A new and exciting citizen science project called “Kilonova Seekers” has been launched, inviting members of the public to participate in real-time identification of cosmic explosions.
The goal of this project is to find kilonovae, which are the cosmic explosions that occur when neutron stars and black holes collide in distant galaxies.
Volunteers will be asked to use data from the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) telescopes to play a game of “spot the difference”.
Leading the project are researchers from the universities of Portsmouth and Warwick, who aim to engage the general public in this scientific endeavor.
Dr. Lisa Kelsey, from the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, expressed the importance of citizen science in their work due to the significant volume of data generated by GOTO. She stated, “Humans are excellent at dealing with uncertainty and admitting when they don’t know, and identifying ‘anomalies,’ novel examples which have never been seen before. Often this is where the most exciting objects are hiding!”
The GOTO telescopes, located in Spain’s Canary Islands and Australia’s Siding Spring Observatory, allow for constant observation of the sky. The GOTO system surveys the entire sky every two to three days, generating a vast amount of data that requires additional assistance for analysis.
The project relies on alerts from gravitational wave detectors like LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA, which trigger the GOTO telescopes within seconds of a cosmic event. The resulting images are shared with the public via the Zooniverse platform, allowing citizens to participate in cutting-edge scientific research.
Dr. Kelsey emphasized the significance of the project, stating, “Our telescopes survey the entire sky every night, so new images will be uploaded daily for citizens to investigate—with most not yet seen by human eyes. This represents a fantastic way for the general public to be involved with real-time, cutting-edge scientific research.”
Researcher Thomas Killestein from the University of Warwick expressed excitement about the project, highlighting the potential for new discoveries. He said, “With GOTO surveying the sky every night, there’s so many gems to be found hiding in the data, that we can only find with the help of citizen scientists. You could discover the next kilonova, or perhaps more excitingly new kinds of transients we haven’t seen before!”
To participate in Kilonova Seekers, simply visit the Zooniverse platform and join a community of passionate individuals eager to contribute to the advancement of astrophysics.
Citation:
Volunteers invited to play ‘spot the difference’ to help scientists identify cosmic explosions (2023, July 19)
retrieved 19 July 2023
from https://phys.org/news/2023-07-volunteers-play-difference-scientists-cosmic.html
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