ITR/IM: Building the Framework of the National Virtual Observatory

根据这份合同，由约翰霍普金斯大学领导的广泛合作将为国家虚拟天文台（NVO）建立框架和基础。建立NVO的框架是迈向一个系统的第一步，该系统可以提供天文学数据密集型资源的无缝集成。一旦全面实施，NVO将成为天文学发现的引擎。在从无线电到x射线的波长范围内，从太空和地面开始了大规模的天空调查，产生了大量高质量的、不可替代的数据。这些新的调查为科学发现提供了巨大的潜力。综合使用所产生的数据集，将产生具有重大意义的全新的、意想不到的科学成果，而单独使用这些数据集是不可能实现的。它们的庞大规模和复杂性需要工具和结构来发现编码其中的复杂现象。NVO框架将通过协调现有的各种努力来建立，并为尚不存在的能力的发展提供重点。NVO将作为一个授权和协调实体，促进进一步工具、协议和合作的发展，以在未来十年实现大型天文数据集的全部科学潜力。NVO的组成部分不仅包括档案，还包括元数据标准、标准化数据访问层、查询和计算服务以及数据挖掘应用。NVO的新功能对于实现手头或即将创建的tera/ pb数据集的全部价值至关重要。快速查询多个大型星表，建立统计相关性，发现新的数据模式和时间变化，以及对抗复杂的数值模拟，这些都是通过NVO使新科学成为可能的途径。未来的调查将提供定义良好的模板，使他们能够更容易地发布数据。NVO通过其丰富的内容和为学生、教师和公众设计的特殊门户，将对广泛的科学教育和公共宣传项目产生重大影响。NVO的目标是在国际范围内，该项目将与国际社会协调其发展活动，以确保最终结果是一个全球虚拟天文台。

AST 0122449Inst : Johns Hopkins University PI: Szalay, AlexanderUnder this award, a broad collaboration led by Johns Hopkins University will establish the framework and foundation for the National Virtual Observatory (NVO). Establishing the framework for the NVO is the first step towards a system that can provide seamless integration of data-intensive resources in astronomy. When fully implemented, the NVO will serve as an engine of discovery for astronomy. Large scale surveys of the sky from space and the ground are being initiated at wavelengths from radio to x-ray, generating vast amounts of high quality, irreplaceable data. The potential for scientific discovery afforded by these new surveys is enormous. Entirely new and unexpected scientific results of major significance will emerge from the combined use of the resulting datasets, science that would not be possible from such sets used singly. Their large size and complexity require tools and structures to discover the complex phenomena encoded within them. The NVO framework will be built by coordinating the diverse efforts already in existence and provide a focus for the development of capabilities that do not yet exist. The NVO will act as an enabling and coordinating entity to foster the development of further tools, protocols, and collaborations necessary to realize the full scientific potential of large astronomical datasets in the coming decade. The components of the NVO include not only the archives, but also metadata standards, a standardized data access layer, query and computing services, and data mining applications. The new capabilities of the NVO will be essential to realize the full value of the tera/petabyte datasets that are in hand or soon to be created. Rapid querying of multiple large-scale catalogs, establishment of statistical correlations, discovery of new data patterns and temporal variations, and confrontation with sophisticated numerical simulations are all avenues for new science that will be made possible through the NVO. Future surveys will have well defined templates available to enable them to publish their data more easily. The NVO, through its rich content and special portals designed for students, teachers and the public, will have major impact on a wide range of science education and public outreach projects. The goal of the NVO is international in scope and the project will coordinate its development activities with the international community, to assure that the end result is a Global Virtual Observatory.