// about
About .Astronomy
A conference series that builds a dynamic community of scientists and educators, exploiting the potential of modern computing and the web in the era of data-driven astronomy.
Rather than focusing on scientific questions, .Astronomy focuses on innovative use of the web to develop new research tools, and to communicate with a broad audience through online platforms and innovative engagement resources.
What happens at .Astronomy?
Through talks, tutorials, unconferences and hack days, participants:
- Gain new coding or maker skills
- Learn about the latest data services and tools
- Learn how to communicate and collaborate more effectively using web platforms
- Broaden their views on what a career in astronomy can look like
The Format
A typical .Astronomy event runs for 3-4 days:
- Day 0 (optional): Tutorial day with introductory sessions on tools and technologies
- Day 1: Talks and lightning talks from participants
- Day 2: Hack Day, where participants collaborate on projects proposed at the meeting
- Day 3: Unconference sessions proposed and voted on by attendees
History
.Astronomy was founded by Robert Simpson in 2008 at Cardiff University. What began as a small gathering of astronomers interested in the web has grown into a community of over 300 alumni spanning research, education, outreach, and industry.
The conference has been held across the globe: Cardiff, Leiden, Oxford, Heidelberg, Cambridge MA, Chicago, Sydney, Cape Town, Baltimore, Toronto, New York, and Madrid.
In 2017 we surveyed over 300 past participants: 90% came away with new ideas and inspiration, 67% said it impacted their day-to-day work. See the Research page for the full paper.
Topics over time
How the themes of .Astronomy have shifted across 14 events. Hover or tap a line to highlight it.
Scores derived from talk titles, speaker bios and hack descriptions across all event pages. Higher score = more prominent theme at that event.
Help build this archive
This site is an open archive of the .Astronomy conference series. If you were there, you can help fill in the gaps.
Missing talks, hacks, participants or agenda items from an event you attended? File an issue and we'll add them.
Open an issue on GitHubBuilt something at a .Astronomy hack day that isn't in the archive? Tell us about it.
Submit via GitHubSpotted a mistake, wrong date, misspelled name, or broken link? File a correction.
File a correctionComfortable with GitHub? Edit the files directly and open a PR. See CONTRIBUTING.md for the repo structure.
Read CONTRIBUTING.mdContact
- Community: Join the .Astronomy Slack
- GitHub: github.com/dotastro
- Bluesky: @dotastro.bsky.social
- Foundation: foundation@dotastronomy.com
- Brain Trust nominations: braintrust@dotastronomy.com
Background images
This site uses images from space telescopes as background images, changing each visit.