Machine Learning in Astronomy

PyData Pittsburgh is excited to host our first event of 2025: Machine Learning in Astronomy. Join us on Tuesday, February 25, as Ashod Khederlarian, a 4th-year Ph.D. student at the University of Pittsburgh, shares state-of-the-art Machine Learning techniques being used to analyze vast astronomical datasets.

We have an exciting venue for this event—the Allegheny Observatory has graciously agreed to not only host the talk but also offer a free private tour exclusively for the PyData Pittsburgh group after the presentation! Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about cutting-edge AI applications in astronomy while exploring one of Pittsburgh’s most fascinating scientific landmarks.

Note: Attendance for this event is limited. Please RSVP only if you are committed to attending. Thank you.

About the talk:

Astronomy is an observational science. To understand the history and evolution of our universe and everything in it, our only option is to observe the night sky and test our theories against the observations. Current and next-generation observatories, such as the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, the Rubin Observatory, the Roman Space Telescope, and the Euclid Space Telescope will collect light coming from billions of galaxies and stars, resulting in 10s of terabytes of data per night. Most of this complex, high-dimensional data will not be seen by the naked eye, making data science and Machine Learning (ML) tools essential for analyzing them.

In this talk, Ashod will highlight how state-of-the-art ML techniques are being used in Astronomy. Particularly, he will focus on his work at the University of Pittsburgh on using simple neural networks to add realistic properties to galaxy simulations, using deep convolutional neural networks to make 3D maps of the universe, and using dimensionality reduction techniques to visualize high-dimensional datasets.

About the observatory:

The Allegheny Observatory is one of the major historic astronomical research institutions of the world. A short presentation about the institution will be shown followed by a walking tour of the building finally ending up at the 13" Fitz-Clark refractor.

Times:
7pm, Doors Open
7:30pm, Machine Learning in Astronomy Talk
8:30pm, Observatory Tour

Getting to the observatory:

Address: 159 Riverview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15214

If you are coming up 279 from Pittsburgh, take exit 3, Hazlett St. Turn left on East street. Continue north on East St. DO NOT turn left on Milroy. Your mapping program will reroute you: Continue on and bear left to stay on East street at the 4th light. Make a sharp left turn onto Perrysville Ave. Continue on to make a right turn at Riverview Ave.

You can park on the righthand side of the one way road that loops around the observatory, or in the parking lot for the nearby dog park. Enter through the main doors and proceed to the event room.

If you arrive at the front door and it is closed, please knock or buzz the bell. Thanks!

To use a handicapped-accessible ramp, park in the back of the observatory, use the ramp to the back door and ring the doorbell to the left of the door.