Agent skill · Data & Analytics

astropy-astronomy

Core Python library for astronomy/astrophysics: units with dimensional analysis, celestial coordinate transforms (ICRS/Galactic/AltAz/FK5), FITS I/O, tables (FITS/HDF5/VOTable/CSV), cosmology (Planck18, distance/age), precise time (UTC/TAI/TT/TDB, Julian, barycentric), WCS pixel-world mapping, model fitting. For general tables use pandas/polars; for radio interferometry use CASA.

BioTender-maxgithub.com/BioTender-maxGitHub ↗
claude-codeNOASSERTION
Install
npx skills add BioTender-max/awesome-bio-agent-skills --skill astropy-astronomy --agent claude-code

Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.

Facts
Files in the skill folder: 4
SKILL.md size: 22 KB
Bundled scripts: none
Path: skills/sciagent/astropy-astronomy/SKILL.md
Open the folder on GitHub →
Where it comes from
Stars: 135
Language: Python

Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.

Review
written from the skill's own SKILL.md · Aug 5, 2026

What it does

Guides an agent to perform common astronomy data tasks using Astropy: handle units and quantities, transform between coordinate frames (ICRS, Galactic, FK5, AltAz), read/write FITS files, manipulate tables (including QTable with units), perform cosmological calculations (Planck18, FlatLambdaCDM), work with precise time scales (UTC, TAI, TT, TDB) and formats (JD, MJD), and use WCS for pixel-world mappings. It also covers basic 3D coordinates, time arithmetic, cross-matching catalogs, and simple image analysis workflows. For general tabular data, it recommends pandas or polars; for radio interferometry, CASA. The code examples show creating quantities, transforming coordinates, reading FITS, and simple table operations.

How it works

  • Use units and quantities via astropy.units to create and convert physical quantities with automatic unit tracking.
  • Use astropy.coordinates to create coordinates in various frames (e.g., ICRS, Galactic) and transform between frames, including AltAz with a given obstime and location.
  • Read, write, and manipulate FITS files with astropy.io.fits, including headers, data arrays, and multi-extension files; support memory-mapped access with memmap.
  • Handle tables with astropy.table and QTable for unit-aware data; perform filters, sorts, joins, and aggregation, and write in FITS or ECSV formats.
  • Perform cosmological calculations with Planck18 and FlatLambdaCDM, querying luminosity distance, angular diameter distance, comoving distance, age, lookback time, and more.
  • Work with time scales and formats using astropy.time.Time, including conversions between UTC, TAI, TT, TDB, JD, MJD, and ISO; execute time arithmetic and array operations.
  • Use WCS utilities to convert between pixel and world coordinates, read WCS from FITS headers, and apply transformations.
  • Follow recommended workflows for coordinate conversion, FITS image analysis, and catalog cross-matching; the skill includes examples for catalog matching and simple source detection.

When to use it

  • When converting celestial coordinates between frames (ICRS, Galactic, FK5, AltAz).
  • When working with quantities with units or applying domain-specific unit conversions.
  • When reading or writing FITS files (images or tables) and manipulating headers.
  • When performing cosmology calculations or estimating cosmological distances.
  • When handling precise time scales and time formats for astronomy data.
  • When cross-matching catalogs or performing basic image analysis with WCS.
  • When working with general tabular data (use pandas/polars) or radio interferometry data (use CASA).

What it can touch

  • astropy.units for unit-aware calculations.
  • astropy.coordinates for coordinate frames and transformations.
  • astropy.time for time scales and arithmetic.
  • astropy.cosmology for distance and age calculations.
  • astropy.io.fits for FITS I/O and headers.
  • astropy.table for table operations, including QTable with units.
  • astropy.wcs for WCS handling and coordinate mapping.
  • Code samples reference standard Python libraries (e.g., NumPy, Matplotlib) as needed.

Caveats

  • For general tabular data use pandas or polars; for radio interferometry use CASA.
  • License is BSD-3-Clause; no additional risk statements are provided beyond that.
  • The skill emphasizes explicit, concrete tasks with code examples; it does not guarantee specific outcomes.
From the SKILL.md

# Astropy — Astronomy & Astrophysics Toolkit ## Overview Astropy is the core Python package for astronomy, providing essential functionality for astronomical research: unit-aware calculations, celestial coordinate transformations, FITS file I/O, cosmological calculations, precise time handling, tabular data operations, and WCS image coordinate mapping. ## When to Use - Converting between celestial coordinate systems (ICRS, Galactic, FK5, AltAz) - Working with physical quantities and units (Jy→mJy, parsec→km, spectral equivalencies) - Reading, writing, or manipulating FITS files (images and tables) - Cosmological calculations (luminosity distance, lookback time, comoving volume) - Precise time handling with multiple scales (UTC, TAI, TT, TDB) and formats (JD, MJD, ISO) - Cross-matching astronomical catalogs by sky position - WCS transformations between pixel and world coordinates - For **general tabular data**: use pandas or polars instead - For **radio interferometry**: use CASA instead ## Prerequisites ```bash pip install astropy # Core package pip install astropy[all] # With optional dependencies (regions, photutils, etc.) pip install pytz # For timezone conversions ``` ## Quick

What's inside
Steps it walks through
  1. Overview
  2. When to Use
  3. Prerequisites
  4. Quick Start
  5. Core API
  6. 1. Units & Quantities (astropy.units)
  7. 2. Coordinate Systems (astropy.coordinates)
  8. 3. FITS File Handling (astropy.io.fits)
  9. 4. Table Operations (astropy.table)
  10. 5. Time Handling (astropy.time)
  11. 6. Cosmological Calculations (astropy.cosmology)
  12. 7. WCS & Image Processing
  13. Key Concepts
  14. Unit Equivalency System
Ships with 3 files
  • references/auxiliary_modules.md
  • references/coordinates_time_cosmology.md
  • references/data_io_guide.md
Commands it runs
pip install astropy           # Core package
pip install astropy[all]      # With optional dependencies (regions, photutils, etc.)
pip install pytz              # For timezone conversions
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About this skill
What does the astropy-astronomy skill do?

Core Python library for astronomy/astrophysics: units with dimensional analysis, celestial coordinate transforms (ICRS/Galactic/AltAz/FK5), FITS I/O, tables (FITS/HDF5/VOTable/CSV), cosmology (Planck18, distance/age), precise time (UTC/TAI/TT/TDB, Julian, barycentric), WCS pixel-world mapping, model fitting. For general tables use pandas/polars; for radio interferometry use CASA.

How do I install it?

Run `npx skills add BioTender-max/awesome-bio-agent-skills --skill astropy-astronomy --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.

Where does this skill come from?

From BioTender-max/awesome-bio-agent-skills, a repository with 135 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.

Is a popular skill a good skill?

Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.

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