Fall 2025 Computational Astrophysics (A student's repo breakdown)

A collection of coursework for my Computational Methods in Astrophysics class, including homework assignments and a final project on stellar flyby simulations.

Repository Structure

Homework Assignments

File	Topic
compastro.py	Homework 1
hw2.py	Homework 2
hw3.py	Homework 3
hw4.py	Homework 4
hw5.py	Homework 5
hw6.py	Homework 6

Data files:

• tic0011480287.fits - Hw 4 TESS data file

Supporting personal class exercises:

• exercise_4.2.py - Exercise from textbook/course materials
• difference.py - Numerical differentiation methods
• precision.py - Numerical precision analysis

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Final Project: Stellar Flyby Simulation

Simulating the gravitational effects of a stellar flyby on a planetary system using N-body dynamics.

Project folder:

• Final Project/ - Additional final project materials Main simulation code:
• stellar_flyby_simulation.py - Core N-body simulation of stellar flyby event (Simple Version)
• interactive_simulator.py - Expanded Final Project (See top comments for running instructions)
• enhanced_interactive_visualization.py - Expanded options for visualizating user parameter simulated senario
• debris_disk_simulation.py - Simulating debris disk perturbations during flyby (Supplemental)

Visualizations Outputs:

File	Description
simulation_results.html	Summary of simulation results
animated_3d.html	3D animated visualization of simulation
interactive_3d.html	Interactive 3D viewer
flyby_demo_3d.html	3D flyby demonstration
flyby_demo_animated.html	Animated flyby visualization
flyby_demo_dashboard.html	Dashboard with simulation metrics
flyby_demo_debris.html	Debris disk visualization during flyby
debris_disk_3d.html	3D debris disk viewer
debris_before_after.html	Comparison of system before/after flyby
dashboard.html	Main simulation dashboard

Output figures:

• debris_comparison.png - Before/after comparison of debris disk
• orbital_evolution.png - Evolution of orbital parameters over time
• trajectories_3d.png - 3D trajectory plot of system bodies

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Requirements

numpy
matplotlib
scipy
plotly  # for interactive HTML visualizations
astropy # for FITS file handling

Reference

• https://compmeth.commons.gc.cuny.edu/syllabus/ - Class Website
• https://github.com/ari-maller/comp_meth_notebooks/tree/main - Reference Examples

Author

Lisha Ramon

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Professor Ari Maller for their guidance and instruction throughout this course.