Radio data archives round table

TL;DR

This paper discusses the current efforts and challenges in making radio and (sub-)mm astronomy data FAIR-compliant and accessible to the community, highlighting ongoing initiatives and future needs.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of global efforts to publish radio data in FAIR principles and identifies gaps and future directions for data accessibility.

Findings

Multiple facilities are publishing imaging data as science-ready products.

Radio data sharing initiatives are being coordinated through regional centers and IVOA.

Key challenges remain in exposing non-imaging data like timing and beamforming data.

Abstract

With SKA precursor and pathfinder operations in full swing, radio and (sub-)mm astronomy is entering the era of super big data. The big questions is how to make (sub-)mm and radio data available to the astronomical community, preferably using FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and re-useable; Wilkinson et al. 2016) principles. There are already a lot of efforts going on around the globe: facilities such as ALMA, LOFAR, MWA, NRAO and ASKAP are already publishing much of their imaging data in the form of "science ready" products, SKA regional centres are being formed and a radio astronomy interest group has been initiated within the IVOA. In addition, also non-imaging data, like timing, pulsar or beam forming data, needs to be available to the community as well. This BoF intended to bring everyone interested in this topic around one virtual table to hear about and discuss the following questions: What is the status of efforts to expose both visibility and science ready data? What is already there, maybe has been used for decades by traditional observatories? What is still missing? Where do we want to go next?