are used to track the formation and evolution of
Coronal Mass Ejections.
• The Milky Way Project (Launched 7 December 2010):
Spitzer & Herschel Space Telescopes data are used
to infer regions where early stages of star formation
are occurring.
• Planet Hunters (Launched 16 December 2010): Zooites
identify extra solar planets from the light curves of star
data recorded by the Kepler Space Telescope.
• Planet Four (Launched 8 January 2013): Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter images of the surface of
Mars are reviewed by volunteers, classifying fans and
blotches caused by gas and geysers under CO2 ice.
• Radio Galaxy Zoo (Launched 17 December 2013):
Zooites identify radio waves of astrophysical jets
powered by accretions onto a black hole.
• Disk Detective (Launched 30 January 2014): NASA’s
WISE telescope data is analysed to identify dusty
debris in the Milky Way that indicate stars forming
planetary systems.
• Sunspotter (Launched 30 January 2013): Zooites
examine sunspots and rank them according to
complexity, to understand their evolution and how
they produce eruptions.
A full exploration of each of these projects and
others not listed would take up several volumes of this
magazine. Instead, here is a preview of two of the
citizen science projects above that you can directly
contribute to and play a big role in.
Our story in starlight:
Galaxy Zoo
“In many parts of science, we’re not constrained by
what data we can get; we’re constrained by what we
can do with the data we have. Citizen science is a very
powerful way of solving that problem.” - Chris Lintott
Image #2 Results of citizen science outreach. Credit: Kevin Schawinski/Galaxy Zoo
The long running Galaxy Zoo is now into its fourth
incarnation. With a minimum of a septillion stars in the
observable universe (that’s approximately 1 followed
galaxies by Zooites are shown in image #2.
At the time of Galaxy Zoo’s inception in 2007 and
faced with classifying over a million galaxies, the
correctly by computers, but the 30% of incorrect
programs have been unreliable when it comes to
Credit: STScI
classifying galaxies. Another member of Galaxy Zoo,
Kevin Schawinski recognises the advantages humans
have over computers; “the human brain is actually
much better than a computer at these patternrecognition tasks.”
Due to the data deluge problem created by modern
data collection methods, it would take years for
astronomers to sift through the entire set of results but
with even as few as 10,000 to 20,000 volunteers giving
within months. By more speedily classifying the types
of galaxies observed, their shapes tell the tale and the
history of each galaxy’s lifetime.
The key aspect of Galaxy Zoo (and indeed any
Zooniverse project) is that no previous subject matter
expertise is needed. Simple tutorials are included on
the site guiding volunteers with previously worked
examples. Once registered, volunteers can begin
accessing the vast amounts of images captured by all
the telescopes Galaxy Zoo employs. The vast majority
of these are all robotic, as is the subsequent automated
of this long lived project to come. By having multiple
volunteers come to independent conclusions on the
type of galaxy observed, a built in cross check enables
Edwin Hubble’s famous “Tuning Fork Diagram” (as seen
test population of spiral galaxies, merger galaxies and
allowed the founders, astronomers and scientists to win
valuable observing time on some of the most powerful
telescopes in the world. Galaxy Zoo discoveries have
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