From Space to Cyberspace

Abstract

How 21st-century astronomy became a big data science: All sciences are based on empirical evidence. Data quantifies the observed or measured phenomena; they can stimulate new hypotheses, support or disprove existing theories, and ultimately lead us to a better understanding of the world. The information revolution has dramatically intensified this process by enabling vast growth in the volume, rate, and quality of data, and thus in the ways in which science is conducted. Astronomy has been on the front lines of these developments for the past three or four decades, and it is still pushing the boundary today.

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