The radio universe is alive with fleeting cosmic explosions - fast radio bursts, stellar flares, and mysterious transients that appear and vanish in moments. The VAST (Variables and Slow Transients) survey, conducted with Australia’s cutting-edge ASKAP radio telescope, captures these ephemeral signals across vast swaths of sky. But detecting these needle-in-a-haystack events requires sophisticated analysis tools that can sift through massive datasets and reveal the hidden patterns of our dynamic cosmos.
VAST Tools transforms this challenge into an interactive exploration experience. Built as a Python module powered by AstroPy, it enables researchers to dive deep into VAST Pipeline results through Jupyter notebooks. The toolkit provides seamless access to light curve analysis, postage stamp visualizations, and crossmatching capabilities with external surveys. Whether you’re performing forced photometry extractions, tracking solar system objects through radio observations, or conducting custom transient analyses, VAST Tools bridges the gap between raw survey data and scientific discovery.
Developed by astronomers at the Sydney Institute for Astronomy and supported by the Australian Research Council, this open-source toolkit democratizes access to one of the world’s most ambitious radio transient surveys. From gravitational wave follow-up observations to serendipitous discovery of new classes of radio variables, VAST Tools empowers the global astronomical community to unlock the secrets of our ever-changing radio sky.
⭐ Stars: 9
💻 Language: Jupyter Notebook
🔗 Repository: askap-vast/vast-tools