Astroinformation resource of the Ukrainian virtual observatory: Joint observational data archive, scientific tasks, and software

TLDR: In this paper, the most important components of the national project of the Ukrainian Virtual Observatory (UkrVO) are discussed, such as content verification software, integrity and administration of the JDA, compliance of image formats with the IVOA standards, and photometric and astrometric calibration of images.

Abstract: This paper reviews the most important components of the national project of the Ukrainian Virtual Observatory (UkrVO). Among them, there is the establishment of a Joint Digital Archive (JDA) of observational data, which has been obtained at Ukrainian observatories since the 1890s, including an astronegative JDA (more than 200 thousand plates). Since this task requires VO-oriented software, such issues as content verification software, integrity and administration of the JDA, compliance of image formats with the IVOA standards, and photometric and astrometric calibration of images are considered as the most important directions of software development, which carried out by members of the UkrVO. The scientific projects using local data archives of the UkrVO are discussed, namely: an analysis of a long observational series of active galactic nuclei, the study of solar flares and solar active regions based on spectral observational archives, research and discovery of variable stars, and the study of stellar fields in the vicinity of gamma-ray bursts. Particular attention is devoted to the CoLiTec Program that permits us to increase a number of observed solar system bodies and allows us to discover new bodies; for example, the C/2010 (Elenin) and P/2011 N01 comets were discovered using this program at the ISON-NM Observatory. The paper notes the creation of the UkrVO JDA prototype that provides access to the databases of the Main Astronomical Observatory, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (MAO NAS of Ukraine); Nikolaev Astronomical Observatory (NAO); and Lvov Astronomical Observatory.