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The ability of storing, managing, and giving access to the huge quantity of data collected by astronomical observatories is one of the major challenges of modern astronomy. At the same time, the growing complexity of data systems implies a change of concepts: the scientist has to manipulate data as well as information. Recent developments of the `WorldWideWeb' bring interesting answers to these problems.
The book presents a wide selection of databases, archives, data centers, and information systems. Clear and up-to-date descriptions are included, together with their scientific context and motivations.
Audience: This volume provides an essential tool for astronomers, librarians, data specialists and computer engineers.
List of contents
1. Facets and Challenges of the Information Technology Evolution; A. Heck. 2. The Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory Archive; P. Barrett. 3. Data from the X-Ray Observatory ROSAT; H.U. Zimmermann, et al. 4. The Einstein On-Line Service; D.E. Harris, C.S. Grant. 5. The EUVE Archive; Center for Extreme Ultraviolet Astrophysics. 6. The IUE Archives; M. Barylak, et al. 7. Building the Archive Facility of the ESO Very Large Telescope; M.A. Albrecht, et al. 8. Deep Near Infrared Survey of the Southern Sky (DENIS); E. Deul, et al. 9. Data from the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE); D. Leisawitz, J.C. Mather. 10. The NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database; G. Helou, et al. 11. LEDA: The Lyon-Meudon Extragalactic Database; G. Paturel, et al. 12. The Database for Galactic Open Clusters (BDA); J.-C. Mermilliod. 13. The HEASARC Facility; The HEASARC Team. 14. IPAC Datasets and On-Line Services; R. Ebert, et al. 15. The Archives of the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre; D.R. Crabtree, et al. 16. A Global Perspective on Astronomical Data and Information: The Strasbourg Astronomical Data Center (CDS); D. Egret, et al. 17. Data Holdings in the ADS; S.S. Murray, et al. 18. The European Space Information System (ESIS); P. Giommi, S.G. Ansari. 19. The Star s Family: An Example of Comprehensive Yellow-Page Services; A. Heck. 20. Library Information Services; U. Michold, et al. 21. How to Make your Information Available on the Network; M.A. Albrecht, D. Egret. 22. Computer Networking in Astronomy; F. Murtagh. 23. Data Storage Technology for Astronomy; B. Pirenne, D. Durand. 24. NED and SIMBAD Conventions for Bibliographic Reference Coding; M. Schmitz, et al. List of Authors. List of Acronyms. Subject Index.
Summary
Storing, managing and giving access to data collected by astronomical observatories is a challenge of modern astronomy. This book presents a selection of databases, archives, data centres and information systems. Descriptions are included, together with their scientific context and motivations.
