[EGSO logo]    European Grid of Solar Observations
   General Introduction

Introduction

The EGSO project is using Grid technology to produce a Virtual Observatory (VO) for the solar physics and related communities. It has developed a search engine that allows the user to find solar observations that match a their search criteria and has put great emphasis on developing the metadata needed to support an enhanced search capability.

EGSO is working closely with other VO projects that have been funded by NASA that cover the solar and heliospheric communities - these include the Virtual Solar Observatory (VSO), the Collaborative Sun-Earth Connector (CoSEC), the Virtual Space Plasma Observatory (VSPO) and the Virtual Heliospheric Observatory (VHO).

A full description of the EGSO project is in preparation, but you can already find a number of useful documents on the EGSO Web site http://www.egso.org. The development of EGSO was funded under the Information Society Technologies (IST) thematic priority of the European Community's Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) - Grant No. IST-2001-32409.

Using EGSO

EGSO is designed to find and retrieve data; eventually it will also be able to process the data before it is retrieved (if required). It specializes in observations of the Sun and heliosphere and has a a number of Special Providers that manage metadata needed by the system to assist the user's search. These allow searches based on events, features and phenomena rather than just date/time and observational parameters.

You can use EGSO in two ways: through Web-based Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs), or through software that addresses its Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Use the pull-down at the top-left of this Web page to select sets of help pages for each of these interface types. When the selected page set appears, use the pull-down at the top-right to select the page you need.

Both the main system and Special Providers can be accessed through GUIs and APIs. Although users are at liberty to develop their own applications software, currently the API is being tested within SolarSoft environment and the API help describes the routines that have been developed for this.

Useful Links

EGSO related links:
Links to related VO projects
SolarSoft links:
R.D. Bentley
25 September 2005