ASTRON is the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, located in Dwingeloo in the northern part of the Netherlands. The institute is engaged in the development of novel and innovative technologies that enhance the observing capabilities for astronomers at home and around the world. ASTRON also maintains world-class radio astronomy facilities and conducts fundamental research in observational astronomy.
ASTRON led the development of LOFAR (Low-Frequency Array) - presently the largest and most sensitive low-frequency radio telescope in the world. Taking advantage of array synthesis, the telescope requires impressive computational and storage facilities in order to process and archive the expected large volumes of data.
ASTRON joined the Target project looking for unique implementations of the LOFAR’s long-term archive, which is expected to reach 10+ Petabytes. As a result, a reliable, scalable and robust LOFAR archive was jointly developed and is now hosted on the Target testbed. At the same time, the large-scale distributed storage used for the LOFAR archive offers a "breeding ground" for innovations to the rest of Target industrial partners. Participation in the Target project also fits in the long-term ambitions of ASTRON to play an important role in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). A powerful data center with a flexible software environment in the vicinity of the institute strengthens this ambition.
Web site :
ASTRON
Contact:
Hanno Holties
ASTRON staff
