Perth Data Doctors| Hey! What Are You Looking At?
Hey! What Are You Looking At?
Observe: Hey! What are you looking at?
Summary
The quantity and complexity of astronomical data has long resulted in an accessibility gap between scientists and other potential users. This problem denies many people the knowledge, profit and fun derivable from the data. We have designed a new user-friendly portal and display tool for datasets from high energy astrophysics missions.
How We Addressed This Challenge
Scientific big data is BIG and complex. Visualisation is a huge and emerging field in astrophysics, but it is HARD. Existing tools were found to be very off-putting by non-astrophysicists, so we decided to reverse the thought process. Instead of an astrophysicist working outwards from the data in a familiar but tedious software environment full of fields to fill and results to interpret for publication, we wanted to walk towards the data from the real-world outside.
By using a simple 'clock/roll-up' mechanism in an App, users are offered HEASARC archived missions that contain datasets within their selected energy range. The user can then proceed to interrogate the data with a layering function that stitches together a 'story' about an event or target of interest.
Since astrophysical data is the property of everyone, we considered it important that everyone be able to access it, regardless of their skill or knowledge in astrophysics. Removing this gap between scientists and others will allow a wider, general appreciation of science, scientists and the sky. This will create many opportunities for recreation, fun, learning, profit, policy-making and planning.
We hope to provideversioned access to astrophysical data in a no-frills, graphical way. Layers and filters will be selected, as appropriate, by users ranging from primary school to enthusiast to entrepreneurs. Links to extant visualisation tools and authorities will give the user the opportunity to progress their findings in the most beneficial way.
How We Developed This Project
As an educator, astronomer and STEM outreach entrepreneur, Rob has a commitment to take science to the people and so, created this Team and selected this Challenge. With wonderful contributions from Sam and Angus, and guidance from SpaceApp Mentors, we sat in our respective homes and researched, chatted and mused for long hours until a very amorphous idea took shape.
As a software developer, and space enthusiast Sam worked on processing HEASARC and other astronomical data in order to ensure the concept was viable and can be built as well as bringing expertise in many of the software components that make up the project.
Angus provided the IT knowledge and skills to think around the coding practicalities of developing the App as well as non-astronomer observations of existing astrophysical databases.
Being a small team was probably a good thing in terms of individual productivity and the absence of interpersonal conflict. Starting from a very uninformed baseline, we achieved a lot of progress in a very short time, towards a terrific concept.
How We Used Space Agency Data in This Project
We accessed HEASARC web pages to determine the energy bands for instruments on each of the missions from which HEASARC has archived data. This was used as a primer point around which to design an App that could take an average person from the real world, inwards towards the rather stultified inner workings of astrophysical databases and their visualisation tools.
We consideredCADC's portal, the SkyView tool and other well-known databases such as SIMBAD, VizieR, Xamin, and Aladin on the CDS portal, and also NED. The obvious lack of visual appeal and the complex, jargonistic requirements to use these databases fuelled our desire to improve the interface between these enormous volumes of data and non-astronomer users.
Project Demo
A seven-slide PowerPoint presentation, summarising our Challenge outcome, is publicly available here.
We built a mockup of an interface using existing technology that can serve as the interface until a more purpose built design can be developed. 
The prototype interface is also designed with the ability to display multiple data sets.
Such as InfraRed and Microwaves, and can display these both overlaid in transparency, and split side by side, which is illustrated in the following screenshots.
In addition to the prototype interface we generated a number of low resolution data layers using data from the NASA Virtual Observatory System which HEASARC is connected to as part of providing data to astronomical software. Some of those layers are previewed below.
