[Atmob-discuss] Google Sky Seminars on April 9 - Double Feature

[Jeremy H. Brown]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Helene Tingle <helene_tingle at harvard.edu>
Date: Fri, Apr 4, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Subject: [iic-seminars] Google Sky Seminars on April 9 - Double Feature
To: iic-seminars at harvard.edu




Initiative in Innovative Computing @ Harvard

and



Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Google Sky Seminars - 4pm and 8pm

Wednesday, April 9, 2008; 4:00pm
60 Oxford Street, Room 330
Event parking in the 52 Oxford Street Garage.





Ryan Scranton, Google Sky Team
Seminar Title: Hunting for Needles in Massive Astronomical Data Streams




Abstract:


Over the last decade astronomy has become a progressively more data
intensive science with large area surveys such as the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey providing data sets in excess of 200 million sources and
covering many thousands of square degrees. This data rate will
continue to increase as we move into the next decade with surveys such
as PanSTARRS and LSST mapping the sky every three nights. The many
science opportunities these surveys enable, from characterizing the
nature of dark energy to searching for potentially hazardous
asteroids, come with an associated challenge. How do we find unusual
sources within massive Terabyte data streams where small errors in the
classification of sources can swamp any intrinsic signature. In this
talk I will discuss a number of techniques for hunting for needles
within the haystack of astronomical data. From searching for
supernovae within spectral surveys to searching for moving sources to
looking for the one in a million event I will describe how we can make
these challenges computationally efficient, what remains to be done
and how this is a very fertile area for the collaboration between
computer science, statistics and astrophysics.


Wednesday, April 9, 2008; 8:00pm
Emerson Hall, Room 105
Event parking in the Broadway Street Garage.



Andrew Connolly, Google Sky Team

Seminar Title: Inside Google Sky




Abstract:


In August 2007, Google launched Sky in Google Earth, the first
application to provide a seamless view of the night sky using images
from the largest, optical wide-field imaging surveys. From exploring
the distribution of stars in the Milky Way to viewing the formation of
the first galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field; from images of
galaxies at ultraviolet wavelengths to a view of the far-infrared and
radio sky, Google Sky provides users with a framework to communicate
and share ideas about astronomy. Like Google Earth, Sky is a dynamic
environment, combining new imagery and features which can be tailored
to different needs (whether a professional or amateur astronomer). In
this talk we will discuss how Sky came about, the technologies it uses
for sharing information between people distributed across the world
and we will demonstrate some of the latest additions and features that
have been developed by a growing Google Sky community.

Upcoming IIC Seminars:
Continue to stay up to date with our IIC Seminar Schedule.



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