Oral Abstract

Oral Contribution (O2.2) Mattia Vaccari (University of the Western Cape)

Theme: Multi-wavelength astronomy

The Ilifu Cloud Computing Facility and the HIPPO Project

The coming of age of multi-wavelength astrophysics over the past decade has allowed us to probe deep and wide into the distant universe at all wavelengths thanks to the combination of ground-based and space-based instrumentation. This giant leap in observational capabilities has provided much insight into how different wavelengths can be used to reliably trace star formation rates and thus place stronger constraints on the cosmic star formation history and on computer simulations trying to reproduce it. However, optimally merging different datasets remains a formidable challenge due to the size and complexity of upcoming surveys. This has recently encouraged the adoption of machine learning techniques.

The Ilifu cloud - http://www.ilifu.ac.za/ - is a cloud computing system being developed at the Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA). The Ilifu cloud is a data intensive research facility whose main aim is to facilitate the reduction and the scientific exploitation of MeerKAT data. Building on the Ilifu cloud, the HELP-IDIA Panchromatic Project (HIPPO) is developing an environment for the effective multi-wavelength characterization of radio sources. In my talk I will introduce the Ilifu cloud computing facility, describe the aims of the HIPPO project and demonstrate some of the tools we created to enable multi-wavelength studies of the cosmic star formation history with MeerKAT radio surveys.

The Ilifu cloud is a cloud computing system being developed at the Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA). The Ilifu cloud is a data intensive research facility whose main aim is to facilitate the reduction and the scientific exploitation of MeerKAT data. Building on the IDIA cloud, the HELP-IDIA Panchromatic Project (HIPPO) is developing an environment for the effective multi-wavelength characterization of radio sources. In my talk I will introduce the Ilifu cloud computing facility, describe the aims of the HIPPO project and demonstrate some of the tools we created to enable multi-wavelength studies of the cosmic star formation history with MeerKAT radio surveys.