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Tech riderRev. 5 Oct 2026

BXA

Ch 116.7of 34 Astronomy Apps
  1. 1Runs onLinux
  2. 2CostsFree plan
  3. 3Platform coveragedesktop
3 lines stated Written from the maker's own pages: johannesbuchner.github.io, github.com
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Overview

BXA is ranked #11 of 34 in astronomy apps on Specifiction. It runs on Linux. There is a free plan.

BXA plans and pricing

All plans
BXA Free Free software under GNU GPL v3 or later github.com · 5 Oct 2026

Compared on astronomy apps

Platform coverage
desktopjohannesbuchner.github.io

Facts

Purpose
BXA connects Xspec and Sherpa X-ray spectral analysis environments to UltraNest for Bayesian parameter estimation and model comparison.johannesbuchner.github.io · 5 Oct 2026
Parameter estimation
It estimates parameters in arbitrary dimensions, finds best fits, computes error bars and marginal probability distributions, and supports MPI parallelisation.johannesbuchner.github.io · 5 Oct 2026
Model comparison
It computes model evidence for Bayes factors and supports comparing models that are not nested.johannesbuchner.github.io · 5 Oct 2026
Model discovery
It provides Quantile-Quantile plots to visualize deviations between a model and data without binning.johannesbuchner.github.io · 5 Oct 2026
Automated fitting
The fitting algorithm explores parameter spaces without requiring good starting points and runs until convergence.johannesbuchner.github.io · 5 Oct 2026
Intended use
The documentation highlights systematic analysis of large datasets, comparing multiple models, and analyzing low-count datasets with realistic models.johannesbuchner.github.io · 5 Oct 2026
Installation
BXA can be installed with pip or conda and requires either Sherpa or Xspec to be installed and configured.johannesbuchner.github.io · 5 Oct 2026
Supported systems
BXA runs on operating systems supported by CIAO/Sherpa or HEASoft/Xspec, while release testing is stated to cover Ubuntu Linux only.johannesbuchner.github.io · 5 Oct 2026
Parallel processing
MPI parallelisation can scale inference from laptops to computing clusters when mpi4py is installed.johannesbuchner.github.io · 5 Oct 2026
Xspec compatibility
When run from pyxspec, BXA provides chain FITS files compatible with Xspec/pyxspec MCMC features and error propagation tools.johannesbuchner.github.io · 5 Oct 2026
Support
The project directs users to file bug reports and feedback as GitHub issues and asks bug reports to include operating system, Sherpa or Xspec version, setup details, and reproduction steps.johannesbuchner.github.io · 5 Oct 2026
Security and warranty
The repository publishes a GNU GPL license whose text disclaims warranties for the program.github.com · 5 Oct 2026
Notable change
In version 5, Xspec priors use soft parameter limits instead of hard parameter limits, which the release notes flag as a potentially breaking change.johannesbuchner.github.io · 5 Oct 2026

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