Foundations of Astronomical Data Science (https://tautme.github.io/2022-01-08-SaltLakeCityDC/)
Workshop Registration (https://aas.org/meetings/aas239/program)
As the astronomical community moves into an era of big data, the paradigm of data processing is changing. We are transitioning from local end-to-end data processing (from taking or simulating observations to publishing the data) to retrieving pre-processed large datasets through database queries. The growing importance of such transactions are evident with current projects such as TESS, Gaia, SDSS, ZTF, HST, and Illustris and will become a necessity to fully utilize the next generation of astronomical surveys, telescopes, and simulations. Interaction with these databases and visualization of these complex datasets will be essential skills. This workshop will introduce participants to selecting information from an online database in an efficient and reproducible way and effectively visualizing the results.
The Astronomy Data Carpentry Workshop will consist of short tutorials alternating with hands-on practical exercises focused on building complex SQL queries using Astroquery, working with the retrieved data as Astropy Tables and Pandas data frames, storing the data locally for future use, and communicating the results with clear and compelling figures using Matplotlib. The workshop will be run by two Carpentries certified instructors as well as a team of helpers.
This course is aimed at astronomers at all stages of their education and careers. Participants are expected to have shell and Python knowledge equivalent to the Software Carpentry Python Curriculum (https://swcarpentry.github.io/python-novice-inflammation/): the ability to write a function in Python, familiarity with Python built-in types such as lists and dictionaries, and the ability to navigate directories using the command line.
This Data Carpentry curriculum is a new offering developed with the AAS and Carpentries using a Venture Partnership Fund from the AIP. See this blog post for more details about the curriculum and the development process: https://carpentries.org/blog/2021/04/call-for-beta-applications-astronomy/
Registration is for both days. Participants will need personal computers and to be able to install software in advance of the workshop. A group list will be compiled approximately one month prior to the workshop to distribute software requirements and provide collaborative troubleshooting. Workshop participants are also encouraged to participate in the Hack Day to apply their workshop skills. More information on the Data Carpentry project can be found at https://datacarpentry.org.