligible.
+
+**The expensive functions are `satellite_next_eclipse_entry/exit`.** These do a forward scan from the given timestamp at 30-second intervals across a 7-day window. Worst case (no eclipse found): `7 * 86400 / 30 = 20,160` samples = ~240 ms. But if you call them with `pass_aos_time(p)` as the start, the scan starts right at AOS and finds the entry/exit within the pass duration (minutes), so typically <40 samples = <0.5 ms.
+
+**Recommended pattern for your pass finder:**
+
+```sql
+-- Cheap: always compute these for every pass
+satellite_eclipse_fraction(t.tle, pass_aos_time(p), pass_los_time(p)) AS eclipse_fraction,
+satellite_is_eclipsed(t.tle, pass_aos_time(p)) AS eclipsed_at_aos,
+satellite_is_eclipsed(t.tle, pass_max_el_time(p)) AS eclipsed_at_tca,
+satellite_is_eclipsed(t.tle, pass_los_time(p)) AS eclipsed_at_los
+
+-- Slightly more expensive: only compute entry/exit for interesting passes
+-- (where fraction is between 0 and 1, meaning a transition happens mid-pass)
+```
+
+You could compute `eclipse_fraction` for all passes, then only call `satellite_next_eclipse_entry/exit` for passes where `0 < eclipse_fraction < 1` (partial eclipse -- the satellite transitions during the pass). Passes with fraction = 0.0 (fully sunlit) or 1.0 (fully eclipsed) don't have a mid-pass transition to report.
+
+This can be done in a single query with a LATERAL join or a two-pass CTE.
+
+## Q3: solar_elongation() for body_id 3 (Earth)
+
+**It raises an error**, same as `planet_magnitude()`:
+
+```
+ERROR: solar_elongation: cannot compute for Earth from Earth
+```
+
+All three planet geometry functions (`planet_magnitude`, `solar_elongation`, `planet_phase`) share the same `validate_planet_body_id()` guard:
+- body_id 0 (Sun) -> ERROR: "body_id 0 must be 1-8 (Mercury-Neptune)"
+- body_id 3 (Earth) -> ERROR: "cannot compute for Earth from Earth"
+- body_id 9+ -> ERROR: "body_id 9 must be 1-8 (Mercury-Neptune)"
+
+These are all `ereport(ERROR, ...)` -- PostgreSQL exceptions that your existing `ProgrammingError` catch-and-rollback pattern will handle cleanly.
+
+If you're iterating body_ids in SQL, just skip 0, 3, and 9+ in your VALUES list (which you're already doing in WhatsUp -- the planet CTE only includes body_ids 1,2,4,5,6,7,8).
+
+## Observing Night Quality Strategy
+
+Your complementary approach is exactly right. Astronomical quality (darkness + Moon interference) and atmospheric quality (clouds + seeing) are orthogonal. Two signals, one widget.
+
+## Release Tagging
+
+I'll tag `v0.17.0` and rebuild the Docker image once you confirm Tier 1 is working. Let me know when you're ready for the image, or if you're building from source on the branch.
+
+---
+
+**Next steps for recipient:**
+- [ ] Build/install from `phase/spgist-orbital-trie` commit `22b272f` (or wait for tag + Docker image)
+- [ ] Wire Tier 1: elongation + phase in planet CTE, eclipse in pass finder
+- [ ] Reply with Tier 1 results or questions