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Charter · Business Meeting at Prague GA · Links to IVOA · Commission 5 Home Page

Charter of the IAU Commission 5 WG Virtual Observatory


The International Virtual Observatory is one of the rare truly global endeavours of astronomy. Many projects, each with its own goals, have been set up around the world to develop the IVO. The International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) is an alliance of the VO projects, with the aims of managing communication between VO projects, defining a common roadmap, and managing propositions for the definition and evolution of IVO standards through the IVOA Working Groups.

The IAU WG Virtual Observatory is the standard-bearer of the International Virtual Observatory at IAU, and it is the primary point of contact between the IVO and the IAU. Its primary role is to provide an interface between IVOA activities, in particular IVOA standards and recommandations, and other IAU standards, policies, and recommandations. In particular, it raises VO-related topics (e.g. symposia, GA sessions, ...) that should be handled by the IAU (Commission 5, Division XII and executive level). It is responsible for approving the standards proposed by IVOA, after checking that there has been a process of consultancy according to the IVOA procedures, and that the proposed standards are consistent with other IAU approved standards (e.g., FITS, coordinate standards, etc.).

The IAU WG VO brings to the attention of the IVOA Executive any topics it considers to be important for the IVO. It can be consulted by the IVOA Executive on any topic relevant to the international development of the VO. WG VO consists of members of IVO projects together with personalities bringing an external view on the long term vision of the VO and other stakeholders. It also includes the president of Commission 5, the chair of the IVOA, a representative of the WG FITS (Commission 5), a representative of the WG on Astronomical Data (Commission 5), and a representative of the WG on International Solar Data Access (Division II).

IAU WG VO Business Meeting at Prague General Assembly

The meeting was held on Wednesday, August 24th (09:00-10:30). It was attended by about 25 participants, some from VO projects, and others who were looking for information about the Astronomical Virtual Observatory. The meeting was organised as a walk through the Web pages of IVOA and of several national projects and answers to the participant questions, with input from the project representatives which were attending the meeting. A list of relevant Web links was sent to the participants after the meeting.

Links to IVOA

  • IVOA Web Site
  • IVOA Community forum: Documents, milestones, discussions of interoperability standards, technical working groups and interest groups
  • IVOA member organizations