German Astrophysical Virtual Observatory
 
 

About GAVO

GAVO is a project, sponsored by the BMBF, for building a "Virtual Observatory" platform to support modern astronomical research in Germany. It is the German contribution to the international activities aiming at the creation of a global Virtual Observatory (VO) network.

The GAVO project team aims at providing fast and easy access to astronomical data archives and related documentation, as well as a capability to use sophisticated software tools for new studies. ... more

Work areas and projects

In GAVO's pilot phase, work is concentrating on four main areas: archive technology and publication, data mining and knowledge discovery in federated astronomical archives, theory in the VO, and Grid-computing. The overarching goal is to support the process of scientific discovery in the era of huge distributed scientific databases.

The first step in the process of publishing an archive consists in making the data available on-line. ... more

Products

GAVO is focusing on a selected set of work areas and projects, which have led to a number of products. These products can serve as working examples for other developers who wish to pursue similar goals.

GAVO's products can be subdivided in three different categories: archives, services and software. ... more

Keep me posted

The GAVO-team will occasionally add content to the GAVO Web site. We maintain a (managed) mailing list for announcements concerning changes to this site. After registering yourself you'll receive an e-mail to acknowledge your subscription; subsequently you will receive postings to this list.

GAVO supports GACG

As part of the German D-Grid initiative, a considerable number of German astronomical institutes, computer science institutes, and supercomputer centres formed a consortium that proposed the development of a "German Astronomy Community Grid" (GACG).

The purpose of the GACG is to develop Grid-Technology for astronomical purposes, e.g. to perform large scale computer simulations, to interconnect astronomical archives and, in the longer term, to incorporate astronomical instruments and experiments into the GRID.

GAVO is supporting the organization of the GACG consortium, and is closely collaborating with the GACG.

Visit the GACG Web site: www.gac-grid.de