Division XII / Commission 5 / Working Group Virtual Observatories, Data Centers & Networks

The Working Group Virtual Observatories, Data Centers, and Networks was established under Commission 5 at the Prague General Assembly in 2006. The purpose of the WG is to provide IAU oversight of the activities of the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA, http://www.ivoa.net/), to encourage data centers and other data providers to archive and publish data according to IVOA standards, and to help assure that astronomical research facilities are electronically linked with current network technologies. The WG coordinates activities closely with the WG-FITS, as the IVOA uses FITS as its primary format for binary data exchange, and the WG on Astronomical Data.