An important aspect of data processing is the ability to visualize data. This is especially important when the data volume is large. Networked Telescopes For many astronomers, the days of traveling to the telescope in order to carry out observations are relegated to the past. Many telescopes, from the Hubble Space Telescope to the the BIMA and VLA radio frequency arrays, data is transferred from a remote site to an archive. The investigating astronomers have access to the instrument through the internet.
Different telescopes provide different amounts of remote control and monitoring.
However, they all have, as a goal, the ideal of placing the telescope on the astronomer's desktop. This system is being prototyped with the existing BIMA array, bringing together the accomplishments of the HPDC and Visualization initiatives as well as building on our previous experiences with scientific archives . With the new pipeline system, astronomers will be able to track a scientific project through its entire life cycle as data flows from the telescope in Northern California, through the archive and processing systems at NCSA, to publication in the NCSA Astronomy Digital Image Library . 23 June 1999 Updated web site to include new NCSA banners. All rights reserved.