Final answer:
The Big Data descriptors are Volume, Velocity, Variety, and Veracity. They address the massive scale, the rapid flow, the diverse nature, and the reliability of data encountered in fields like astronomy, where immense datasets like those from the Sloan Survey are analyzed.
Step-by-step explanation:
The descriptors for Big Data as coined by IBM are Volume, Velocity, Variety, and Veracity. These four V's effectively summarize the key challenges associated with managing and analyzing large datasets. Volume relates to the vast amounts of data generated every second, such as the 15 terabytes of data from the Sloan Survey, which is comparable to the information contained in the Library of Congress.
Velocity refers to the speed at which new data is generated and flows into an organization. The Sloan Survey data streaming at 8 megabytes per second is an example of high velocity. Variety indicates the various types of data available, from structured numeric data to unstructured text documents, videos, and more.
The Sloan Survey not only collected vast numerical data but also images of galaxies, highlighting this variety. Lastly, Veracity deals with the accuracy and trustworthiness of data, an important consideration when, for instance, crowdsourcing galaxy classifications in projects like Galaxy Zoo.