AstroGeoVis v1.0: Astronomical Visualizations and Scientific Computing for Earth Science Education

Abstract. Modern climate science, Earth system science, physical geography, oceanography, meteorology, and related disciplines have increasingly turned into highly quantitative, computational fields, dealing with processing, analysis and visualization of large numerical data sets. Students of these and many other disciplines thus need to acquire robust scientific computing and data analysis skills, which have universal applicability. In addition, the increasing economic importance and environmental significance of solar power and sustainable practices such as passive building design have recently increased the importance of understanding of the apparent motions of the Sun on the celestial sphere, for a wider array of students and professionals. In this paper, I introduce and describe AstroGeoVis v1.0: open-source software that calculates solar coordinates and related parameters and produces astronomical visualizations relevant to the Earth and climate sciences. The software is written in MATLAB©; while its primary intended purpose is pedagogical, research use is envisioned as well. Both the visualizations and the code are intended to be used in the classroom in a variety of courses, at a variety of levels (targeting high school students to undergraduates), including Earth and climate sciences, geography, physics, astronomy, mathematics, statistics and computer science. I provide examples of classroom use and assignment ideas, as well as examples of ways I have used these resources in my college-level teaching.

Dedication

Tihomir S. Kostadinov dedicates this paper to the memory of his parents, who instilled in him a deep interest in and appreciation of astronomy, mathematics, and science.