  Astronomy is entering a new era as multiple, large area, digital sky surveys
are in production. The resulting datasets are truly remarkable in their own
right; however, a revolutionary step arises in the aggregation of complimentary
multi-wavelength surveys (i.e., the cross-identification of a billion sources).
The federation of these large datasets is already underway, and is producing a
major paradigm shift as Astronomy has suddenly become an immensely data-rich
field. This new paradigm will enable quantitatively and qualitatively new
science, from statistical studies of our Galaxy and the large-scale structure
in the universe, to discoveries of rare, unusual, or even completely new types
of astronomical objects and phenomena. Federating and then exploring these
large datasets, however, is an extremely challenging task. The Digital Sky
project was initiated with this task in mind and is working to develop the
techniques and technologies necessary to solve the problems inherent in
federating these large databases, as well as the mining of the resultant
aggregate data.
