Links to more VO tools

AstroGrid recommended tools

The following are especially recommended, because they complement the functionality of AstroGrid tools, and because they interoperate seamlessly with AstroGrid tools (i.e. can pass each other files and messages using PLASTIC) :

SPLAT

SPLAT is a spectral analysis tool from the Starlink project, which is now maintained by Peter Draper at Durham University. With the assistance of Mark Taylor from the AstroGrid team, this now been "VO-enabled", and is available for download as SPLAT-VO. It understands PLASTIC messages, can access VOSpace, and can make queries to worldwide spectral services.

Note : this download is 68MB.

Aladin

Aladin is an image viewer with a wide range of capabilities, which also acts as a VO portal in its own right. The Aladin download page offers a variety of versions and is fairly self-explanatory. The standard version interoperates with AstroGrid tools, but unlike VODesktop, Topcat, and SPLAT-VO, does not offer access to VOSpace. However, there is a "prototype version" a little further down the page which does offer such access, and we expect that the standard version will do so soon.

VOSpec

VOSpec is another spectral analysis tool, produced by the ESA-VO project. Scroll down the page and find the "VO-spec" link. This launches the Java application directly from the web page - i.e. you don't download and save the java file. Note that VOSpec operates through Port 1099 which can sometimes be blocked by firewalls.

Other VO tools worldwide

AstroGrid is a partner in Euro-VO. This has a very useful tools page.

Our Euro-VO partners CDS, as well as providing the Aladin image viewer application, provide the Simbad name resolver and the comprehensive Vizier collection collection of catalogues and tables from published papers. You can access these through VO Desktop, but of course CDS also maintain their own web-based interface services.

The US NVO project runs a variety of VO services. These are mostly web-form interface services rather than downloadable applications, with an exception being the VO-enabled Java application Specview, which you can download here. The available web-form style services include an image mosaic service using Montage; spectrum services, and SDSS image cutouts, available through the voservices web site at Johns Hopkins University; and the VOeventnet service at Caltech, which feeds alert data from transient events from various sources (SWIFT, OGLE, Quest etc).

The VO-India project is constructing a variety of tools, downloadable from here. The best known is VOPlot, for tables and graphs.

The Japanese Virtual Observatory project has a web-based portal prototype, with capability for data search, workflow, and JVO-Space.

Finally, we note that the long established Starlink Software Collection is still available through the Joint Astronomy Centre. So far, only SPLAT has been VO-enabled, but we hope that much more will be in due course.