Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory (UMR 7550) ObAS
The Strasbourg astronomical observatory (ObAS) has been playing since the creation of the Centre de Données de Strasbourg (CDS) in the early 1970s a major international role in the field of data sharing. It hosts all major catalogs and the reference imaging surveys of the astronomical community. Its services (Simbad, Vizier, Aladin, cross-match) remain unique in the world and get more than one million queries per day, contributing to a large fraction to the internet traffic at Unistra.
The Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory focuses its research on the following topics: evolution of galaxies, including the Milky Way, in link with their compact objects (black holes) and dark matter halo; cosmology and re-ionization of the Universe. It makes use of different methods such as galaxy archeology (distribution, kinematics and chemistry of the stellar populations), high energy astrophysics (astrophysical plasmas for instance), fundamental physics (including gravity, general relativity) and advanced mathematics (for example in cosmological simulations). The researchers of the GALHECOS team at ObAS are internationally known for their past and current work in the fields of high energy (black holes, pulsar), galaxy archeology, cosmological simulations and fundamental physics. Their work is regularly rewarded by prizes and prestigious grants (ANR, ERC).
