Astro-COLIBRI: An Innovative Platform for Real-Time Multi-Messenger Astrophysics
Bernardo Cornejo Avila, Sofia Bisero, Mickael Costa, Antoine Ciric, Ilja Jaroschewski, Weizmann Kindrébéogo, Fabian Schussler
TL;DR
Astro-COLIBRI addresses the need for rapid, context-rich follow-up of time-domain transients by providing a modular platform that ingests real-time alerts from multiple brokers and situates events within multi-messenger and multi-wavelength contexts. The system combines a Flask-based REST API, Kafka/comet-driven alert listeners, external data enrichment, and a dual MongoDB/Firebase data layer, complemented by push notifications and TOOs, to enable fast, coordinated observations. A Flutter front-end delivers accessible visualization, search, and skymap tools across web and mobile, streamlining follow-up decision-making. This platform offers a scalable, adaptable solution for the evolving landscape of transient science, facilitating timely responses across a global network of observatories.
Abstract
The discovery of transient phenomena, such as supernovae, novae, Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), and stellar flares, together with the emergence of new cosmic messengers like high-energy neutrinos and Gravitational Waves (GWs), has revolutionized astrophysics in recent years. To fully exploit the scientific potential of multi-messenger and multi-wavelength follow-up observations, as well as serendipitous detections, researchers need a tool capable of rapidly compiling and contextualizing essential information for every new event. We present Astro-COLIBRI, an advanced platform designed to meet this challenge. Astro-COLIBRI is a comprehensive platform that combines a public RESTful API, real-time databases, a cloud-based alert system, and user-friendly interfaces including a website and mobile app for iOS and Android. It ingests alerts from multiple sources in real time, applies user-defined filters, and situates each event within its multi-messenger and multi-wavelength context. The platform provides clear data visualization, concise summaries of key event properties, and evaluations of observing conditions across a wide network of observatories worldwide. We here detail the architecture of Astro-COLIBRI, from the data pipelines that manage real-time alert ingestion and processing to the design of the RESTful API, which enables seamless integration with other astronomical software and services.