astropy-astronomy
Astropy — Astronomy & Astrophysics Toolkit
Overview
Astropy is the core Python package for astronomy, providing essential functionality for astronomical research: unit-aware calculations, celestial coordinate transformations, FITS file I/O, cosmological calculations, precise time handling, tabular data operations, and WCS image coordinate mapping.
When to Use
- Converting between celestial coordinate systems (ICRS, Galactic, FK5, AltAz)
- Working with physical quantities and units (Jy→mJy, parsec→km, spectral equivalencies)
- Reading, writing, or manipulating FITS files (images and tables)
- Cosmological calculations (luminosity distance, lookback time, comoving volume)
- Precise time handling with multiple scales (UTC, TAI, TT, TDB) and formats (JD, MJD, ISO)
- Cross-matching astronomical catalogs by sky position
- WCS transformations between pixel and world coordinates
- For general tabular data: use pandas or polars instead
- For radio interferometry: use CASA instead
Prerequisites
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