南方基地知识库

天文学已经进入数据密集型时代或者说大数据时代.面对海量天文数据在存储、计算、网络、软件、算法乃至工作模式等方面的需求和挑战,天文学家连同计算机和信息技术领域的专家正努力使基于科学数据的知识发现过程变得更加容易.虚拟天文台旨在实现科学数据的互操作,打造一个全球性的数据网格.天文信息学则从分支学科的高度来考虑天文学的长远发展.数据挖掘和知识发现在数据密集型时代大有可为,自身也必将获得长足发展.本文简要论述天文学研究在数据密集型时代所面临的挑战,介绍虚拟天文台理念和最新进展,探讨天文信息学发展的必要性和所包含的研究内容,阐明数据挖掘和知识发现的必要性和发展方向.

Astronomy research has entered an increasingly data-intensive, or “big data” era. Exponential growth in the size of astronomical archives brings with it completely new requirements and challenges for data storage, computing power, networks, software, algorithms, and even research methods. Astronomers and experts in information and computation technology (ICT) are working together to simplify knowledge discovery within these massive data sets. Worldwide astronomical archives are connected through the virtual observatory (VO) framework, which provides interoperability standards and services that have allowed the creation of a global astronomical data grid. Astroinformatics, a bridge between astronomy and ICT and applied computer science, aims to engage a broader community of researchers both as contributors to and as consumers of the new methodology for data-intensive astronomy, thus building upon the data-grid foudations established by the VO framework. Data mining (DM), knowledge discovery in databases (KDD), machine learning, and visualization techniques have become a necessity. In this paper, the challenges facing modern astronomical research are briefly described, the concepts underlying the VO and astroinformatics and the latest progress in these fields are introduced, and the need for DM and KDD techniques in astronomy is discussed.