TOPCAT and the Virtual Observatory

This project comprises two linked activities that will support astronomers at all levels in making best scientific use of the large and complex datasets delivered by state of the art ground- and space-based telescopes.

The first is support, maintenance and development of the very widely-used TOPCAT software package for analysis of tabular data. This powerful application is relied upon by many astronomers worldwide, providing world-leading capabilities for interactive exploration of source catalogues.

The second is involvement with the Virtual Observatory (VO), a worldwide framework of data exchange standards and services that allows seamless access to remote astronomical data from the desktop and thereby underpins much of the way astronomers now interact with large widely-distributed databases and archives. This VO involvement takes the form of co-authoring, reviewing and implementing the technical standards that define the way data is annotated and delivered, as well as contributing software that helps data archives to deploy services that reliably conform to those standards.