Spanish Virtual Observatory

Frequently Asked questions (FAQs)

What is the main goal of the Virtual Observatory?

  • To ensure an efficient management (discovery, access, retrieval and analysis) of the information available in astronomical archives.

Who is behind the Virtual Observatory?

  • At International level: IVOA (International Virtual Observatory Alliance: It was formed in June 2002 with a mission to facilitate the international coordination and collaboration in the field of Virtual Observatories. The IVOA now comprises 17 VO projects from Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Europe, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.The work of the IVOA focuses on the development of standards.
  • At European level: Euro-VO: Its top level objective is to coordinate the VO activities at European level. The list of partners participating in the Euro-Vo initiative can be found here
  • At national level: SVO. The Spanish Virtual Observatory has the following objectives:
  • Construction of a community of science users:
    • Scientific Workshops.
    • Support to VO science programmes
    • Production of on-line tutorials
  • Development of IVOA standards and services
  • Support to data publishing in the VO
  • Education and Outreach activities.

Where can I find a list of VO tools?

  • Here you can find an up-to-date list of VO tools.

Where can I find some examples of VO science?

  • Here you can get a list of VO scientific workflows. Also, a list of VO-enabled scientific papers can be found here

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