The Virtual Astronomical Observatory (VAO) is, by design, coming of age at a time of profound change in the nature of research in astronomy. Astronomical researchers already have hundreds of terabytes of data available online, and enormous scientific potential can be unleashed were they able to find relevant datasets, access them, compare them quantitatively, and ultimately understand their astrophysical implications. The VAO will make it easy for researchers to connect large data sets with high performance computational resources, providing the needed data discovery, access, and integration framework. The basis for the VAO has been developed in recent years through the National Virtual Observatory (NVO) program in the US, the AstroGrid project in the UK, the Astrophysical Virtual Observatory and subsequent EuroVO program in Europe, and national VO programs in Japan, Australia, China, and a dozen other countries. The International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) has created a united vision of global data access through a network of interconnected archives and databases, all speaking a common language of standard interfaces and protocols. This has helped to induce organizations to open up access to data that were previously restricted or inaccessible, catalyzing technical and sociological changes that continue to spread to virtually all research disciplines.
This award supports the first step towards managing and operating the US VAO for NSF and NASA, building on the project team's experience and expertise in developing the NVO infrastructure. The NVO was a research and development project, but the VAO will be an operational facility, providing firm support for users, including reliable services, documented and robust applications, responsive answer-line support, tools and libraries that support custom applications, and training and professional outreach programs. The VAO will develop new capabilities in response to community needs, and continue the standardization process, enriching interfaces and adopting and adapting new underlying technologies.
The VAO's impact goes far beyond the astronomical research community, because of its unprecedented potential for public outreach and education. VAO-enabled programs such as Google Sky and World-Wide Telescope will bring astronomical data to classrooms and households, providing novel curriculum development, and engaging citizen scientists to contribute to scientific knowledge. The VAO clearly demonstrates the value of investment in fundamental information technologies, such as grid computing, data-mining and visualization algorithms, and advanced data storage and curation.
