Abstract
The WFCAM Science Archive (WSA) will contain the complete set of data
created by the WFCAM camera on UKIRT, including the UKIRT Infrared Deep
Sky Surveys (UKIDSS). Developed and hosted by the Wide Field Astronomy
Unit (WFAU) within the University of Edinburgh's Institute for
Astronomy, the WSA is designed as an SQL database with user access
through a public web interface. The UKIDSS surveys have now begun and
the first data release will become available, after an initial phase of
science verification, to all members of the ESO community. Observations
will continue over the next seven years, typically producing 100 GBytes
of data per night, resulting in an archive of the order of tens of
terabytes in size. Consequently, scalability is one of the most
important aspects in the design of the database. Here we provide an
overview of our hardware and software design to store and access such
vast quantities of data efficiently. Development of the archive
continues as we prepare to host data from the VISTA surveys and enhance
the end-user's experience, including incorporation of Virtual
Observatory functionality delivered through AstroGrid.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems XV |
| Publisher | ASTRONOMICAL SOC PACIFIC |
| Pages | 743 |
| Volume | 351 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jul 2006 |