Skip to main content

Portals to the Universe The NASA Astronomy Science Centers (2007) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:

1 Introduction
Pages 6-10

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 6...
... 1     Introduction The astronomy science centers1 established by NASA to serve as interfaces between astronomy missions and the community of scientists who utilize the data from those missions have been enormously  successful in enabling space-based telescopes to achieve their scientific potential. As described below,  NASA science centers have transformed the conduct of much of astronomical research and set in place  a new paradigm for the use of all large astronomical facilities. It is against this background of success  that the committee that wrote this report had been charged by NASA with comparing the approaches  taken by the science centers to the requirements they faced, drawing on experience for best practices  from their experience, and making recommendations for future science centers. The NASA astronomy science centers perform a number of essential functions for the research community. It is through the centers that most scientists get to use the space-based telescopes. The centers  construct the observing programs of the satellite/telescopes. Data gathered by the telescopes pass through  the centers to the scientific community via an archive that preserves the data for future research. The  centers construct and maintain the software necessary to carry out the preceding functions as well as the  vital software for data reduction. They have taken over what was traditionally the NASA Headquarters  role -- namely, announcing opportunities for proposal submission and conducting proposal review, ranking, and award of observing time. NASA financial support to mission users in the form of data analysis  grants typically, though not necessarily, passes through the science centers. The centers also interface  with the public and conduct programs in science education and public affairs.
Read the entire page →
From page 7...
...  expansion of the role and functions of astronomy science centers to include proposal reviews  and education and outreach. An Institutional Arrangement for NASA Astronomy Science Centers A milestone in the emergence of NASA astronomy science centers was reached with the planning  in the early 1970s for the Large Space Telescope, renamed the Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
Read the entire page →
From page 8...
... , which mapped  the entire sky in several infrared bands. No guest investigations were included in the mission operations,  and  no  data  were  released  until  about  a  year  after  the  10-month  mission  was  completed.  The  initial data processing was carried out entirely by the PI team. In 1986, NASA established the IPAC  on the campus of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech)  to make the IRAS database available  to the astronomy community, and IPAC continues to maintain the IRAS data and to provide access to  additional archives and services.  Standardized Data Formats During the early 1980s, standardized data formats also contributed to expanding the use of data from  space astronomy missions. The advantages of standardized formats became so obvious that in 1982 the  International Astronomical Union endorsed the use of the Flexible Imaging Transport System (FITS)
Read the entire page →
From page 9...
... Guest Observer Data Access and the Internet The two NASA support centers for U.S. users of ROSAT data (at GSFC and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory)  provided NASA with experience in the utilization of guest observer facilities  (GOFs)
Read the entire page →
From page 10...
... In so doing, the centers have been essential to the realization of the scientific potential of NASA astronomy missions. Finding: The Space Telescope Science Institute provided the community with new standards for user support in proposals and data analysis, established a new paradigm for communicating to the public the discoveries of the NASA astronomy program, and set the first example of a program in science education that was an integral part of science center operations.
Read the entire page →

Key Terms

  • astronomy science
  • astronomy data
  • science centers
  • science center
  • remote access

  • telescope science
  • allowing remote
  • astronomy missions
  • astronomical research
  • research worldwide

  • astronomy program
  • science education
  • center operations
  • space telescope
  • user support

  • institutional arrangement
  • scientific potential
  • observer data
  • standardized data
  • data formats

  • data analysis
  • data operations
  • scientific objectives
  • data access
  • woods hole

  • outreach finally
  • methodological approaches
  • guest observer
  • public outreach


    • This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
    More information on Chapter Skim is available.