News

RedCLARA’s participation in the recent meeting of the South American–African Astronomy Coordination Committee (SA3CC), held in Chile, once again consolidated its key role in the global science connectivity ecosystem.

The event, held in May in La Serena and organized by AmLight with Chile’s national research and education network REUNA as host, brought together representatives from a wide range of organizations that manage or operate astronomical projects in Chile, including the Vera Rubin Observatory, NOIRLab-AURA, GMTO, CTAO, CCAT, the Simons Observatory, and NRAO-ALMA. Also in attendance were members of the research and education networks (RENs) that provide the high-speed connectivity required for their operations, such as RNP (Brazil), REUNA, AmLight, Internet2, ESnet (USA), and RedCLARA.

The SA3CC provides a forum for astronomical projects—both optical and radio—as well as research and education networks to exchange information and coordinate their networking needs. The meeting addressed both current and future connectivity requirements for astronomy development, and the participating networks shared technical updates.

"This time, the astronomical projects focused on the scientific activities they are conducting and the connectivity requirements for transferring their data to the centers where it is analyzed and stored, typically in the United States. For the RENs, the discussions focused on network upgrades and changes implemented since the previous SA3CC meeting. They also shared information on instrumentation used to monitor scientific data flows and tools to detect events that may affect these transfers," explained Julio Ibarra, Research Professor at Florida International University (FIU) and Principal Investigator of AmLight.

RedCLARA is an integral part of the high-speed connectivity ecosystem, enabling the transfer of astronomical data to international processing centers. Representing the organization at the event was Marco Teixeira, Director of Technical Infrastructure, Services, and Commercial Affairs, who presented recent infrastructure developments and highlighted RedCLARA's contribution to the transfer of high-demand scientific data, such as that generated by major astronomical projects based in Chile. His presentation highlighted the significant potential and impact of the network deployed in the region, which is known for its high transfer speeds and advanced standards in cybersecurity and strategic data privacy. He also outlined the progress and opportunities associated with the BELLA II project, co-funded by the European Union.

Albert Astudillo, Technology Manager at REUNA (a member of RedCLARA), noted that "for REUNA, hosting this activity is a recognition of the key role we play, as the national research and education network, in the country's scientific ecosystem. Chile is a natural platform for global astronomy, and our role is to ensure that the data generated by these major telescopes can be transmitted efficiently, securely, and without interruption to processing and analysis centers worldwide. This advanced connectivity not only supports the growth of astronomy but also opens new avenues for international collaboration in science and technology."

"The collaborative work between research networks and major astronomical observatories is essential to ensure the rapid and secure transfer of data to distributed processing centers worldwide. RedCLARA plays a central role in this digital infrastructure by linking the region to global networks such as Internet2, ESnet, and AmLight," added Julio Ibarra.

Also held during the event was the Rubin Observatory Network Engineering Team Meeting (May 8–9), which focused explicitly on the connectivity challenges associated with operating this state-of-the-art telescope. Once operational, the Vera Rubin Observatory—located at Cerro Pachón—will produce 20 terabytes of raw images each night. To ensure that these images reach the data center in California in just seven seconds, a complex Long Haul Network (LHN) has been deployed, built upon collaboration between several advanced networks, including Vera Rubin, REUNA, AmLight, ESnet, redness, Florida LambdaRail, Internet2, and RedCLARA.

(Source: REUNA. Original article: “REUNA fue anfitriona de importante encuentro entre Observatorios y Redes Avanzadas”)