The Astropy Project: Sustaining and Growing a Community-oriented Open-source Project and the Latest Major Release (v5.0) of the Core Package*
Authors: The Astropy Collaboration  , Price-Whelan Adrian M. , Lim Pey Lian , Earl Nicholas , Starkman Nathaniel , Bradley Larry , Shupe David L. , Patil Aarya A. , Corrales Lia , Brasseur C. E. , Nöthe Maximilian , Donath Axel , Tollerud Erik , Morris Brett M. , Ginsburg Adam , Vaher Eero , Weaver Benjamin A. , Tocknell James , Jamieson William , van Kerkwijk Marten H. , Robitaille Thomas P. , Merry Bruce , Bachetti Matteo , Günther H. Moritz ,   Paper Authors, Aldcroft Thomas L. , Alvarado-Montes Jaime A. , Archibald Anne M. , Bódi Attila , Bapat Shreyas , Barentsen Geert , Bazán Juanjo , Biswas Manish , Boquien Médéric , Burke D. J. , Cara Daria , Cara Mihai , Conroy Kyle E , Conseil Simon , Craig Matthew W. , Cross Robert M. , Cruz Kelle L. , D’Eugenio Francesco , Dencheva Nadia , Devillepoix Hadrien A. R. , Dietrich Jörg P. , Eigenbrot Arthur Davis , Erben Thomas , Ferreira Leonardo , Foreman-Mackey Daniel , Fox Ryan , Freij Nabil , Garg Suyog , Geda Robel , Glattly Lauren , Gondhalekar Yash , Gordon Karl D. , Grant David , Greenfield Perry , Groener Austen M. , Guest Steve , Gurovich Sebastian , Handberg Rasmus , Hart Akeem , Hatfield-Dodds Zac , Homeier Derek , Hosseinzadeh Griffin , Jenness Tim , Jones Craig K. , Joseph Prajwel , Kalmbach J. Bryce , Karamehmetoglu Emir , Kałuszyński Mikołaj , Kelley Michael S. P. , Kern Nicholas , Kerzendorf Wolfgang E. , Koch Eric W. , Kulumani Shankar , Lee Antony , Ly Chun , Ma Zhiyuan , MacBride Conor , Maljaars Jakob M. , Muna Demitri , Murphy N. A. , Norman Henrik , O’Steen Richard , Oman Kyle A. , Pacifici Camilla , Pascual Sergio , Pascual-Granado J. , Patil Rohit R. , Perren Gabriel I , Pickering Timothy E. , Rastogi Tanuj , Roulston Benjamin R. , Ryan Daniel F , Rykoff Eli S. , Sabater Jose , Sakurikar Parikshit , Salgado Jesús , Sanghi Aniket , Saunders Nicholas , Savchenko Volodymyr , Schwardt Ludwig , Seifert-Eckert Michael , Shih Albert Y. , Jain Anany Shrey , Shukla Gyanendra , Sick Jonathan , Simpson Chris , Singanamalla Sudheesh , Singer Leo P. , Singhal Jaladh , Sinha Manodeep , Sipőcz Brigitta M. , Spitler Lee R. , Stansby David , Streicher Ole , Šumak Jani , Swinbank John D. , Taranu Dan S. , Tewary Nikita , Tremblay Grant R. , Val-Borro Miguel de , Van Kooten Samuel J. , Vasović Zlatan , Verma Shresth , de Miranda Cardoso José Vinícius , Williams Peter K. G. , Wilson Tom J. , Winkel Benjamin , Wood-Vasey W. M. , Xue Rui , Yoachim Peter , Zhang Chen , Zonca Andrea ,   Astropy Project Contributors
Published: August 2022

The Astropy Project supports and fosters the development of open-source and openly developed Python packages that provide commonly needed functionality to the astronomical community. A key element of the Astropy Project is the core package astropy, which serves as the foundation for more specialized projects and packages. In this article, we summarize key features in the core package as of the recent major release, version 5.0, and provide major updates on the Project. We then discuss supporting a broader ecosystem of interoperable packages, including connections with several astronomical observatories and missions. We also revisit the future outlook of the Astropy Project and the current status of Learn Astropy. We conclude by raising and discussing the current and future challenges facing the Project.