Astronomy and Data Services

 

The Strasbourg Astronomical Data Center is probably a singular point in the national domain of scientific data. It was created more than forty years ago to process astronomical data in electronic form as a roadmap far ahead of time.

 

There was the problem of collecting useful information about astronomical objects, improving this data through critical evaluations and comparisons, distributing the data to the international astronomical community.

 

This charter still guides the actions of the international scientific community as its mottos such as service, relevance, quality and added value are still valid today.

 

Since the beginning of the adventure, we are far from a simple data storage and protection silo. However, we are at the center of current issues regarding the sharing and reuse of scientific data.

A Pioneering Discipline

Astronomy has been a pioneering discipline in this field. Various types of data services are available to researchers.

 

 Organizations that fund large ground and space telescopes make observation data publicly available in their archives after a proprietary period, usually one year.

 

 

During this time, the researchers obtained observation time through a call for tender, which is often fiercely competitive. They are the only people who have access to the data and therefore can use it in preview.

 

The Astrophysical Data System (ADS), a NASA-funded bibliographic database, covers all publications in the discipline. Provides links to electronic journals. It also enables data linked to articles. Archives of observatories are data provided by CDS.

 

Value-added databases, such as those developed by CDS, are among the main resources available to the community. Services that provide modeling data are increasingly complementing the system.

 

These online services are used daily by astronomers around the world in their research work.

 

As early as 1995, it was important to use data from the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite archive. It was shown by teams that obtained observation time that it produced five times more scientific publications than the first use of the data.

 

Such statistics show that sharing data greatly increases its effects. More generally, the availability of data dramatically changes the way we do science on a daily basis.

 

CDS was one of the players in this paradigm shift for discipline, with their services receiving an average of close to one million requests per day.

 

Integrated Team Success

 

The quality of services and their relevance to user needs are key factors in the sustainability of CDS.

 

There are various aspects of activities necessary for the construction and maintenance of services: creation of the content of databases, development of database systems and user interfaces, operation of services, etc.

 

The long-term success of CDS relies heavily on an “integrated” team that brings together several profiles from the start. Researchers, documentarians and computer scientists etc. takes place.

 

Researchers know astronomy and its evolution and the needs of users. Documentaries are responsible for creating the content of their databases. Computer scientists create systems and user interfaces.

 

Currently, about 30 people work at CDS, about one-third in each of the profiles. The context in which CDS operates is constantly changing.

 

Astronomy is constantly enriched with new information that needs to be taken into account. For example, the discovery of the first planet outside the solar system led to the addition of a new term, exoplanets, to the list of astronomical object types.

 

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It is also necessary to develop services that will facilitate the scientific use of new telescopes and new instruments. 

 

For example, when launching a new satellite observing a certain wavelength range, it is necessary to assist in the interpretation of the new data as best as possible. It is desirable to revisit the data contained in these wavelengths in the CDS.

Technology, which plays a vital role in such activities, is also constantly changing. Some new features have a big impact. The boom of the Web has profoundly changed the way CDS services are accessed.

 

It is necessary to determine if they will be useful and durable enough to be included in the services. You should know that you will conduct R&D activities to evaluate potentially developing technologies.

 

Users hope to find tools that they commonly use in their daily life in their work environment. So, you should also be able to implement them fairly quickly.

 

Finally, the volume of information to be included in databases is constantly increasing. Procedures should be improved to make data retrieval as efficient as possible. Of course, quality should never be compromised for efficiency.

 

To confront and capitalize on these developments, the CDS strategy needs to be defined. It also requires bringing together perspectives corresponding to the different profiles of Data Center members.