Resources
The texts, software and archives I actually work from — the astrophysics references I keep open, the numerical and statistical groundwork underneath them, and the tools and databases the projects on this site are built on.
Astrophysics & Observation
Precise algorithms for precession, nutation, sidereal time, planetary positions, rise and set times, eclipses, and coordinate transformations.
Resonances, perturbation theory, the restricted three-body problem, orbital stability, and long-term planetary dynamics.
Emission, absorption, scattering, synchrotron radiation, bremsstrahlung, Compton scattering, and radiation transport.
Detector physics, CCD noise, calibration, signal-to-noise, photometry, and astronomical imaging.
A deep dive into radiative transfer, spectral lines, stellar atmospheres, and energy transport.
Practical observing: detectors, photometry, spectroscopy, telescopes, calibration, and observational instrumentation.
Gravitational systems with enormous numbers of bodies — stellar orbits, distribution functions, relaxation, and galaxy structure.
Precision positions, proper motion, parallax, reference frames, Earth orientation, and coordinate systems.
Numerics & Statistics
Practical numerical integration, interpolation, optimisation, root finding, ODEs, Monte Carlo methods, and scientific computation.
Eigenvalue problems, SVD, least squares, conditioning, stability, and the mathematics behind computational science.
Bayesian reasoning, likelihoods, probability distributions, parameter estimation, and uncertainty.
Statistics built around astronomical datasets: censored data, regression, time series, and inference.
Plasma, Quantum & Matter
Debye shielding, plasma waves, magnetic fields, particle motion, instabilities, and astrophysical plasmas.
Magnetohydrodynamics, equilibrium, stability, magnetic confinement, and the fluid behaviour of magnetised plasmas.
Connects quantum mechanics to actual molecules: bonding, molecular orbitals, rotational and vibrational states, and spectroscopy.
Crystal lattices, phonons, band structures, semiconductors, magnetism, and condensed-matter physics.
Software & Archives
High-quality N-body simulations for planetary systems, orbital dynamics, resonances, asteroid systems, and gravitational interactions.
The literature-search infrastructure for astronomy and astrophysics.
Overlays astronomical catalogues, survey images, coordinates, sources, and measurements on actual sky data.
Infrared astronomical datasets from missions and surveys; an excellent introduction to working with archival research data.