Cambridge University reaches for the stars

Researchers use high performance software for faster astronomical data cataloguing

University speeds up research by cataloguing data faster

The Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit (CASU), part of Cambridge University's Institute of Astronomy, has implemented analytical software to accelerate astronomical data cataloguing.

University researchers had been struggling with the time available to catalogue data on the stars every night, which can sometimes create 100GB of data.

Loading collected data onto the university's database could take months and was delaying the availability of data for analysis and research.

The university has installed high performance analytical software, provided by vendors Kognitio and HP, to analyse and catalogue data faster.

Benefits of the new system include speed and flexibility in loading data and running analysis queries.

CASU will create on online catalogue of objects in space to be accessed by researchers worldwide.

The university will also use a utility computing service provided by HP Flexible Computing Services to tap into computing power when it is needed and eliminate technology hardware implementation costs.