Who Are These Notes For?#
This Jupyter Book is intended to be useful for:
Undergraduate students taking an introductory course in astronomy or physics
Students who are new to scientific computing but curious about how computation supports physical reasoning
Anyone with some background in astronomy or physics who is interested in a structured, interactive presentation of the material
These notes are written with the assumption that curiosity and effort matter more than prior experience.
What These Notes Are (and Are Not)#
This book is not a traditional textbook. It is not meant to be read passively from start to finish, and it is not a collection of formulas to memorize.
Instead, it is designed as:
a guided companion to lecture and discussion,
a place to see how physical ideas are modeled mathematically,
and a space to check, explore, and verify ideas using computation.
The goal is to help you develop confidence in thinking like a scientist, not just in producing answers.
Interacting with the Book#
Many sections of the book include Python code cells embedded in Jupyter notebooks. These are used primarily for:
verifying analytical results,
visualizing physical behavior,
and checking assumptions.
You do not need prior experience with Python to use this book effectively.
Each chapter can be opened using Google Colab via the rocket icon at the top of the page.
The Launch Colab button available at the top of each page.
The Google Colab environment already includes common scientific packages such as:
numpyscipypandasmatplotlib
You are encouraged to:
run code cells,
modify values,
break things,
and see what changes.
Learning happens when you experiment.
How to Read Worked Examples#
Most worked examples in this book follow a consistent structure:
The Problem — what is being asked
The Model — how we represent the physical situation
The Math — the analytical steps
The Conclusion — the final result and its interpretation
The Verification — a numerical or computational check
When studying an example:
Read the Model before the math.
Try to predict the result before reading the solution.
Use the verification step to confirm your reasoning, not replace it.
About Computation and Exams#
Python is used in this book as a learning and verification tool.
On exams:
You will be provided with lookup tables, not code.
You are expected to understand units, dimensions, and physical reasoning, not Python syntax.
The purpose of computation here is to help you:
build intuition,
catch mistakes,
and connect abstract equations to real quantities.
Cloning and Contributing#
All source material for this book is publicly available on GitHub:
Because the book is open source, you are welcome to:
clone it for your own use,
suggest improvements,
or adapt portions for other courses.
This book is intended to be a living document that evolves with feedback, refinement, and continued use.