Some perspectives from the Astropy Project
- 1. Some Perspectives fromâš The Astropy Project Kelle Cruzâš CUNY Hunter College
- 2. Outline âąFunctionality of packages in the Astropy Project âąInclusive Practices & Educational Resources âąChallenges and Needs
- 3. Astropy Core Package âš (currently v3.1.x) âą Units and âQuantitiesâ (arrays with units that act the way youâd expect). Integrated with comprehensive astro- appropriate physical constants âą Date/time good to nanoseconds over a Hubble time âą Celestial coordinates and their transformations âą Table manipulation, including many arcane astro formats âą nddata: Image analysis and interoperability data structures âą Astro-appropriate convolution âą WCS (pixel sky mapping) âą Extensible I/O: FITS, VOTable, hdf5, custom âą Data modeling and ïŹtting âą Common astrostatistics tools âą Cosmology tools Best place to look is always http://docs.astropy.org
- 4. Astropy Coordinated And AïŹliated Packages âą APLpy: astronomical plotting âą astroquery: access to internet-accessible astronomy resources âą ginga: interactive image viz âą imexam: quick image analysis âą pydl: simple IDL ports âą PyVO: VO access âą WCSAxes: WCS-aware matplotlib plots âą pyregion: ds9 region ïŹles âą montage-wrapper: image mosaicing âą ccdproc: ccd reductions âą photutils: photometry âą specutils: spectroscopy âą gammapy: gamma-ray astronomy âą sncosmo: supernova light curves ïŹtting/typing/etc âą halotools: high- performance tools for using n-body simulations to model galaxy formation âą galpy: tools for Galactic dynamics âą dust_extinction: tools for those who study dust and those who hate it Canonical list is at: http://aïŹliated.astropy.org
- 5. Astropy AïŹliated Packages âą A common goal and vision: reducing duplication, embracing good coding practices, and an open development philosophy âą Listing on http://aïŹliated.astropy.org (curated and reviewed) âą Package template that provides the Astropy build/support infrastructure
- 6. Getting Help âą Python Users in Astronomy Facebook group âą Twitter âą Userâs Email list âą Slack https://www.astropy.org/help.html
- 8. The Looming Diversity Disaster âą Tech training remains a privilege âą Increasing necessity of tech skills to do astro research âą Current landscape exacerbates the already un-level playing ïŹeld Inclusive practices, education, & broadening participation âš needs to be a huge priority for all projects.
- 9. The Looming Diversity Disaster âą All projects are excluding users and developers in one way or another. âą Hard, awkward work must be done to identify the exclusive practices. âą Constant eïŹort must be exerted to implement practices which counteract exclusive tendencies
- 10. 10, 20, 40 Year Goal To create a community and infrastructure which could survive after Python.
- 11. Lowering Barriers to Entry: Educational Resources âą Tutorials which can be integrated into formal education âą Workshops at AAS Winter Meeting âą Multiple discussion forums âą User-to-contributor mentoring program
- 12. Assignments Assignments cover are similar to tutorials but require code to be generated by user. They can be used as homework assignments. Solutions are made available to instructors upon request. Vision for Learn Astropy website
- 13. Discover tutorials by package, âš task, and/or textbook inspired by Zappos shopping experience Vision for Learn Astropy website
- 14. Educational Resources: âš So much more to do⊠⹠Documentation in multiple languages âą Regional workshops âą Multiple discussion forums, in multiple languages âą More content âą âŠ
- 15. Code of Conduct âą Addresses âbad habitsâ which are unwelcoming, not just unprofessional behavior âą All tool choices are valid: No IDL bashing âą Itâs ok to be a newbie: No minimization of diïŹculty levels âą Shared responsibility: Everyone is responsible for enforcement
- 16. Code of Conduct Tech rules act as training wheels for dealing with more seriously problematic behavior.
- 17. Questions/Discussion about Education Resources & Culture Building?
- 18. Challenges facing the Astropy Project âą Rapidly growing user base âą Not enough educators âą Not enough community managers âą Not enough maintainers and developers
- 19. Challenges facing the Astropy Project Success of project has brought âenterprise-levelâ expectations and misunderstandings about the nature of project. Culture change is needed to make open- development model more widely understood.
- 20. Challenges facing the Astropy Project If/when we get funding, âš the project governance will need to change to manage the money. Weâre going to need managers.
- 21. Funding Priorities (IMO) âą Educational resources with goals of broadening participation and bringing tech training into formal curriculum âą Focus on identifying exclusive practices, implementing inclusive practices, shaping community culture, growing community in targeted directions. âą Focus on identifying best practices for sustaining projects with and without funding.