 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2023) |
A virtual observatory (VO) is a collection of interoperating data archives and software tools which utilize the internet to form a scientific research environment in which research programs can be conducted. Historically addressing astronomical subjects, space physics[1] and geosciences[2] have also been a focus of VO development.
In much the same way as a real observatory consists of a collection of unique instruments, the VO consists of a collection of data centres each with unique collections of observational data, software systems and processing capabilities.
The main goal is to allow transparent and distributed access to data available worldwide. This allows scientists to discover, access, analyze, and combine observational and laboratory data from heterogeneous data collections in a user-friendly manner.
The IVOA (International Virtual Observatory Alliance) is a standards body created by astronomical VO projects to develop and formalize the interoperability standards upon which the VO implementations are constructed.