Astrostatistics is a discipline which spans

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

statistical analysis Statistical inference is the process of using data analysis to infer properties of an underlying distribution of probability.Upton, G., Cook, I. (2008) ''Oxford Dictionary of Statistics'', OUP. . Inferential statistical analysis infers propertie ...

and data mining. Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics Portal
/ref> It is used to process the vast amount of data produced by automated scanning of the cosmos, to characterize complex datasets, and to link

astronomical data Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, gal ...

to astrophysical theory. Many branches of statistics are involved in astronomical analysis including

nonparametrics Nonparametric statistics is the branch of statistics that is not based solely on parametrized families of probability distributions (common examples of parameters are the mean and variance). Nonparametric statistics is based on either being distri ...

multivariate regression The general linear model or general multivariate regression model is a compact way of simultaneously writing several multiple linear regression models. In that sense it is not a separate statistical linear model. The various multiple linear regre ...

and multivariate classification,

time series analysis In mathematics, a time series is a series of data points indexed (or listed or graphed) in time order. Most commonly, a time series is a sequence taken at successive equally spaced points in time. Thus it is a sequence of discrete-time data. Exa ...

, and especially

Bayesian inference Bayesian inference is a method of statistical inference in which Bayes' theorem is used to update the probability for a hypothesis as more evidence or information becomes available. Bayesian inference is an important technique in statistics, a ...

. The field is closely related to

astroinformatics Astroinformatics is an interdisciplinary field of study involving the combination of astronomy, data science, machine learning, informatics, and Information technology, information/Communications technologies, communications technologies.

Professional association

Practitioners are represented by the

International Astrostatistics Association The International Astrostatistics Association (IAA) is a non-profit professional organization for astrostatisticians. Astrostatistics as a discipline is composed of astrophysicists, statisticians, and those in computer information sciences who ha ...

affiliated with the

International Statistical Institute The International Statistical Institute (ISI) is a professional association of statisticians. It was founded in 1885, although there had been international statistical congresses since 1853. The institute has about 4,000 elected members from gov ...

, the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

Working Group in Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics, the

American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...

Working Group in Astroinformatics and Astrostatistics, the

American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts on November 27, 1839, and is the second oldest continuousl ...

Interest Group in Astrostatistics, and th
Cosmostatistics Initiative
All of these organizations participate in th
Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics Portal
Web site.

References

Astrophysics Applied statistics Data mining Machine learning {{Statistics-stub