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Unit of study_
OLET1618: Data Science in Astronomy: Algorithms
This unit of study is no longer offered. Refer to your handbook for alternative units available in your course.
2021 unit information
Science is undergoing a data explosion, and astronomy is leading the way. Modern telescopes produce terabytes of data per observation, and the simulations required to model our observable Universe push supercomputers to their limits. To analyse this data scientists need to be able to think computationally to solve problems. In this course you will investigate the challenges of working with large datasets. How to implement algorithms that work and how to think about scaling to large datasets. The focus is on practical skills - all the activities will be done in Python 3, a modern programming language used throughout astronomy. This will be run as a 0 cp + 2 cp unit of study. Students should have strong programming skills in Python 3, with a good understanding of loops, decisions and user-defined functions.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Science
| Study level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Academic unit | Physics Academic Operations |
| Credit points | 2 |
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Prerequisites:
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None |
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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None |
| Assumed knowledge:
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Students should have strong programming skills in Python 3, with a good understanding of loops, decisions and user-defined functions. |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. demonstrate an understanding of some astronomical phenomena
- LO2. understand the type of problems that may arise when dealing with big data
- LO3. discuss ways you can improve computational solutions to data analysis problems
- LO4. write short programs (in Python) to analysis datasets.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
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There are no availabilities for this year.
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
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Disclaimer
Important: the University of Sydney regularly reviews units of study and reserves the right to change the units of study available annually. To stay up to date on available study options, including unit of study details and availability, refer to the relevant handbook.
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