Scale-Aware Navigation of Astronomical Survey Imagery Data on High Resolution Immersive Displays

2026-03-18

AI Summary

This work addresses the challenge of exploring multi-scale structures in astronomical survey imagery, where conventional desktop tools often fail to maintain contextual coherence between global and local views. To overcome the limitations of discrete viewport navigation, the authors propose a scale-aware navigation framework tailored for high-resolution immersive display environments. By integrating a curved immersive display system with a design-driven, continuous interaction paradigm, the framework enables contextually coherent exploration across multiple spatial scales. Implemented and evaluated with data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and Galactic surveys, the approach effectively supports scientists in conducting exploratory analysis within room-scale immersive settings.

Technology Category

• Computer Vision: Scene Analysis & Understanding
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems
• Search and Optimization: Mixed Discrete/Continuous Search

Application Category

• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Efficiency and scalability of Web search engines
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Location- and context-aware Web and WoT applications and services
• Semantics and Knowledge: Scalable techniques for the creation, curation, publication, maintenance, and consumption of large, Web-based, structured, reusable, knowledge graphs and ontologies

Abstract

Upcoming astronomical surveys produce imagery that spans many orders of magnitude in spatial scale, requiring scientists to reason fluidly between global structure and local detail. Data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory exemplifies this challenge, as traditional desktop-based workflows often rely on discrete views or static cutouts that fragment context during exploration. This paper presents a design-oriented framework for scale-aware navigation of astronomical survey imagery in high-resolution immersive display environments. We illustrate these principles through representative usage scenarios using Vera Rubin Observatory and Milky Way survey imagery deployed in room-scale immersive environments, including tiled high-resolution displays and curved immersive systems. Our goal is to contribute design insights that inform the development of immersive interaction paradigms for exploratory analysis of extreme-scale scientific imagery.

Problem

• scale-aware navigation
• astronomical survey imagery
• immersive displays
• extreme-scale data
• context preservation

Innovation

• scale-aware navigation
• immersive displays
• astronomical survey imagery
• extreme-scale visualization
• interactive exploration