Monday Plenary 2: Contributed talk
When
Where
Theme: Science with data archives: challenges in multi-wavelength and time domain data analysis
New advances in techniques for visualisation of multi-dimensional data contribute to a more efficient scientific analysis. The large amount of data that the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) will produce and its data size will bring new challenges for current visualisation techniques in astronomy. Remote visualisation of data sets is required in order to avoid the transfer of large data sets. This is especially critical for next-generation telescopes.
In this contribution, we will present an exploratory study on how existing software and technologies for 3D visualisation can be used in scientific archives, in a way that allows the user to customise the visualisation and interact with the data, and the viability of using them for larger data sets, as the ones coming from SKA data products. The study includes general purpose software, not being limited to astronomy software. We will also present a tool to create interactive visualisations of spectral line data, making use of the technologies selected from that aforementioned study. The aim of the tool is to be complementary to other visualisation and analysis tools, while being useful for multi-dimensional Big Data from SKAO and its precursor telescopes. The 3D models are written with the X3D standard and represent chosen iso-surfaces, which are extracted as a triangular mesh using the marching cubes algorithm. Other information, like markers and images, can be added to the model in order to improve the visualisations. We have prioritised the use of web technologies to favour interactivity in scientific archive platforms. As a result, the interactive tool allows showing and hiding objects, changing the colormap, changing the scale, adding multiple cubes and other features. Furthermore, it allows its integration in an observatory archive. The tool was created targeting radio data cubes but we are studying and expanding its functionalities to allow visualisation of cubes containing data from other wavelengths. This implementation is being integrated in a Virtual Observatory platform through SODA services.