Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a scientist? Making new discoveries, collaborating with others and contributing to the knowledge of humankind? Don't wonder any longer...get involved!
I have always been one to gaze into the sky, squint my eyes, and imagine how many others are doing the same from another galaxy, solar system, or planet. How many eyes are looking back? Okay, not to get carried away, but there is a way that you can support your neighbourhood astronomer by classifying galaxies allowing us to get one step closer to discovery. With no more squinting I might add.
How does it work? Hop on to www.galaxyzoo.org to assist in classifying star systems. Don't worry if the closest you've come to the stars was seeing U2 in concert. After a brief tutorial you will be off and running millions of light years away, providing very important scientific data. A motley crew of astronomers have been given the task of classifying photographs of over 250,000 galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and they need our help!
Who needs to study for years, spend hours in front of a telescope, and write pages of academic papers? I spent a few minutes with a glass of red wine and managed to scroll through dozens of amazing pictures whilst helping the scientific community at the same time.
Let me know what you thought of the experience.
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