Resources

On the web, one can find countless resources related to astronomical schools and programs, competitive exams, online courses, and whatnot for undergrad students aspiring to pursue Astronomy & Astrophysics as a career.
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Here, I've tried to compile some useful resources, especially for Indian students, but they can be used by anyone for preparing oneself to pursue A&A. All the lists are updated in every week or two or whenever I get time.

Compiling all the information on this page has taken a lot of time & hard work. If you find the links helpful, buy me a coffee to keep me motivated for continuing this work.

Thank you!

Page Last Updated: 26/04/2021

Online courses in Astronomy:

1. Scientific Computing in Astronomy, Krittika Astronomy Club, IITB 

2. Data-Driven Astronomy, Coursera

3. GROWTH Astronomy School 2020, Caltech

4. Summer school and Refresher course in Astronomy & Astrophysics 2020, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA)

5. Radio Astronomy Winter School 2020, National Centre for Radio Astrophysics - Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (NCRA-TIFR)

6. GW@Home, LIGO-India & IUCAA

Scientific Python & Astronomy:

1. Python for Astronomers

2. A Beginner’s Guide to Working with Astronomical Data, Markus Pössel, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy

3. Python Data Science Handbook

4. Explorable Physics

5. MCMC (Markov Chain Monte Carlo): A (very) Beginner’s Guide

6. Blender for Scientists - Complete Intro to 3D

7. 3D Scientific Visualization with Blender, Brian R. Kent

8. A Simple Guide to Beautiful Visualizations in Python, Frank Andrade

Useful Youtube videos & channels (Highly Recommended):

1. 3Blue1Brown - Concepts of Mathematics visualized at it's best!

2. Constellations | Seeker, Sarafina Nance, UCB

3. Your Daily Equation with Brian Greene

4. The Maths of General Relativity

5. Dr. Becky (Astrophysicist)

6. Life Around Science

7. Crashcourse

8. Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell 

9. A Stellar History of Modern Astronomy, Emily Levesque, University of Washington

10. Daily Life of an Astrophysicist, Dr. Becky, Oxford University

11. Life of an IUCAA Astrophysics Research Scholar, Parisee Shirke, IUCAA

12. A Day in the life of an Astronomer, South African Astronomical Observatory 

13. Be An Astrophysicist, Colleen Hoon, ANU

Astronomy Schools & Graduate programs in India:

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Till now there is no institute in India that offers a Bachelors's program in Astronomy or Astrophysics. Therefore, one can opt for a B.Sc. or B.S. in Physics/Mathematics or B.Tech in Eng. Physics preferably to strengthen the basic undergraduate Physics and Mathematics which is very essential for excelling in A&A later.

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Honestly, specialization/branch of bachelor's degree doesn't matter much as I have many friends who are not pursuing a Physics degree but are still doing impressive quality research work in A&A. One can attend Astronomy schools or may do a project to nurture their interest and develop their skills for higher studies and research.

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1. M.Sc. Physics with specialization in Astrophysics, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune

2. M.Sc. Physics (Astrophysics), St. Xaviers College, Mumbai

3. M.Sc. Astronomy, IIT Indore

4. Integrated MSc-PhD, TIFR, Mumbai

5. Integrated MSc-PhD in Radio Astrophysics, NCRA-TIFR

6. Ph.D. in Astrophysics, IUCAA

7. Radio Astronomy Winter School, NCRA-TIFR

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Here are some articles & YouTube Videos which you may find beneficial:

1. How to be an Astronomer, Dr. Thanu Padmanabhan, IUCAA SciPoP

2. All about Careers in Astronomy! How to become an Astronomer?, Swanim & Parisee Shirke, IUCAA

3. Careers in Astronomy and Astrophysics [English][Hindi], Prof. Ranjan Gupta, IUCAA

4. How to Become an Astrophysicist, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson

5. Careers in Astronomy, Radio Astronomy Winter School, NCRA-TIFR & IUCAA

6. How To Become an Astrophysicist + Challenge Question!, PBS Space Time

7. So you want to be a Professional Astronomer!, Duncan Forbes

8. A New Universe to Discover: A Guide to Careers in Astronomy, The American Astronomical Society

Useful Websites & Articles:

1. Astrobites - briefing research papers for undergrads 

2. How to make an Astrophysicist - a resourceful website for astronomical resources and opportunities

3. You and Your Research [Article][YouTube Video], Richard Hamming

4. Astronomy in Everyday Life, IAU

5. Why is astronomy important? - Ask a Spaceman!, Paul M. Sutter

6. Astronomy in our daily lives, Canadian Space Agency

7. How to send and reply to Email, Matt Might

8. ArXiv - free distribution service and an open-access archive for Scholarly Articles & Research Papers

9. NASA/ADS - digital library portal for researchers in Astronomy and Physics 

Graduate School Advice and Admissions:​

1. The illustrated guide to a Ph.D., Matt Might, University of Utah

2. Questions to Ask as a Prospective Graduate Student, Ryan Rubenzahl, Caltech

3. Ph.D. Admission Series, Lilian Horin, Harvard

4. Ph.D. Guide, Astrophysics Girl

5. Honest advice for the Astronomy grad school application process

6. Tips for Applying to Graduate School in Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin

7. Guide to Graduate School, Astrobites

8. Writing the Statement of Purpose, University of California, Berkeley

9. Funded Masters Programmes, Astrophysics Girl

DIY: Personal Website:

1. Website with Wix

2. GitHub Pages with Jekyll

3. Website with GitHub/Gitlab, Wowchemy

4. Gitfolio - a website for your GitHub Repos 

5. Creating a simple and effective academic personal website, Elsevier

6. Personal Academic Webpages: How-To's and Tips for a Better Site, University of California, Berkeley