def METHOD_NAME(self, M_0, time):
    '''
       make sure our mass and time arguments are a good fit
       for our calculations
    '''
    M_0 = np.asarray(M_0, dtype=np.float32).reshape(-1, 1)
    time = np.asarray(time, dtype=np.float32).reshape(-1, 1)
    return M_0, time