Using Python for Astronomical Data Analysis in the Era of JWST

The Space Telescope Science Institute and core developers from the Astropy community are sponsoring a workshop at the January 2017 meeting of the American Astronomical Society #AAS229.

This workshop will cover the use of Python tools for astronomical data analysis and visualization in the era of JWST, with the focus primarily on UV, Optical and IR data. Data analysis tools for JWST are being written in Python and distributed as part of Astropy, a community developed Python library for astronomy,  and its affiliated packages, many of which are designed to be compatible with JWST, HST and other major mission data.

Our goals will be to introduce you to the variety of tools which are already available inside the Astropy library as well as provide ample hands-on time during which you’ll be able to explore the science analysis capabilities which the greater python environment and community provide.

We plan on accomplishing this with focused talks on the main tools followed by more extended instructor guided tutorials where you’ll be able to try them out for yourself and ask questions in the company of expert users and developers.  Instructions on installing the necessary software will be provided before and during the workshop, however those attending should make every effort to install the software ahead of time. Some basic Python experience is highly recommended to be able to effectively participate in the exercises, but those without Python experience will still get much useful information about the capabilities for data analysis in Python and perhaps pick up some pointers on where they can get started learning more scientific Python and integrating it into their work flow.

If you would like to get a head start with the tools we will be concentrating on you can check out their documentation on readthedocs:

• Physical Units and Quantities
• Basics on accessing data files, both FITS and ascii tables
• Coordinate utilities
• Modeling and Fitting
• Interactive visualization and analysis tools
  • Glue
  • imexam
  • spectroscopy tools such as specview
  • Photometric tools, such as photutils

Register for #AAS229 and this workshop by Thursday, 29 September to avoid paying higher rates. Find rates and details on the Society’s registration page, and be sure to check out the other workshops and events taking place during the meeting, as well.

For those of you just starting out in using python for astronomy, or looking for more information consider checking out the resources listed below and begin exploring the possibilities!

The Astropy website, go here for a good overview and documentation about the project:
http://www.astropy.org/

Ready to get into the action? Check out some of these tutorials:
http://www.astropy.org/astropy-tutorials/

Consider participating in one of the upcoming JWST Data Analysis Workshops, which will be supporting both on-site and remote participation:
User Training in JWST Data Analysis II

Python For Astronomers, where the  emphasis is on using Python to solve real-world problems that astronomers are likely to encounter in research.
https://python4astronomers.github.io/