Why CS+X: The Need for Computational Astronomy
Written by Emma Maxwell
Space. The final frontier.
Just because the Space Race is technically over in no way means that space science and exploration has been halted. NASA, SpaceX, and many other organizations are continuing to reach for the stars.
Don’t you want to get in on the action?
The intersection of astronomy, computer science, and astrophysics has been prevalent since space travel stopped being a dream and started being a reality decades ago.
Why Computational Astronomy is Important
Almost every subfield of modern astronomy by its very nature requires some level of computational applications. Astronomers and astrophysicists deal with incredibly large datasets that no human or group of humans could analyze by hand in a feasible amount of time. Knowledge of computer programming is essential to make sense of the astronomical amount of information being collected about the cosmos. The hardware produced for astronomy and astrophysics also requires computational knowledge. Someone has to program the Mars rovers so they know how to move and analyze samples, someone has to receive the infrared information from the James Webb telescope, and someone has to program the many simulations needed in a field where one can rarely touch what they are studying; why couldn’t it be you?
Opportunities at Illinois
At the University of Illinois, a groundbreaking degree in Computer Science + Astronomy (CS+Astro) is offered through the college of Liberal Arts and Sciences in collaboration with the Computer Science department, housed in the Grainger College of Engineering. This unique undergraduate curriculum trains students in both astronomy and computer science, as well as the intersection of the two fields.
Anika Khandavalli, a current freshman in Computer Science + Astronomy, walked WCS through the program here at UIUC.
The CS+Astro curriculum begins with introductory courses in computer science, astronomy, and astrophysics. After the first year, students take a course called “Computing in Astronomy” (ASTR 310), which introduces the foundational computational skills required for a career in astronomy or astrophysics, including python libraries like Astropy.
In addition, almost all of the 300 and 400 level astronomy courses require some amount of programming, mostly in python with data science applications. Khandavalli noted that this was a difference from the CS core, which is mostly in Java and C++; she appreciated that through a CS+Astro degree, she is being trained in a wide variety of popular programming languages.
Khandavalli advised students to “lean into the fact that you’re doing CS+X.” Computer science is an incredibly interdisciplinary field that can be applied to almost every other subject on the planet, but by doing CS+Astro Khandavalli highlighted that students “have a built in bestie for CS.” The courses at the University of Illinois offer many options to explore the ways that computer science is applied to and used to enhance the fields of astronomy and astrophysics.
In addition to coursework that focuses on the intersection of computer science and space studies, Khandavalli highlighted that there are many other opportunities for students to grow their skills in computational astronomy.
The University of Illinois is home to the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), a leader in providing high performance and high-speed computing infrastructure to researchers and other scientific entities across the nation. The astronomy department frequently makes use of the NCSA, since the scale of their research and datasets often requires computational speed only the NCSA can provide. Khandavalli encouraged students to reach out to their astronomy professors if they are interested in getting involved with the NCSA, since its likely many of them are already doing research there!
Beyond research, Illinois is home to many astronomy-focused registered student organizations (RSOs) that are always looking for new members! Among these are the Illinois Space Society, the Astrobiology Club, which discusses the possibility of extraterrestrial life, the Astronomical Society, and more! You can always explore student groups at Illinois here.
What You Can Do with Computational Astronomy
Students with a degree in computational astronomy have many options. They can use the computer science portion of their degree to pursue work in technology like anyone else with a technical degree; a degree in CS+Astro prepares students well for work in software engineering, technology consulting, and more. But there are also many unique opportunities for computational astronomers. Khandavalli highlighted that students are “a perfect implant” for “anything dealing with the space industry right now.” Even though many student internships are solely computer science based, candidates with a strong background in astronomy and astrophysics will be much more appealing to space-centric organizations.
Graduates of the CS+Astro program can go on to work with NASA, SpaceX, and many others, developing technologies for Mars rovers, astral simulations, satellite detection, celestial cartography, and beyond.
The deeply adventurous human spirit is never going to stop exploring the stars until we have discovered every inch of our ever-expanding universe. Pursuing computational astronomy and computational astrophysics prepares you to advance human knowledge of the cosmos beyond our wildest dreams.
Interested in learning more? Check out these resources:
