The Benefits of the Virtual Observatory to Underserved Communities

Abstract: The Virtual Observatory (VO) is a global ecosystem of interoperating services that connect worldwide data archives. The VO is implemented in all major astronomy archives through common interfaces developed by the 22 members of the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA). It was founded in 2002, and the newest members, the SKA Observatory and the Kazakhstan Virtual Observatory, joined in 2022. The VO offers access to data on FAIR principles and from its inception has supported Open Science. The VO acts as a democratizing influence in astronomy: it provides equal access to worldwide public data sets to underserved communities as well as to large data centers, and it enables international participation in scientific research and education. Thus, astronomers from many different communities are positioned to participate in the big science questions emerging in astronomy in the 2020s, such as interpreting transient sources that will be measured in forthcoming missions such as Rubin. In addition, the IVOA has signed an MoU with the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD). Under this MoU, IVOA members participated in "Astronomy from Archival Data," which involved educational activities for undergraduate and post-graduate students organized by Dr. Priya Hasan. The IVOA plans to participate in future such educational events. The presentation describes how new communities may participate in Virtual Observatory science and educational activities, including practices for developing VO-compliant data centers and archives and education and training for developers and end users.