# Body Properties

Body entities returned from the [Positions API](/endpoints/bodies/positions.md) consists of the following properties.

<table data-header-hidden><thead><tr><th>Section</th><th width="150">Subsection</th><th width="150">Data Type</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Section</strong></td><td><strong>Subsection</strong></td><td><strong>Data Type</strong></td><td><strong>Description</strong></td></tr><tr><td>id</td><td>-</td><td>string</td><td>Unique identifier for the body</td></tr><tr><td>name</td><td>-</td><td>string</td><td>User friendly name for the body</td></tr><tr><td>distance</td><td>-</td><td>object</td><td>Distance object</td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td>fromEarth</td><td>object</td><td>Distance from Earth in Kilometers (km) and Astronomical units (au)</td></tr><tr><td>position</td><td>-</td><td>object</td><td>Position object</td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td>horizonal</td><td>object</td><td>Position object in horizontal coordinates. Object will return the values in Altitude and Azimuth (Alt/Az) format. Numerical and literal values are returned.</td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td>equatorial</td><td>object</td><td>Position object in equatorial coordinates. Object will return the values in Right Ascension and Declination (RA/Dec) format. Numerical and literal values are returned.</td></tr><tr><td>extraInfo</td><td>-</td><td>object</td><td>Other information relating to the body</td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td>elongation</td><td>string</td><td>Angular separation between the Sun and the planet, with Earth as the reference point</td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td>magnitude</td><td>string</td><td>Apparent magnitude of the object</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>phase</td><td>object</td><td>Phase of the body as an angle and a fraction.</td></tr></tbody></table>

{% hint style="info" %}
`phase` property is available only in the Moon body&#x20;
{% endhint %}

#### Sample response object

```javascript
{
    "date": "2017-12-20T08:00:00.000Z",
    "id": "saturn",
    "name": "Saturn",
    "distance": {
        "fromEarth": {
            "au": "11.04833",
            "km": "1652807114.58763"
        }
    },
    "position": {
        "horizonal": {
            "altitude": {
                "degrees": "-57.37",
                "string": "-58&deg; 37' 48\""
            },
            "azimuth": {
                "degrees": "78.82",
                "string": "78&deg; 49' 12\""
            }
        },
        "equatorial": {
            "rightAscension": {
                "hours": "17.98",
                "string": "17h 58m 48s"
            },
            "declination": {
                "degrees": "-22.53",
                "string": "-23&deg; 28' 12\""
            }
        }
    },
    "extraInfo": {
        "elongation": "1.66392",
        "magnitude": "0.31200"
    }
}
```


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.astronomyapi.com/requests-and-response/body-properties.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.