A virtual observatory (VO) is a collection of interoperating data archives and software tools which utilize the internet to form a scientific research environment in which research programs can be conducted.
Historically addressing astronomical subjects, space physics[1] and geosciences[2] have also been a focus of VO development.
The main goal is to allow transparent and distributed access to data available worldwide.
The IVOA (International Virtual Observatory Alliance) is a standards body created by astronomical VO projects to develop and formalize the interoperability standards upon which the VO implementations are constructed.
This article about a specific observatory, telescope or astronomical instrument is a stub.