AstroTech

Tau Beta Pi Astrotech project Gaia catalogue: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/edr3-gcns Useful astroquery links: https://astroquery.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ https://docs.astropy.org/en/latest/index.html Solar system planet texture: https://www.solarsystemscope.com/textures/ (used in blender)

File Descriptions

Python Scripts & Code

• blackbody_color.py: A helper module that converts a given temperature to its peak wavelength (using Wien's Law) and then to an RGB color equivalent. Useful for visualizing stars based on temperature.
• gaia_solar_system_xyz.py: Queries the Gaia DR3 database for named solar system objects only (e.g. Ceres, Vesta — excludes provisional designations like 1993_DV). Extracts orbital elements and calculates heliocentric XYZ coordinates and velocities.
• gaia_stars_xyz.py: Queries the Gaia DR3 database for stars within a given sky region and converts their RA/Dec/Parallax into heliocentric Cartesian XYZ coordinates (in parsecs and AU). Also retrieves proper motion, radial velocity, and BP-RP color.
• query_gaia_solar_system.py: A general purpose script to query Gaia DR3 for solar system observation data (RA, Dec, Magnitude). It prioritizes "important" objects (planets, major moons) and includes a random sample of asteroids.
• javascript for blender(animation): Note: This is a Python script for use within Blender (import bpy). It automates the creation of a 3D solar system animation, including generating planets with textures, orbits, and correct axial tilts.

Jupyter Notebooks

• Integrators.ipynb: Contains physics simulations for orbital dynamics. It implements a Runge-Kutta 4 (RK4) integrator to simulate the orbit of Earth around the Sun.
• Planetary_Satellites_List.ipynb: A reference notebook containing a structured list of dictionaries with data on various planetary satellites (Moon, Phobos, Deimos, Galilean moons, etc.), including their GM, radius, and density.

Documentation & Data

• Gaia Query Code (wuth xyz conversion)/: A folder containing a self-contained Python project (SolarQuery).
  • gaia_stellar_data.py: Queries Gaia DR3 for stellar data (stars), retrieving properties like position, parallax, and physical parameters (temperature, mass, radius). It also converts RA/Dec/Parallax to Cartesian XYZ coordinates (in parsecs).
• How to Use Gaia Query Code: A quick reference guide for running gaia_stellar_data.py.
• gaia_solar_system_data.csv, gaia_solar_system_xyz.csv & gaia_solar_system_xyz_30kobjects.csv: CSV output files generated by the solar system query scripts. The 30kobjects file contains a large dataset of ~30,000 solar system objects with their heliocentric XYZ coordinates.
• gaia_stars_xyz.csv: CSV output file generated by gaia_stars_xyz.py, containing heliocentric XYZ coordinates and stellar properties for queried stars.