Recommendations of the VAO-Science Council (original) (raw)

2010, arXiv (Cornell University)

There are already hundreds of terabytes of astronomical data in the public domain, and soon the astronomical community will generate tens of petabytes of new data. There is an enormous science potential to be unleashed by the ability to find relevant datasets, access them, analyze them quantitatively, compare them with theoretical models, and ultimately understand their astrophysical implications. The VAO will enable researchers to (1) analyze data obtained with different instruments over the entire observable spectrum; (2) connect large data sets with high performance computational resources to aid analysis, detect, quantify and visualize hidden patterns, and (3) gain understanding of astrophysical phenomena with the aid of state-of-the art models. The VAO-SC strongly supports these goals. However, we acknowledge that substantial work is needed to achieve them fully. In particular, the VAO needs to move fast from the 'infrastructure building emphasis' of the NVO phase to be a fully scienceenabling organization.

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