sbpy: A Python module for small-body planetary astronomy

Planetary astronomy the study of Solar System objects with telescopic observations from the ground or from space utilizes a wide range of methods that are common in observational astronomy. However, some aspects, including the planning of observations, as well as the analysis and interpretation of the results, require tailored techniques and models that are unique and disparate from those used in most other fields of astronomy. Currently, there is no single open source software package available to support small-body planetary astronomers in their study of asteroids and comets in the same way in which Astropy (Astropy Collaboration et al., 2018, 2013) supports the general astronomy community.