Citizen Scientist and The Milky Way

A few weeks ago on NPR, I heard a program about Citizen Scientists. The host was talking to the Technical Lead of Zooniverse, a program at the University of Oxford. I was intrigued. Intrigued enough, that today, when I was supposed to be cleaning my office, I remembered said program from a few weeks ago, and decided to look up this Zooniverse thing.

What is it, you ask? Ahh, let me enlighten you.

So, basically, these scientists in England have all this data, as scientists tend to do. Generally they have computers to analyze the data (or lab grunts, aka students). But it turns out that for some data types, humans are better at the data analysis (take that machines!). Specifically, for data that involves looking at pictures and finding shapes. Something we all learn by kindergarten, I might add (ahem, computers). And the lab grunts aren't prolific enough to go through all the data.

So, some brilliant chap (they're British, so it had to have been a chap. or... chapette? chappess?) decided to put the data online to let us become the lab grunts... er, to become Citizen Scientists!

Kind of like getting tricked into doing homework without the reward of a hot fudge sundae if you get an A on your report card.

But really, it is so cool!

They have multiple different projects, from identifying solar storms to mapping craters on the surface of the moon to looking for specific shapes in the Milky Way.

I chose to do the Milky Way project, because it looked really cool. Check it out:
Awesome, no?

Want to see some more? Here are some of my favorite screen shots. I should mention, of course, that these are all pictures from the Milky Way Project at Zooniverse, and I do not own them or the rights to them.






My office is no cleaner, but I have added to the wealth of Human Knowledge today. Gooooo Citizen Scientist Brenna!