The
value of metadata
The advantages of retrieving
astronomical data using a
grid model based on interoperable
standards are clear: instead
of visiting a number of different
archives, explains Plante,
an astronomer will be able
to send a single query to
many different servers, which
will then respond with the
results of that search.
It may sound like a typical
Google search, but astronomy
researchers' needs are different
from those of the average
Internet user. “The
NVO's interfaces must be intelligent
enough to have some understanding
of astronomical content,”
says Plante. For example,
a Google-like search for infrared
images of a specific quasar
would return text documents
containing the keyword “infrared,”
and possibly a source name,
but it probably would not
contain any other valuable
information, such as the name
of a specific kind of telescope,
for example, or the location
in the sky where the data
was originally recorded.
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