The Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC) was established in 1986 by the NRC with support from the Canadian Space Agency as one of three world-wide distribution centres for Hubble Space Telescope data.
The Canadian Astronomy Data Centre (CADC) was established in 1986 by the NRC with support from the Canadian Space Agency as one of three world-wide distribution centres for Hubble Space Telescope data. This web-based virtual observatory has grown to house some of the world's most important astronomical data collections, including those from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), the twin Gemini telescopes and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. Operating out of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) near Victoria, BC, the CADC has emerged as one of the largest and most powerful astronomy data management centres in the world. It is one of the first astronomy data centres in the world to make the transition from "data host" to integrated systems provider. The CADC provides large-scale scientific computing infrastructure to the Canadian astronomy community, which surveys large areas of the sky to create statistically powerful samples of stars, galaxies, and quasars. Storing and processing such massive amounts of unique data requires state-of-the-art computing infrastructure and expertise. As the next generation of telescopes such as the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and SKA come online in coming years, these high-performance computing needs will expand exponentially. CADC is supported by an interdisciplinary team of astronomers and software developers that specialize in data mining, processing, distribution and transferring of very large astronomical datasets. Over the past three decades, these experts have developed sophisticated tools to support and enhance the research efforts of Canadian and international astronomers. Evolving to better serve its science community, CADC software and data support massive processing, visualization and analytics. CADC data has helped safely guide the first close spacecraft encounter with Pluto and enabled the discovery of supermassive black holes that reveal secrets to the origin of the Universe. CADC's data collection, along with its world-leading cloud infrastructure for astronomy, provides a unique resource for data-intensive astrophysical research. The CADC continues to expand its role by partnering with the Canadian Advanced Network For Astronomical Research (CANFAR) and Compute Canada to integrate its services with cloud computing and storage technologies. The CADC will work with Compute Canada to design generic services, while pushing all data storage infrastructure and support services into Compute Canada operations.
Other programs in the same space.
1871
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
500 Global
500 Global
