EVALSO

Objectives

In general the objectives are similar for fast data access between ESO’s Cerro Paranal Observatory and Garching, and between RUB’s Cerro Armazones Observatory and Bochum. This encourages developments involving both very large and relatively small (but significant) observatories, and avoidance of solutions, which are too case-specific.

• To have procedures and software tools that enable rapid access to remote observatory data by channeling the data streams from all the instruments from the observatory in Chile (ESO/OCA) to the observatory main archive in Europe (Garching/Bochum).
• To have procedures and software tools that enable rapid access to observatory data by channeling the VISTA/VST data streams from the observatory (ESO) to Garching and then (VISTA only) on to (or in parallel to) the VISTA Data Flow System in Cambridge, as example site exterior to ESO.
• To demonstrate the operational utility of fast data access through channelling VISTA Public Survey’s/VST data streams to both the ESO archive in Garching and then (VISTA only) on to (or in parallel to) the UK VISTA Data Flow System in Cambridge.
• To demonstrate the operational utility of fast data access through channelling OCA’s data streams to Bochum.
• To demonstrate the scientific use of fast data access through campaigns of searches for supernovae (and other varying objects) and for FU Orionis outbursts using the data from the VISTA survey telescope’s Public Surveys and OCA’s survey telescopes respectively.
• To have procedures and software tools to enable fast data access to remotely monitor the progress of all observations (starting with VISTA Public surveys and VST surveys at ESO, and OCA observations) via the outputs of the data quality control pipelines running in Paranal and Armazones.
• To demonstrate the operational utility of fast data access through remote monitoring of the progress of VISTA Public surveys and VST surveys via the outputs of the data quality control pipelines for VISTA/VST data, running in Paranal.
• To demonstrate the operational utility of fast data access through remote monitoring of the progress of OCA variability monitoring surveys via the outputs of the data quality control pipelines for OCA data, running in Cerro Armazones.

Publications

• In the context of the SPIE conference on Astronomical Instrumentation, San Diego,  27June-02July 2010, Poster 7737-81, From Chile to Europe in minutes: handling the data stream from ESO Paranal Observatory presented at the conference “Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems III“. This poster discuss how the new communication infrastructure will allow data transfer within minutes since the data were taken and it is part of the JRA1 activity.
• As part of the  Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems XX (ADASS), hosted by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, MA (USA), a poster titled “Closing the observing loop across continents: data transfer between Chile and Europe“ was presented.

• As part of the  4. DFN-Forum: Kommunikationstechnologien a poster titled ”EVALSO, an enabling communication infrastructure for Astronomy” was presented. The paper, after describing the genesis of the project and the selection and construction of the communication infrastructure, analyses the application aspects and the possibilities that the new infrastructure can open within the astronomical and education community, with special attention to German reality where two of the project members, RUB and ESO, are located.