The ALMA Science Archive Reaches a Major Milestone

TL;DR

The paper details the milestone of the ALMA Science Archive v1.0, highlighting its advanced features like comprehensive query, visualization, and programmatic access to enhance astronomical research productivity.

Contribution

It introduces the ALMA Science Archive v1.0 with new features such as rich metadata, visualization tools, and virtual observatory services, improving user experience and scientific output.

Findings

Enhanced query interface with rich metadata

Integration of visualization and virtual observatory services

Regular user feedback-driven development

Abstract

Science archives are cornerstones of modern astronomical facilities. In this paper we describe the version 1.0 milestone of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Science Archive. This version features a comprehensive query interface with rich metadata and visualisation of the spatial and spectral locations of the observations, a complete set of virtual observatory services for programmatic access, text-based similarity search, display and query for types of astronomical objects in SIMBAD and NED, browser-based remote visualisation, interactive previews with tentative line identification and extensive documentation including video and Jupyter Notebook tutorials. The development is regularly evaluated by means of user surveys and is entirely focused on providing the best possible user experience with the goal of helping to maximise the scientific productivity of the observatory.