Armchair astronomers are being invited to contribute to an online "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxies" - an in-depth examination of 250,000 galaxies in search of "the strange and unusual".
That's the aim of the Galaxy Zoo 2 project, a follow-up to Galaxy Zoo which saw over 150,000 people worldwide submit 80m basic galactic classifications using images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/17/galaxy_zoo/
https://www.galaxyzoo.org/ (https://www.galaxyzoo.org/)
Welcome to Galaxy Zoo, where you can help astronomers explore the Universe
The Galaxy Zoo files contain almost a quarter of a million galaxies which have been imaged with a camera attached to a robotic telescope (the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, no less). In order to understand how these galaxies — and our own — formed, we need your help to classify them according to their shapes — a task at which your brain is better than even the fastest computer.
More than 150,000 people have taken part in Galaxy Zoo so far, producing a wealth of valuable data and sending telescopes on Earth and in space chasing after their discoveries. Zoo 2 focuses on the nearest, brightest and most beautiful galaxies, so to begin exploring the Universe, click the 'How To Take Part' link above, or read 'The Story So Far' to find out what Galaxy Zoo has achieved to date.
Thanks for your help, and happy classifying.
The Galaxy Zoo team.
https://www.galaxyzoo.org/
Any one fancy helping with this?
Or has any-one already do so?
Carole
Been there done that.
Yes, I gave it a go last year. Many of the images are very poor in quality and therefore very difficult if not impossible to classify. This is very interesting research and is much needed if we are get a handle on Galaxy formation and evolution. Ken
The new Galazy Zoo project announced yesterday is taking a rather more detailed look at a selection of the better imaged galaxies. If you found the first time round a bit too much eye-strain it might still be worth taking a look at this one...
I classified about 20 yesterday - the pictures are the same quality as they are from the same source (Sloane DSS). The new interface is an improvement but the servers were very slow, undoubtedly due to the fact the project was mentioned on the BBC all morning and it's half term.
I had a go at the original Galaxy Zoo classifications, but as Ken said, some of the images were eye-straining and very fuzzy. It might be worth having a try at the newer images though, so tally-ho, chaps!!! :)
Just done 50.
As you say, some are so fuzzy it's a job to tell.
Carole