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VO Desktop new software product beta release

AstroGrid's new software product - VO Desktop - which replaces and upgrades the existing prototype AstroGrid user interface is currently being beta tested by members of the astronomy community.

2008-03-03: UPDATE: Following today's meeting of the AstroGrid Oversight Committee at the Critical Service Review, it has been agreed that the full operational release of AstroGrid will occur Tues 1 April 2008.

In the meantime, for those who would like to get an early taste of the new VODesktop, you'll find full details about the beta release at http://beta.astrogrid.org.

2008-01-28: AstroGrid has today announced the release of its VO Desktop user client to a number of early users. This is in advance of a full public release in April 2008.

The AstroGrid VO Desktop is the user interface for the astronomer to the VO - a world wide initiative linking all main providers of data in astronomy (e.g. ESO, ESA, NASA).

VODesktop offers a number of key capabilities:

• VOExplorer enables the astronomer to find and then work with a global range of astronomy data and applications.
• Astro Scope answers the question - what data is there available for any patch on the night sky?
• Helio Scope answers the question - what Solar System data is available for a given time range?
• The Task (Application) Runner provides an easy way to query a wide range of astrophysical databases. Thus one can retrieve all stars with a certain colour from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey or Brown Dwarfs from the UKIDSS WFCAM infrared survey.
• The Task Launcher also enables a scientist to run a wide range of applications, such as S-Extractor, Pegase, and return results in standard VO formats (such as VOTable)

Tools are able to return their results to the user's VOSpace (a remote storage space)- or to their local disk. For quick look analysis of the results, a number of Helper Applications can be used. AstroGrid VO services can also be accessed programmatically from a number of languages including Python.

VO Desktop represents a significant evolution from the existing 'Workbench' product. However, existing users of the Workbench should note that they will still be able to access and work with their existing work that they may have saved in their current Myspace storage areas, their current user credentials will remain current and so forth.

For further information concerning VODesktop, and possible issues with transition for users of the current 'Workbench' please email helpdesk@astrogrid.org

Nic Walton
AstroGrid Project Scientist

Screenshot of VOExplorer in action: