Galaxy Zoo Catalogs the Universe
Explanation:
You, too, can Zoo.
The
Galaxy Zoo project has been enabling
citizen scientists --
inquisitive people
like yourself armed with only a web browser-- to sort through the universe.
Specifically, after a brief training session,
volunteers are asked to use the
superior image-processing power of their minds to classify and measure properties
of galaxies in the vast
Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
In its two short years of existence, millions of galaxies have already been inspected
by thousands of enthusiastic volunteers.
Using
Galaxy Zoo data,
for example, the universe has been discovered to create
no preferred spin direction, an
unusual and unclassified object was
found that is still being
investigated, and a whole class of small galaxies dubbed
Green
Peas were uncovered where star formation occurs at an extraordinary high rate.
Further, the Galaxy Zoo may be setting a
precedent
for a new type of scientific inquiry where the web helps collect, focus and coordinate
human and machine intelligence.
Pictured above, a group of vibrant
mergers
found by Zooites demonstrates the diverse
zoo-like nature of many
interacting galaxies in the universe.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
