(kind of) New here and need some help with studying!!

[purrykitty]

Hello, starry people! I had an older account which I lost access to few months ago and decided just now to start over. 

I'm an undergraduate student from Bangladesh, majoring in physics. I love, love, love the sky, which you can guess since I'm posting here. 

Now, what I really need right now is some advice. I want to pursue my career in astrophysics, but coming from a third world country, I really have no idea how. I have finished one year of my undergrad and expect to have decent scores. Now I want to know what I should do in order to learn more than just classroom stuff. 

I observe the sky occasionally with my telescope and have experience with a bit of programming (mainly C++) and problem solving. If I wanted to really make use of these and learn further, how should I proceed? How can I solve real physics problems outside of textbooks? 

It may seem weird but in our country research in physics is really rare and it's often difficult to reach out to the professors. So any advice will be appreciated! 

Thanks and clear skies to everyone!

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hello @purrykitty and welcome [back] to SGL. 

[Helen]

Hello, and welcome back!

The number of opportunities in astrophysics is not great, but that does not mean you shouldn't aim high!

I'm currently a postgrad - studying comets.  I'd suggest learning to program in python (and particularly astropy) would be a good place to start - most astro programming seeems to be going that way.  

I haven't tried this, but it looks interesting (I think you could take more time though!) https://paper.dropbox.com/doc/Software-Engineering-and-Science-An-Interactive-Textbook-with-Applications-to-Astronomy--Ap8F0jfcVdmRoDLAgZbgdZJ0Ag-hRMFdoEaLvzZFgE8ZvOp6

You could also get involved with some of the https://www.zooniverse.org/ projects.

LCOGT/Faulkes Tel;escope provide education resources and projects you can try.  https://lco.global/education/  http://www.faulkes-telescope.com/

See what you think 🙂

Helen

[Dave Lloyd]

Hi there, welcome. 

[Floater]

Welcome back. I hope you have success In solving your problems - and fun while doing so. 🙂

[purrykitty]

1 hour ago, Helen said:

Hello, and welcome back!

The number of opportunities in astrophysics is not great, but that does not mean you shouldn't aim high!

I'm currently a postgrad - studying comets.  I'd suggest learning to program in python (and particularly astropy) would be a good place to start - most astro programming seeems to be going that way.  

I haven't tried this, but it looks interesting (I think you could take more time though!) https://paper.dropbox.com/doc/Software-Engineering-and-Science-An-Interactive-Textbook-with-Applications-to-Astronomy--Ap8F0jfcVdmRoDLAgZbgdZJ0Ag-hRMFdoEaLvzZFgE8ZvOp6

You could also get involved with some of the https://www.zooniverse.org/ projects.

LCOGT/Faulkes Tel;escope provide education resources and projects you can try.  https://lco.global/education/  http://www.faulkes-telescope.com/

See what you think 🙂

Helen

Hello, Helen! Really nice to meet you and thanks a lot for the suggestions. I was considering learning python this year anyway so I think I'm gonna give this a shot. Thanks again for all the resources. 

And thanks everyone for the welcoming words. 

Clear skies.

[banjaxed]

Hi and welcome to SGL, and the very best of luck with your Quest.

[cletrac1922]

Hi, and welcome from Australia

I think one of the best people you can talk to is Professor Alan Duffy

I have know Alan for a number of years, and he is based at Swinburne Institute of Technology, in Melbourne Australia

Alan does a lot of modelling on large scale computers with astrophysics

Alan is like a modern day version of the late Professor Julius Sumner Miller

You might even be able to come out to Australia and further your studies under him

The attached link gives you all the information you require about Alan, including contact details

https://www.swinburne.edu.au/research-institutes/data-science/people/alan-duffy/

John

 

 

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome back to the SGL.

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Peter in Bedfordshire 

[ronl]

Hello and welcome to the community, hope you enjoy your time with us.

Clear Sky's.

[sloz1664]

Hi, and a very warm welcome back to the Lounge

Steve