A Brief History of Inference in Astronomy
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
2025-10-21 v1 Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
History and Overview
Abstract
In this short review, we trace the evolution of inference in astronomy, highlighting key milestones rather than providing an exhaustive survey. We focus on the shift from classical optimization to Bayesian inference, the rise of gradient-based methods fueled by advances in deep learning, and the emergence of adaptive models that shape the very design of scientific datasets. Understanding this shift is essential for appreciating the current landscape of astronomical research and the future it is helping to build.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2510.17433,
title = {A Brief History of Inference in Astronomy},
author = {Rafael S. de Souza and Emille E. O. Ishida and Alberto Krone-Martins},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.17433},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
Invited featured article published in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society. The arXiv version is posted solely to provide access to some additional references