Oral Presentation Astronomical Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting including HWWS 2013

Building model universes in the "cloud": the Theoretical Astrophysical Observatory (TAO) (#17)

Darren Croton 1
  1. Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia

In this talk I will discuss the use of new technologies to build and deliver cosmological-scale galaxy formation models to the community. Combining high performance computing, a "web 2.0" front-end architecture, and cloud-based processing and storage, the NeCTAR funded "Theoretical Astrophysical Observatory" (TAO) will allow astronomers construct their own mock light cones from a range of different simulations and galaxy models, filter the output through virtual telescopes, and download the results for their own scientific use. TAO will be of value to both large survey teams and individuals, and should serve a wide range of scientific needs.