TARDIS-SN : My Pre-GSoC Journey, Codebase & Guide

Getting Started with TARDIS: A Friendly Guide for New Contributors Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered how we decode the light from exploding stars? That’s exactly what TARDIS helps scientists do. In this post, we’ll explore what TARDIS is, how it works, and how you, as a future contributor, can become part of this open-source project. TL;DR: In this blog, I share my journey exploring and contributing to TARDIS-SN and CARSUS, open-source astrophysics tools used to simulate supernova spectra. I explain how TARDIS works in simple layman language, how Carsus supports it by generating atomic data, and detail my first contribution to Carsus through a pre-GSoC pull request. I also reflect on my GSoC interview experience where I excelled in behavioral questions but miserably failed with technical ones yet how it motivated me to keep learning and growing. This post is both a technical guide and a personal story for future contributors. + The storytelling will be written in this format or in quotes. - If you want to skip my journey and focus only on technicals + feel free to do so. + However, I humbly request you read through all of it.

May 3, 2025 - 14:37

TARDIS-SN : My Pre-GSoC Journey, Codebase & Guide

Getting Started with TARDIS: A Friendly Guide for New Contributors

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered how we decode the light from exploding stars? That’s exactly what TARDIS helps scientists do. In this post, we’ll explore what TARDIS is, how it works, and how you, as a future contributor, can become part of this open-source project.

TL;DR:

In this blog, I share my journey exploring and contributing to TARDIS-SN and CARSUS, open-source astrophysics tools used to simulate supernova spectra. I explain how TARDIS works in simple layman language, how Carsus supports it by generating atomic data, and detail my first contribution to Carsus through a pre-GSoC pull request. I also reflect on my GSoC interview experience where I excelled in behavioral questions but miserably failed with technical ones yet how it motivated me to keep learning and growing. This post is both a technical guide and a personal story for future contributors.

+ The storytelling will be written in this format or in quotes. 
- If you want to skip my journey and focus only on technicals
+ feel free to do so. 
+ However, I humbly request you read through all of it.