Related papers: Toward a National Virtual Observatory: Science Goa…
Virtual Observatory (VO) is a collection of interoperating data archives and software tools. Taking advantages of the latest information technologies, it aims to provide a data-intensively online research environment for astronomers all…
The next decade of survey astronomy has the potential to transform our knowledge of variable stars. Stellar variability underpins our knowledge of the cosmological distance ladder, and provides direct tests of stellar formation and…
A data Tsunami is overwhelming Astronomy. This wave is affecting all aspects of our field, revolutionizing not just the type of scientific questions being asked, but the very nature of how the answers are uncovered. In this invited…
Looking ahead to the next decade and imagining the landscape of astronomy in 2020, it is clear that astronomical surveys, large and small, plus extensive follow-up projects, will be a great engine of progress in our profession. Surveys have…
Data volumes from multiple sky surveys have grown from gigabytes into terabytes during the past decade, and will grow from terabytes into tens (or hundreds) of petabytes in the next decade. This exponential growth of new data both enables…
Astronomy is entering a new era of discovery, coincident with the establishment of new facilities for observation and simulation that will routinely generate petabytes of data. While an increasing reliance on automated data analysis is…
The 2023-2032 Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey Origins, Worlds, and Life recommended that "NASA develop scientific exploration strategies, as it has for Mars, in areas of broad scientific importance, e.g., Venus... that…
The Pulsar Virtual Observatory will provide a means for scientists in all fields to access and analyze the large data sets stored in pulsar surveys without specific knowledge about the data or the processing mechanisms. This is achieved by…
The World Space Observatory/Ultraviolet (WSO/UV) represents a new mission implementation model for large space missions for astrophysics. The process has been brought up to enable, fully scientific needs driven, a logic to be applied to the…
With some telescopes standing still, now more than ever simple access to archival data is vital for astronomers and they need to know how to go about it. Within European Virtual Observatory (VO) projects, such as AIDA (2008-2010), ICE…
In the current era of data-intensive science, it is increasingly important for researchers to be able to have access to published results, the supporting data, and the processes used to produce them. Six years ago, recognizing this need,…
Science funding agencies (NASA, DOE, and NSF), the science community, and the US taxpayer have all benefited enormously from the several-decade series of National Academies Decadal Surveys. These Surveys are one of the primary means whereby…
Experience with ASTROVIRTEL, scientific analysis of current large data sets, and detailed preparation for the truly huge future missions especially GAIA, provide important lessons for the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory. They demonstrate…
The International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) develops the technical standards needed for seamless discovery of and access to astronomy data worldwide, according to the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR)…
Following several recommendations presented by the Astrophysics Decadal Survey 2010 centered around the need to define "a future ultraviolet-optical space capability," on 2012 May 25, NASA issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking…
Fundamental changes are taking place in the way we do astronomy. In twenty years time, it is likely that most astronomers will never go near a cutting-edge telescope, which will be much more efficiently operated in service mode. They will…
We write in response to the call from the 2020 Decadal Survey to submit white papers illustrating the most pressing scientific questions in astrophysics for the coming decade. We propose exploration as the central question for the Decadal…
The science case and associated science requirements for a next-generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) are described, highlighting the five key science goals developed out of a community-driven vision of the highest scientific priorities in…
We advocate for a mission concept study for a space telescope dedicated to solar system science in Earth orbit. Such a study was recommended by the Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science (CAPS) report "Getting Ready for the Next…
Astronomy is entering a new era as multiple, large area, digital sky surveys are in production. The resulting datasets are truly remarkable in their own right; however, a revolutionary step arises in the aggregation of complimentary…