Spring 2027

Observational Astronomy and Data Analysis

A basic introduction to observational astronomy and data analysis through projects using optical and radio telescopes, covering data reduction, calibration, statistics, and scientific ethics.

no offering record for this termCredits unavailable
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 No instructors listed

Summary

1 / 5

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.68 GPA, 76.5% A/AB (n=17 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.81 GPA, 91.7% A/AB (n=24 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.80 GPA, 85.7% A/AB (n=28 letter grades).

What you’ll be able to do

  • Understand how astronomical observations are obtained, processed and analyzed.

  • Use simple scientific computing methods to plan astronomical observations and analyze astronomical data.

  • Understand uncertainties in astronomical measurements to draw meaningful conclusions from the conducted experiments.

  • Demonstrate the basics of oral and written scientific presentations.

  • Practice principles and standards of professional and ethical conduct. Learn when and how to cite references and when it is appropriate to credit the contributions of others or claim credit for one's own work.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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AB
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

PHYSICS 205, 241, or 249

ASTRON 465

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027

No instructors recorded for this selection.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

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Student experience

the class

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.68 GPA, 76.5% A/AB (n=17 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.81 GPA, 91.7% A/AB (n=24 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.80 GPA, 85.7% A/AB (n=28 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

No workload feedback recorded.

Topics

  • Observation and data reduction, basic calibration of radio and optical telescopes, basics of data analysis and statistics, presenting scientific results, and basics of scientific ethics.
  • Professional and ethical conduct, citation practices, and crediting contributions.

Skills

  • Observation and data reduction, basic calibration of radio and optical telescopes, basics of data analysis and statistics, presenting scientific results, and basics of scientific ethics.
  • Use simple scientific computing methods to plan astronomical observations and analyze astronomical data.
  • Understand uncertainties in astronomical measurements to draw meaningful conclusions from the conducted experiments.

Grades

Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Fall 2025

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

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Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

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Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
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Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

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Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "0ac0324c00c58f66f0f890c53c79599a444babd4d016513b8f0426937e01903c",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}