Virtual observatory
Virtual observatory is a term for an infrastructure that makes astronomical data from various observatories available online under a uniform interface. This is primarily intended to enable a simple comparison of observations in different wavelength ranges or from different points in time.
history
In astronomy, objects have always been observed with different telescopes in different wavelength ranges at different times. Among other things, this led to different names for the same object. The SIMBAD database of the Center de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg enables you to compare the different information, for example for the brightness of an object(CDS), which has been available online since 1981. The Aladin database, also operated by the CDS, has existed since 1999, with which recordings from various data sources can be queried by specifying the object or astronomical coordinates. Since around 2001 there have been numerous national and international initiatives to expand similar databases into a "virtual observatory".
Special virtual observatories
International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA)
The IVOA was founded in 2002 to promote the cooperation of national and international virtual observatories and to create suitable tools, systems and organizational structures. It has (as of September 2007) the following 16 members:
| designation | country |
|---|---|
| Armenian Virtual Observatory (ArVO) | Armenia |
| Astrogrid | United Kingdom |
| Australian Virtual Observatory (Aus-VO) | Australia |
| Canadian Virtual Observatory (CVO) | Canada |
| Chinese Virtual Observatory (China-VO) | China |
| European Virtual Observatory (EURO-VO) | |
| German Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (GAVO) | Germany |
| Hungarian Virtual Observatory (HVO) | Hungary |
| Japanese Virtual Observatory (JVO) | Japan |
| Korean Virtual Observatory (KVO) | South Korea |
| National Virtual Observatory, United States (NVO) | United States |
| Observatoire Virtuel France (OV-France) | France |
| Russian Virtual Observatory (RVO) | Russia |
| Spanish Virtual Observatory (SVO) | Spain |
| Italian Virtual Observatory (VObs.it) | Italy |
| Virtual Observatory India (VO-India) | India |
Euro-VO
Euro-VO is in turn a collaboration between the European Southern Observatory ESO , the European Space Agency (ESA) and institutions from Italy, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany.
The forerunners of this project are ASTROVIRTEL (2000–2002) and the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (2000–2004).
Web links
swell
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
