Flexible Approach to Astronomical Data Reduction Workflows in Kepler

Abstract

The growing scale and complexity of cataloguing and analyzing of astronomical data forces scientists to look for a new technologies and tools. The workflow environments seem best suited for their needs, but in practice they proved to be too complicated for most users. Before such environments are used commonly, they have to be properly adapted for specific needs of the scientific domain. To that end, we have created a universal solution based on the Kepler workflow environment. It consists of a library of domain modules, ready-to-use workflows and additional services for sharing and running workflows. There are three access levels depending on the needs and skills of the user: 1) desktop application, 2) web application 3) on-demand Virtual Research Environment. The whole solution is set up in the context of Polish Grid Infrastructure, enabling access to its resources. For flexibility it includes interoperability mechanisms with the domain specific applications and services (including astronomical Virtual Observatory) as well as with other domain grid services.