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Nature 417, 777 (20 June 2002) | doi:10.1038/417777b

Astronomers give virtual observatory a real future

Declan Butler

The International Virtual Observatory (IVO) — an amalgamation of astronomical and astrophysical data from the world's best telescopes and detectors — is on track to start operations early next year.Two hundred astronomers and government officials met in Garching, Germany, on 10–14 June to plan the collaboration, which would integrate the world's astronomy databases into a single seamless resource.