Drowning in Data : VO to the rescue

TL;DR

The paper discusses how the Virtual Observatory (VO) facilitates seamless multiwavelength and large-scale astronomical data analysis, addressing technical challenges posed by growing datasets and evolving web technologies.

Contribution

It explains the functioning of the VO and proposes its evolution in the Web 2.0 era to enhance astronomical research infrastructure.

Findings

VO enables multiwavelength data integration

VO reduces the need for large fixed research teams

VO adapts to Web 2.0 technologies for future growth

Abstract

Astronomical datasets are growing in size and diversity, posing severe technical problems. At the same time scientific goals increasingly require the analysis of very large amounts of data, and data from multiple archives. The Virtual Observatory (VO) initiative aims to make multiwavelength science and large database science as seamless as possible. It can be seen as the latest stage of a long term trend towards standardisation and collectivisation in astronomy. Within this inevitable trend, we can avoid the high energy style of building large fixed hierarchical teams, and keep the individualist style of astronomical research, if the VO is used to build a facility class data infrastructure. I describe how the VO works and how it may change in the Web 2.0 era.