• NASA
  • IPAC

Pytuts - Python Tutorial for NITARP participants

This tutorial series will walk you through the very basics of computer programming using the python scripting language. The course is targeted towards the complete novice programmer. That is, someone who has never programmed in any language, or has very little experience in programming.

Programming is an essentially requirement for modern scientific research. Python, in particular, is heavily used in astronomy for its relative ease of use and power.

This tutorial was designed and run in Spring 2014 by Dr. Babar Ali (IPAC, NHSC) who was a mentor for a team in 2013 which used Python in their team work. The tutorial has a wiki page : http://coolwiki.ipac.caltech.edu/index.php/Pytuts

The archived videos are here:

  • Week 1 - Introduction to programming, spyder and python, a.k.a the very beginnings of programming. The microphone was not completely cooperative. We will work on improvements for next time.
  • Week 2 - Data, variables, and mathematical operations.
  • Week 3 - Controlling your program's flow.
  • Week 4 - Working with files and functions.
  • Week 5 - Plotting and other miscellanea.

The application period is now closed for NITARP 2025. We will release our selection for the 2025 class at the 2025 January AAS.