VAO Frequently Asked Questions
Click on one of the question links below to go to the answer to that question.
1) What is the VAO?
2) Why do astronomers need the VAO?
3) What new discoveries will come from the VAO?
4) How will the VAO benefit other branches of science?
5) Where is the VAO located?
6) How will the VAO benefit the general public?
7) How will we know that the VAO is a success?
8) How can I get data using the VAO?
9) As a teacher, what resources are available to me via the VAO?
10) What is the VAO doing to help interested citizens do science?
1) What is the VAO?
The Virtual Astronomical Observatory (VAO) is an effort to make all
the astronomy data in the world easy to access, using a simple set of
web interfaces. The VAO provides resources to let users search and
analyze astronomical data that already exists in archives across the
globe. For more information, see the What is the VAO?
Section.
Top
2) Why do astronomers need the VAO?
As astronomers build more telescopes, the amount of data they collect
increases exponentially. Astronomers are carefully studying each
piece of data they collect, but data are most useful when studied
along with other, related data. Today, so much data is being
collected that astronomers cannot see or understand everyone else's
data as well as their own. The VAO will let astronomers easily search
for data, from all instruments at all wavelengths of the
electromagnetic spectrum, that will help them understand the universe.
Top
3) What new discoveries will come from the VAO?
First, the VAO will allow scientists to compare huge amounts of data
from all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio to
gamma rays. Comparing these separate datasets will allow astronomers
to systematically compare what sky objects look like in various
wavelengths, leading to a more complete understanding of the universe.
Such multiwavelength studies will help astronomers understand the
distribution of stars in our galaxy, how and why stars and galaxies
change with time, and the large-scale structure of the universe.
Second, some types of sky objects are so rare and unusual that
astronomers have not seen enough examples to understand them. With
the search tools that the VAO will offer, astronomers will be able to
quickly sort through huge amounts of data, finding the most unusual
objects quickly. And since the VAO offers access to so much data,
there will be more such objects to find. Earlier versions of tools
available via the VAO have already found several new brown dwarfs, and
will likely find more rare objects, such as faint quasars and
gamma-ray bursts.
Top
4) How will the VAO benefit other branches of science?
Many other areas of science are running into the same problems as
astronomy — these sciences are discovering so much data that
individual scientists cannot be aware of all the other data in their
field. Biologists have found the entire genetic sequence of
organisms, oceanographers have measured data from ocean tracking
stations all over the world, and particle physicists have conducted
millions of experiments in particle accelerators. All of these
sciences need ways to organize and understand huge sets of data, and
the tools of the VAO can provide models for these other projects.
In addition, computer science can benefit from the VAO. Computer
scientists are interested in developing new theories and methods for
understanding data. Astronomy data make a good resource for testing
these methods, because astronomy data are freely available, complex,
and numerous.
Top
5) Where is the VAO located?
The VAO does not bring data together to a single location. Rather,
the VAO provides tools for accessing and searching existing data. The
data remain where they are, on data servers all over the United States
and the world. The astronomers and computer programmers developing
the VAO are equally spread out around the country and work in
collaboration with virtual observatory developers from other countries
developing their own national virtual observatories. Together, the
VAO and other virtual observatories around the globe make up the
International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA). It is important
that all data, no matter where it is stored, is accessible from
anybody in the world, and the IVOA works to ensure this happens. So,
the VAO cannot be said to have any central location at all — its
effort is distributed nationally, and globally, as only an
Internet-based project can be.
Top
6) How will the VAO benefit the general public?
All of the data organized by the VAO, and all of the VAO's tools,
are available to the general public. This means that everybody has
access to the same tools that enable astronomers to make
world-changing discoveries. The VAO is also developing and utilizing
existing specific virtual observatory tools geared towards the public,
students, and educators. These tools will grant access to images from
the greatest ground and space-based telescopes via easy-to-use
interfaces. Such tools include Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope and
the Euro-VO Aladin software. For more information on the VAO
education and public outreach efforts, see the What is the VAO?
section and the Partners section.
Top
7) How will we know that the VAO is a success?
The measure of the VAO's success is its usefulness to astronomers and
to the public. A successful VAO will see its tools used regularly by
astronomers, meaning that research projects that used to take months
can be finished in hours. It will also be used regularly by the
public to get the latest astronomy data, everywhere in the sky and at
all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. A successful VAO
will be used so often that it will be taken for granted, just like
successful web search engines today.
Top
8) How can I get data using the VAO?
For professional astronomers and those interested in using the
tools used by professional astronomers, see the VAO professional
astronomer site at usvao.org. For students, educators, and the
general audience, examples of accessing data using the VAO can be
found in the Use the VAO Now section. Check back frequently
for more ways to obtain and interact with data from the greatest
ground and space-based telescopes.
Top
9) As a teacher, what resources are available to me via the VAO?
The VAO is actively developing formal education content for the
high school and community college levels. We are partnering with
Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope, the Microsoft WorldWide Telescope
Ambassadors program, and the Euro-VO to develop formal education
materials. Check the What is the VAO?
section and the
Partners section
for more information. Be sure to check back
here frequently for updated content.
Top
10) What is the VAO doing to help interested citizens do science?
The VAO has an active informal education and citizen science
program. We are working with the largest aggregate site of astronomy
citizen science projects — Zooniverse, to bring VAO
functionality to the average user. We are working with the NASA Night
Sky Network to find ways in which we can bring the unique capabilities
of the VAO to amateur astronomers. For more information, see the
What is the VAO? section and the Partners section.
Top