Big Data in Astronomy: Surveys, Catalogs, Databases and Archives

Abstract

We present the modern situation in astronomy, where Big Data coming from the Universe put new tasks for catalogizing, storage, archiving, analysis and usage of the scientific information. The two major characteristics of modern astronomy are multiwavelength (MW) studies (from γ-ray to radio, as well as multi-messenger studies, using also neutrinos, gravitational waves, etc.) and Big Data (including data acquisition, storage and analysis). Present astronomical databases and archives contain billions of objects observed in various wavelengths, both Galactic and extragalactic, and the vast amount of data on them allows new studies and discoveries. Astronomers deal with big numbers. Surveys are the main source for discovery of astronomical objects and accumulation of observational data for further analysis, interpretation, and achieving scientific results. We review the main characteristics of astronomical surveys, we compare photographic and digital eras of astronomical studies (including the development of wide-field observations), we give the present state of MW surveys, and we discuss the Big Data in astronomy and related topics of Virtual Observatories and Computational Astrophysics. The review includes many numbers and data that can be compared to have a possibly overall understanding on the studied Universe, cosmic numbers and their relationship to modern computational possibilities.