Chevron Left
Back to Data-driven Astronomy

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Data-driven Astronomy by The University of Sydney

4.8
stars
1,382 ratings

About the Course

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; how to use databases to manage your data; and how to learn from your data with machine learning tools. The focus is on practical skills - all the activities will be done in Python 3, a modern programming language used throughout astronomy. Regardless of whether you’re already a scientist, studying to become one, or just interested in how modern astronomy works ‘under the bonnet’, this course will help you explore astronomy: from planets, to pulsars to black holes. Course outline: Week 1: Thinking about data - Principles of computational thinking - Discovering pulsars in radio images Week 2: Big data makes things slow - How to work out the time complexity of algorithms - Exploring the black holes at the centres of massive galaxies Week 3: Querying data using SQL - How to use databases to analyse your data - Investigating exoplanets in other solar systems Week 4: Managing your data - How to set up databases to manage your data - Exploring the lifecycle of stars in our Galaxy Week 5: Learning from data: regression - Using machine learning tools to investigate your data - Calculating the redshifts of distant galaxies Week 6: Learning from data: classification - Using machine learning tools to classify your data - Investigating different types of galaxies Each week will also have an interview with a data-driven astronomy expert. Note that some knowledge of Python is assumed, including variables, control structures, data structures, functions, and working with files....

Top reviews

DA

Sep 17, 2020

Very Nice course, materials well explained though the programming exercises were very difficult for me, as I did not had that much in depth knowledge of python, for which I had to take additional help

SK

Sep 10, 2020

Really amazing course! Gave me insights into how data analysis works in the field of astronomy and how one can use different machine learning techniques to classify the huge amounts of data generated.

Filter by:

151 - 175 of 395 Reviews for Data-driven Astronomy

By Abdul A

•

Jan 22, 2019

Excellent presentation and delivery method by the instructors and very good course content. Highly recommend it anyone curious about Universe and to understand it better!

By Ashik K

•

Dec 28, 2023

A great course for physics students to learn data analysis. The course takes you through data analysis tools in python, SQL and supervised machine learning algorithms.

By Aditi D

•

Apr 3, 2021

Absolutely stunning! As an undergraduate student, this course gives me an insight into what skills are really necessary for a strong grasp on research in Astrophysics.

By Shivam R

•

May 24, 2020

An excellent course! Computer science students interested in astronomy will find this course very helpful to develop a practical approach for their programming skills!

By Ananth R

•

Apr 24, 2019

Wonderful course and loved every bit of it. My only concern is that I would love to have some form of a certificate even though I can not afford to pay for the course.

By AMIT S

•

May 23, 2020

Assignments are core of this course and are brilliantly designed . Pace of course is ideal and it encourages you to study more in each of skill area it touches upon

By Vishvajith G

•

Jan 21, 2022

10/10 would recommend my peers to take on this course. Might need some pre-requisites but once they're met, the course is like the sky, you never stop watching it.

By Sandeep P S

•

Jun 26, 2020

Excellent Course for introduction to Astronomy with Data Science. The assignments were well really well planned and the videos were involving. Loved the course !

By Erik H

•

Sep 28, 2019

I really enjoyed this course. You'll learn some python, some SQL. But for me most important was learning more about astronomy and the universe. Very interesting.

By Daian G

•

Jul 15, 2022

Amazing course. You need some basic programming skills but if you are like me, a developer just looking to know more about space, then this course is for you.

By Iván G M B

•

Apr 29, 2021

Simply amazing. The best course I've ever taken... Physics, Astronomy, Astrophysics, and Big Data Science. The tools needed to understand our universe. Thanks.

By Carlos V G

•

Jun 21, 2020

Really enjoyable course. Great for learning basic stuff regarding data management and machine learning algotithms, all in the fascinating context of astronomy.

By Ryan H

•

May 6, 2017

Great class! I didn't know that these techniques were used in astronomy. I am looking forward to more science and scientific computing courses from Coursera.

By JAI S

•

Jul 1, 2020

This course was very thorough,easy to understand and really fascinating, every little bit was explained clearly. This is what an online course should be like.

By Nohely B

•

Jun 1, 2020

Es un increíble curso! Bien organizado y con excelentes profesores. La herramienta externa es genial, con ella pude aprender a usar Python! Gracias por tanto.

By Josh C

•

Jan 2, 2019

This class is incredible and inspirational. I learned so many highly applicable skills and I am very glad to have taken this class in its entirety. Thank you!

By Tomás S

•

Apr 5, 2022

Very comprehensive and well explained course. It nicely introduces key concepts for everyone intestered in learning more about data science and astrophysics!

By Greg

•

Sep 20, 2023

This course is very interesting. We'd like to keep exploring and go further. This means that the objective of the course is fulfilled! Thank you very much.

By Syed K H

•

Feb 25, 2018

One of the interesting course and topic of coursera. Very informative, even you are not from this field, you will get lots of knowledge of this Astronomy.

By Miguel A

•

Apr 21, 2020

Fue un excelente curso , me ayuda mucho para poder intentar el procesado de unos catalogos de galaxias en especial la parte del machine learning aplicado

By Luis C M R

•

Mar 9, 2021

This course is amazing. I enjoyed learning about astronomy, writing code and applying machine learning models!. Where can is the second part coming out?

By Matsvei Y

•

Mar 1, 2021

Very good and full of information course. Helped me in understanding a lot of astronomical theories and how to solve astronomical problems using python

By Andrés A M

•

Mar 27, 2021

Great course!! Very entertaining and useful to introduce concepts of big data, machine learning and database management to physicist and astronomers.

By Xiaoping L

•

Mar 11, 2018

It's awesome! the combination of lecture and coding-tast is a very brilliant mode. This is my first course I have ever finished in Coursera! Thanks!

By karthik s

•

Jul 22, 2020

I really loved the content from this course. The information that was given in the course was at least from decades of research and its conclusions.