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PyAutoGalaxy #235
Description
Submitting Author: (@Jammy2211)
All current maintainers: (@Jammy2211)
Package Name: PyAutoGalaxy
One-Line Description of Package: Astronomy software for analysing the morphologies and structures of galaxies
Repository Link: https://github.com/Jammy2211/PyAutoGalaxy
Version submitted: 2025.1.18.7
EiC: @coatless
Editor: @hamogu
Reviewer 1: @canorve
Reviewer 2: @erik-whiting
Archive: 10.5281/zenodo.19552258
JOSS DOI: TBD
Version accepted: v2026.4.13.6
Date accepted (month/day/year): 05/04/2026
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- I agree to abide by pyOpenSci's Code of Conduct during the review process and in maintaining my package after should it be accepted.
- I have read and will commit to package maintenance after the review as per the pyOpenSci Policies Guidelines.
Description
Nearly a century ago, Edwin Hubble famously classified galaxies into three distinct groups: ellipticals, spirals and irregulars [@Hubble1926]. Today, by analysing millions of galaxies with advanced image processing techniques Astronomers have expanded on this picture and revealed the rich diversity of galaxy morphology in both the nearby and distant Universe [@Kormendy2015a; @Vulcani2014; @VanDerWel2012]. PyAutoGalaxy is an open-source Python 3.8 - 3.11 package for analysing the morphologies and structures of large multiwavelength galaxy samples, with core features including fully automated Bayesian model-fitting of galaxy two-dimensional surface brightness profiles, support for dataset and interferometer datasets and comprehensive tools for simulating galaxy images. The software places a focus on big data analysis, including support for hierarchical models that simultaneously fit thousands of galaxies, massively parallel model-fitting and an SQLite3 database that allows large suites of modeling results to be loaded, queried and analysed.
Scope
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Please indicate which category or categories.
Check out our package scope page to learn more about our
scope. (If you are unsure of which category you fit, we suggest you make a pre-submission inquiry):- Data retrieval
- Data extraction
- Data processing/munging
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- Data validation and testing
- Data visualization1
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- Database interoperability
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For all submissions, explain how and why the package falls under the categories you indicated above. In your explanation, please address the following points (briefly, 1-2 sentences for each):
- Who is the target audience and what are scientific applications of this package?
Astronomers studying the morphology of galaxies, and undergraduates / people interested in learning how to do science with galaxies. The package analyses galaxy images (e.g. from the James Webb Space Telescope) and extracts information on them.
- Are there other Python packages that accomplish the same thing? If so, how does yours differ?
Many: pysersic, GALFIT, ProFit, to name a few.
PyAutoGalaxy supports a more diverse range of ways to analysis galaxy images and has support for Bayesian inference on big data (e.g. sqlite database, graphical modeling) other packages do not.
- If you made a pre-submission enquiry, please paste the link to the corresponding issue, forum post, or other discussion, or
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This package was first submited to astropy years ago, then was to be moved to PyOpenSci, this PR discussion shows that: astropy/astropy.github.com#491
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Already Published in JOSS: https://joss.theoj.org/papers/10.21105/joss.04475
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Footnotes
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Please fill out a pre-submission inquiry before submitting a data visualization package. ↩
Metadata
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coatless commentedon Apr 14, 2025
Editor in Chief checks
Hi there! Thank you for submitting your package for pyOpenSci
review. Below are the basic checks that your package needs to pass
to begin our review. If some of these are missing, we will ask you
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Please check our Python packaging guide for more information on the elements
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import package.README.mdfile with clear explanation of what the package does, instructions on how to install it, and a link to development instructions.CONTRIBUTING.mdfile that details how to install and contribute to the package.CODE_OF_CONDUCT.mdfile.NOTE: We prefer that you have development instructions in your documentation too.
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Editor comments
Thanks for submitting
PyAutoGalaxyto pyOpenSci! The package is in ship shape to move forward with our review process. The documentation and functionality is excellent! Well done on creating actionable streams to get users immediately able to analyzing morphoologies and structures of galaxies!The only minor nit is a section in the
README.mdclearly labeled as "Installation Instructions". That said, this is largely covered by "Installation Guide" link. However, it would be great if you could include a brief separate snippet. Though, I'm going to go ahead and move the process along by assigning to @hamogu.hamogu commentedon Apr 15, 2025
Editor response to review:
Hi @Jammy2211! Thanks for submitting your package to PyOpenSci. I'll be your editor - please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you might have. I'll now start to look for reviewers; usually that's the most time-consuming part of the process but I'll keep you updated as that goes along!
Editor comments
👋 Hi @@canorve and @erik-whiting! Thank you for volunteering to review
for pyOpenSci!
Please fill out our pre-review survey
Before beginning your review, please fill out our pre-review survey. This helps us improve all aspects of our review and better understand our community. No personal data will be shared from this survey - it will only be used in an aggregated format by our Executive Director to improve our processes and programs.
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here as a comment, once your review is complete.
Please get in touch with any questions or concerns! Your review is due:
Reviewers: @canorve @erik-whiting
Due date: 26-Nov-2025 (@erik-whiting took over for another reviewer, so I'm setting a later date based on when they volunteered to do that)
hamogu commentedon May 14, 2025
Hi @Jammy2211! I just want to let you know that I'm still looking for a second reviewer. I've contacted three people so far, one declined and two never responded. I know with summer approaching it's a busy time for many and I hope I'll find someone soon. I just need to ask for a little more patience; I'm sorry it takes to long and I promise I keep working on it.
25 remaining items
hamogu commentedon Mar 21, 2026
I looked back over @canorve's review from 2025 and @erik-whiting. I think the latter report picked up on everything that was still open from the first one, so I think this is ready to accept.
Thanks @canorve and @erik-whiting for the review and I apologize to @Jammy2211 that it has taken so long. We aim to be much faster with PyOpenSci reviews, but we clearly have a lot of room to get better.
hamogu commentedon Mar 21, 2026
Author Wrap Up Tasks
There are a few things left to do to wrap up this submission:
[](https://github.com/pyOpenSci/software-review/issues/issue-number).Editor Final Checks
Please complete the final steps to wrap up this review. Editor, please do the following:
6/pyOS-approved6 🚀🚀🚀. (You can remove all other labels; If the the package is moving on to JOSS then add a JOSS label)If you have any feedback for us about the review process please feel free to share it here. We are always looking to improve our process and documentation in the peer-review-guide.
hamogu commentedon Mar 21, 2026
There are a few more tasks to wrap this up - I posted a checklist above. The current version is of course no longer the one that you officially submitted.
@Jammy2211 It seems fair to list your most recent version (2025.2.26.4) as the accepted version, since that has all the changes in it that came out of the review process. Do you agree?
Let me now and I'll put that in so that the script that builds the pyopensci website can render the appropriate information; I have to put that in before I set the status to "approved" or te script my fail to build the info for the website.
I also want to invade you and all reviewers and other maintainers if this package to join the PyOpenSci slack if you aren't on it yet. It's a very good place to ask for advice on packaging questions if you ever have one. (Plus same General Open Source discussion). Just let me know which email address to invite.
And, of course, PyOoenSci would also be very happy to put out a blog post that describes you packages as an example of what packages can do, but don't feel pressured - it's an offer, not a requirement.
Jammy2211 commentedon Mar 25, 2026
Yes, this is fine.
Yes please, if you can add me (email on my GitHub user pagE) thatd be great.
Yes, I am happy to do that and it would juist require adopting the main page of the readthedocs.
What is the interface between PyOpenSci and astropy, I recall something about this being a process to get listed here https://www.astropy.org/affiliated/, is that possible?
Also, I would be keen for my lensing package PyAutoLens, which I think has a PyOpenSci sbumission somewhere, to begin the review process!
hamogu commentedon Mar 25, 2026
@Jammy2211 Do you have a zenodo integrate set up so that each release gets a permanent DOI that we can link to? See https://help.zenodo.org/docs/github/enable-repository/
hamogu commentedon Mar 25, 2026
Once we are through all the steps here (DOI, review survey, badge on your readme, post-review survey) and I set this to "accepted" it will automatically show up in the astropy affiliated listing (with 1-2 days delay because the scripts that build the underlying json data run nightly).
hamogu commentedon Mar 25, 2026
As for PyAutoLens: You submitted that under the old Astropy system, I have it in a spreadsheet there. Once this issue is closed (PyOpenSci has a policy to do only one package per author at the same time because it's so hard to find reviewers), would you mind opening a new issue here? I promise that we'll be faster.
hamogu commentedon Apr 22, 2026
@Jammy2211 This is essentially done from our side. Do you have a zoned or other permeant archive with a DOI we can point to? Did you find a minute to fill out the post-review-survey?
Jammy2211 commentedon Apr 28, 2026
Yep there is a zendo: https://zenodo.org/account/settings/github/repository/Jammy2211/PyAutoGalaxy
I cant see a zenodo release for 2025.2.26.4, I guess the integration broke for a while. Shall we just use the most recent (I've done some reelases post 2025):
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19552258
Post survey review done.
i will open a PyAutoLens isue once were done here.
hamogu commentedon May 4, 2026
@Jammy2211 Congratulations! Your package is accepted!
Thanks @canorve and @erik-whiting for the review! Package reviews wouldn't work with our the hard work of our reviewers!
Please allow for a day or two until it shows up at the pyopensci and the astropy website - some of the ingestions scripts run nightly. I'll close this issue now, but fell free to keep commenting if there is anything else that needs to be taken care of!