Aug 26 — Aug 31, 2024
Heidelberg, Germany
Admissions are now
open
The mornings will offer lectures and exercises covering skills and techniques for working effectively with large astronomical datasets. In 2024 we expect that the lectures will cover more in-depth, specialized topics. Past years have seen topics such as deep learning, Bayesian inference, databases, numerical Python, and visualization. Check out recorded lectures from previous years if you are looking for introductory materials.
The afternoon every day is entirely unstructured, and offers opportunities for collaborative research, breakout sessions on special topics, and application of the concepts covered during the morning sessions. Come with a project in mind, join someone else's or apply a new skill to an old problem.
AstroHackWeek 2024 will be more of a Hackathon and less of a summer school. Our target participants are advanced graduate students, postdocs and researchers who work at the intersection of statistics, machine learning, software development and big data in astronomy or related fields as well as applications of methods from other fields to astronomical datasets. We do not expect all participants to be expert coders, and we encourage you to apply to the workshop regardless of your coding experience level. If you are still looking to learn about these topics, we have included a list of resources at the end of this page but we do not expect to cover introductory-level materials this year.
We are still working on the schedule for 2024. The schedule will be similar to previous years, with a mix of lectures, tutorials, and unconference sessions. The schedule will be updated here once it is finalized.
During Astro Hack Week, we require participants to follow the code of conduct for the workshop which can be found on our code of conduct page. If you have any questions about the workshop, you can reach the organizing committee at astrohackweek.event@gmail.com.
The workshop will be held at the at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg.
MPIA is accessible to disabled persons, and dedicated parking spaces are available. Unfortunately, the buses dedicated to the event and public transportations may not be accessible for everyone. However, there are specific taxi services in Heidelberg that we can arrange on-demand. Please contact us for specific information about your accessibility needs.
Note that mobile phone connectivity at/around the campus is at best poor but usually non-existent. Internet connectivity will be available for all participants.
The address of the institute is:
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy
Königstuhl 17
69117 Heidelberg, Germany
You may need to apply for a visa to enter Germany. See this overview of visa requirements.
Feel free to contact the organizers if you need a letter of support.
Please check with a German embassy for specific restrictions and visa requirements based on your location and citizenship.
If you are travelling to Heidelberg from within Europe, please consider ground transportation first. Heidelberg can be reached by train quite easily via Deutsche Bahn (DB) has connections to various train. Typically you will have a connection in Mannheim and change platforms there for the S-Bahn to Heidelberg. Trainline could also help you plan your journey across multiple countries and train companies.
Although there are no barier gates in Germany, you will need to buy a ticket before stepping into the trains. The controls are frequent. You can buy tickets online or at ticket machines or for S-Bahn (and local buses) on the eVRN app.
A cheaper but slower alternative is the "Flixbus" from the airport to Heidelberg. The prices range from 5 to 15 € each way, but depending on the time of day, the trip could take up to three hours due to stops and traffic. To investigate timetables and book tickets, you can check out the Flixbus website.
If you decide to rent a car and drive, you can follow these directions (to MPIA).
We recommend flying to Frankfurt Airport (FRA), as this is the nearest international airport to Heidelberg. The following directions to Heidelberg assume that you are starting from Frankfurt.
Deutsche Bahn (DB) has connections from Frankfurt Airport (station: Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Fernbahnhof) to various train stations around Heidelberg (likely either Hauptbanhof or Altstadt, depending on where your hotel is). Typically you will take a train to Mannheim and change platforms there for the S-Bahn to Heidelberg. The total travel time is of the order of one hour. Tickets cost about 25 € each way. The timetable is available here. You can buy a ticket in advance, but we don't recommend the cheaper "saver" tickets, as these apply to the specific booked train -- You cannot use them on a different train if you have flight delays.
The two best shuttle options are Transfer & Limousine Service (TLS) (40 € each way) and Lufthansa Express Shuttle (25 € each way).
There will be a shuttle to transport participants from the town center up the hill to MPIA/HdA every morning. It will leave from Hotel NH on Bergheimer Strasse at 08:15 (bus/company name "discipulus"). It will then stop briefly to pick up at Peterskirche (the stop on the south side of the road, i.e., the one closest to the hill) at 08:20 (the bus might only arrive five minutes later here, but be there no later than 08:20 as the bus cannot wait). A local participant will be at each pick-up point and travel on the bus. A bus will bring participants back into town (the same two stops) after each day's workshop.
At other times of the day, you can take Bus 30 - the "Science Bus" - up to MPIA (the bus will drop you off right outside HdA) or back down the hill (you probably want to get off at Peterskirche). A map of the entire bus/tram network is here (the MPIA is slightly below and right of the center). You can buy tickets online or at ticket machines or (if that fails) from the driver on the bus (the cost is approximately 2.50 € each way) or on the eVRN app. Note that where the Science Bus departs - Universitätsplatz - to go up to MPIA is not far from Peterskirche. There is also a taxi stand near there if all else fails.
The easiest way to explore Heidelberg is by foot. The Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr (RNV) provides public transportation in Heidelberg with buses and trams; these can take you more or less anywhere you want to go within the city. The timetables can be found online; you can also download various apps to help you plan, e.g., the official RNV app (in german) or the RNV Ticket app, and the eVRN app (in English). Note that Google Maps can also provide bus schedules.
Participants are responsible for making their own accommodation arrangements. Heidelberg has plenty of hotel and Airbnb options; the following hotels are some suggestions (but we do not endorse any particular hotel).
Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
This year's event is being organized by
Dear colleagues,
We are excited to welcome you to the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in Heidelberg, Germany for an inclusive, accessible and fun event.
Applications for Astro Hack Week 2024 are now open! Please submit your application by midnight AoE on Friday, May 31st, 2024, to receive full consideration. Selected participants will be notified by June 14.
We are dedicated to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all participants. We understand that travel may be difficult, for this reason the 2024 Astro Hack Week will be an in-person conference with the option for remote participation.
Email us if you have any questions or concerns.
We hope to see you in Heidelberg in October!
Sincerely,
The 2024 Astro Hack Week organizing committee
As discussed above, this workshop is not designed to cover all fundational topics. Below we include a list of other workshops and resources that may also be of interest.