VOEvent is a standardized language used to report observations of astronomical events; it was officially adopted[1] in 2006 by the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA).
The rapid dissemination of event data with a formalized language was the original impetus[2] for the creation of VOEvents and the network (now called VOEventNet) used to transport the messages; indeed VOEvent messages are designed to be compact and quickly transmittable over the internet.
The scope of VOEvent is informed by several other messaging schemes used to facilitate rapid discovery announcements for specialized sub-fields of astronomy (such as OGLE microlensing alerts and Supernova Early Warning System).
The first live VOEvent alert messages of real astronomical events were published through a feed from a broker written and maintained the eSTAR Project.
The standard was written by Rob Seaman, Roy Williams, Alasdair Allan, Scott Barthelmy, Joshua Bloom, John Brewer, Robert Denny, Mike Fitzpatrick, Matthew Graham, Norman Gray, Frederic Hessman, Szabolcs Marka, Arnold Rots, Tom Vestrand and Przemyslaw Wozniak.