Ask an astronomer about pre-correlator data and overviews of radio telescope data
Dear Ask an Astronomer,
Where is the pre-correlator data stored? I want to teach and research using your data as examples to see what is missed when the correlator algorithms are used.
And are there basic statistics on the contents of all the image datasets (tiles, files, records I am not sure how you name things) so that some larger views of the global data gathering can be understood?
It seems the view is all about what a relatively few principle investigators at larger universities want to see and write about. There are 2 billion children from 4-24 now, learning things for the first time. And many of them explore using computers, NOT with preconceived ideas or specific goals. But for the joy of discovery and “large data puzzles” and more and more “unsupervised machine learning”. There are roughly 5 billion humans using the internet, and many of them are interested in space but without living maps of topics, and tools to see what the AIs make of data, it is nearly impossible for busy working people to get real experience and knowledge.
Maybe it is on the sites somewhere, but if you do not know what insiders call something it is nearly impossible to search for it.
Thank you,
Richard Collins, The Internet Foundation
