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Home / Research / Seminars and Outreach / Seminars / Colloquium / Handling catalogues and astronomical data via web tools: the FRB host galaxy and pulsar catalogues use case

Handling catalogues and astronomical data via web tools: the FRB host galaxy and pulsar catalogues use case

  • Date:
  • Speaker: Dr. Luciano Nicastro
  • Affiliation: Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna (OAS, INAF)

Web services make astronomical data, such as images and object catalogues, easily queryable and accessible via browser or script. Nowadays, relational or schema-less database management systems can manage any type and amount of data using appropriate metadata. Furthermore, web tools can include interactive graphs that allow intuitive use even by inexperienced users. The advantages for users of this “data-centric” approach are countless: no data duplication, no need to worry about backups, no need to install and manage software, and so on.
Hoping to spark interest, I will present two use cases: the FRB host galaxy catalogue and the ATNF pulsar catalogue. Both catalogues are managed via TOCats and its complementary web tool Catsweb (catsweb.oas.inaf.it). TOCats offers rapid access to object catalogs, astronomical surveys, and more, utilizing hierarchical tiling techniques, specifically the HEALPix scheme, to subdivide the celestial sphere. Catsweb uses Aladin Lite v.3, a graphical web tool that offers features such as direct links to web accessible data archives, local images, object tables, and more. I welcome collaborators who can help improve the usability of these tools and catalogs.
For those interested, I’ll be available on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning to demonstrate, in a more “interactive” way, how TOCats/Catsweb work and what their capabilities are.

 

Dr. Luciano Nicastro, Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna (OAS, INAF)

As a multi-wavelength astronomer, my research interests include isolated neutron stars, gamma-ray bursts, and fast radio bursts. As a radio astronomer, I have studied pulsars using the Northern Cross, Parkes, and Jodrell Bank observatories. My work in the technology sector focuses primarily on developing database-driven data management systems, as well as data analysis and visualization using web-based tools. The projects I am currently involved in (in various capacities) include REM, Euclid, FRB-Italy, eROSITA and GRAWITA.