Uploaded September 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Originally broadcast on April 29, 2023.
Star clusters have been described as ideal astrophysical "laboratories" because differences between the stars within them can be attributed completely to variations in initial mass. Students are drawn in by the alluringly beautiful images of the clusters, and are excited to construct lovely color images of them. This in turn motivates them to learn about some of the (equally stunning!) physics which can be revealed by the colors in their image. It is a rewarding marriage of art and science!
*Kalée Tock* earned her B.S. in Chemistry from Harvard University, and an M.S. from the Stanford University Department of Chemistry. She then earned a second Master's degree in Learning, Design, and Technology from the Stanford School of Education. She has been a science instructor at Stanford Online High School for 11 years, teaching Astronomy for the most recent 6 of those years. She now teaches three different Astronomy courses there: Astrophysics, Astrobiology, and an Astronomy Research Seminar.
*✩ Interested in attending a live How-to webinar on Zoom?* Visit aavso.org/programs-events to view our schedule and register for upcoming events.
Originally broadcast on April 29, 2023.
Star clusters have been described as ideal astrophysical "laboratories" because differences between the stars within them can be attributed completely to variations in initial mass. Students are drawn in by the alluringly beautiful images of the clusters, and are excited to construct lovely color images of them. This in turn motivates them to learn about some of the (equally stunning!) physics which can be revealed by the colors in their image. It is a rewarding marriage of art and science!
*Kalée Tock* earned her B.S. in Chemistry from Harvard University, and an M.S. from the Stanford University Department of Chemistry. She then earned a second Master's degree in Learning, Design, and Technology from the Stanford School of Education. She has been a science instructor at Stanford Online High School for 11 years, teaching Astronomy for the most recent 6 of those years. She now teaches three different Astronomy courses there: Astrophysics, Astrobiology, and an Astronomy Research Seminar.
*✩ Interested in attending a live How-to webinar on Zoom?* Visit aavso.org/programs-events to view our schedule and register for upcoming events.






![AAVSO How to [Python! Visualizing MESA models with TULIPS]
AAVSo webinar
Instructor: Eva Laplace (Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies HITS)
Please note: Dr. Laplace has provided links for you to download and install Tulips prior to her presentation: https://www.aavso.org/sites/default/files/education/presentations/How-toTulip_Instructions_12.22.pdf
In this third How to Python! broadcast, Dr. Eva Laplace will teach attendees how to use her Python package, TULIPS, to visualize MESA models. MESA models track the changing temperature, radius, composition, and structure of stars as they evolve, making them valuable tools for stellar researchers; but they are famously difficult to use. TULIPS makes it easy to visualize complex information, allowing you to create beautiful plots and animations showing the changes a star will undergo during its lifetime. Knowledge of basic Python is recommended. Attendees are encouraged to familiarize themselves with TULIPS ahead of time: https://pypi.org/project/astro-tulips/
Our previous How to Python webinars will help you become familiar with Python:
The basics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eMTgQuKGHA&list=PLnZ_rvnR35rfGTaq4g3kzVOfkna1JeDyX&index=7&t=2s
Finding Frequency Solutions for Variable Star Light Curves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhtHBkbTuWY&t=3s
Join us for our 2023 webinars!
www.aavso.org/programs-events AAVSO How to [Python! Visualizing MESA models with TULIPS]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YmwHwGK6Y60/mqdefault.jpg)


![AAVSO How to [Python! Finding Frequency Solutions for Variable Star Light Curves]
AAVSO webinar, originally broadcast Oct. 1, 2022.
This is the second session in a three-part series. Basic knowledge of Python is assumed. If youve never used Python before, we recommend installing it and watching AAVSOs recording of the first session (The Basics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eMTgQuKGHA) before watching this one.
Many stars vary in brightness at one or many frequencies. Measuring these frequencies reveals valuable information about the physical properties of the observed systems. This tutorial demonstrates how to measure the frequencies (or periods) of variation in light curve data with the interactive Python package Pyriod. The tutorial will introduce periodograms, significance testing, and the iterative prewhitening algorithm for fitting signals to the data. Attendees will benefit from previous experience with light curves and Python, but this is not required to follow the presentation.
Dr. Bell works with time series photometry from surveys like TESS, Kepler, and the Zwicky Transient Facility. Dr. Bell is the author of the Python package Pyriod for prewhitening frequency analysis of time series astronomical data. AAVSO How to [Python! Finding Frequency Solutions for Variable Star Light Curves]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZhtHBkbTuWY/mqdefault.jpg)
