Virtual Observatory: Science capabilities and scientific results

Abstract

The virtual observatory (VO) is a collection of interoperable data archives, tools and applications that together form an environment in which original astronomical research can be carried out. The VO is opening up new ways of exploiting the huge amount of data provided by the ever-growing number of ground-based and space facilities, as well as by computer simulations. This presentation summarises a variety of scientific results spanning various fields of astronomy, obtained thanks to the VO, after highlighting its structure, infrastructure and various capabilities.

10 pages, 5 figures, invited talk, proceedings of the 9th Hellenic Astronomical Society Conference, Athens, 20-24 September 2009