As the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescopes approach full operation, they are set to generate hundreds of petabytes of data annually, offering unprecedented resolution and detail in astrophysical observations. This massive influx of data presents significant challenges in terms of storage, processing, analysis, and visualization. Scientific visualization becomes essential in this context, enabling researchers to interpret complex, high-dimensional datasets and extract valuable insights.
This paper presents the latest developments of VisIVO Visual Analytics, an interactive visualization tool evolving to meet the needs of the SKA and similar large-scale astrophysical projects. Originally designed as a desktop application, VisIVO has transitioned through different approaches to address the challenges of modern astrophysical datasets.
The first approach integrates VisIVO with a Science Platform, providing containerized solutions that enhance accessibility, reproducibility, and interoperability for researchers. The second approach leverages a ParaView-based client–server architecture, enabling distributed and parallel visualization pipelines and allowing computational workloads to be efficiently managed across multiple nodes in high-performance computing (HPC) clusters. The third approach, implemented within the AstroTool project, provides an alternative strategy to exploit HPC resources for interactive visualization and analysis of large-scale datasets.