The Work Begins
School is out, and the classes are done, as such, the projects begin. I am beginning my project with some preliminary reading in the field of astronomy with a focus on dust rings in the Helix Nebula. I don't claim to have extensive knowledge about the Helix Nebula or astronomy in general, but I took on this project with an understanding that I would start out playing from behind. Albeit, I look forward to working on-site at the University of Arizona and I am excited to not only begin to get the real work done but also to begin my learning.
This aspect of my project is what I see as one of the most interesting parts for me because I am learning most of the skills and knowledge for this project as I perform it. Example: I have very limited knowledge on the Python coding language, but the final code will be written using this language. However, this means that in the process of performing my project, I acquire another invaluable skill.
One of the activities that I am working on this week is attempting to create a Gaussian Distribution in two dimensions in Python. This will help me learn some of the Python library and get used to its order. After that, I will attempt to modify some of the parameters so that the figure is no longer circular, but elongated. I will definitely need to do some research in order to accomplish this, but we will see how it goes.
For more context about my project, please see the about page.