Zooniverse, Galaxy Zoo, Planet Hunters, and The Milkyway Project - Assignment Example

The site explains the procedure to analyze these frequency overlays in a tutorial and provides a detailed database for Kepler findings of exoplanets. The site also provides a detailed account of interference patterns and how they can be identified. Furthermore, weak signals can be identified and put up for more investigation. The experiment involves public for analyzing this data instead of a computer. These patterns are fun to find and latest projects are always available to look at. Live observations from the Allen Telescope Array are provided as well which makes this experiment extremely interesting for the public.

I had fun to read about the procedures and the site gave me some insight into how the signals are analyzed and consequently, processed. The site provides interesting opportunities for us to take part in the hunt for radio signals from exoplanets. 2. Galaxy Zoo Galaxy Zoo simply requires identification of galaxies by participants. The project was launched in 2007 and has changed over time. The team has changed data collection methods over time, however, for the participants the calculations are not necessary and the data is processed separately by the team.

The project is very simple as it only involves identifying the shapes of the galaxies. Images are provided by Hubble Space Telescope and Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We need to systematically classify and help the team in identifying galaxies as one of the categories; that is elliptical, spiral, merging or star. The project is very simple and the site presents pictures of galaxies in an interactive player. The design is very intuitive and it guides a participant in few easy steps. These steps involve identifying with shapes and provide some choices to best suit our opinion about the galaxy.

The images are of distant galaxies and are at times fuzzy. It is hard to clearly distinguish galaxies, though; some concentration is required to keenly observe the pictures. The best part about the project is the easy connection to discuss the image by others in a detailed forum. Participants can also write about their special observations if any related to the picture that needs special consideration from professionals. Overall, the site provides an interesting experience to look into the shapes and classifications of galaxies and help the team identifying a vast database of about 900,000 galaxies.

No special knowledge or training is required and it is fairly simple to participate in the project. 3. Planet Hunters The site presents interesting opportunities to participate in analyzing data from Kepler Mission. Kepler measures light from stars precisely and this measurement is presented in the shape of an interactive graph taken over time. A simple tutorial teaches how to analyze these graphs. The light from the star dips when a planet transits in front of the star, therefore, reducing measured brightness by Kepler.

These transits can be identified as dips in the graphs as the graph presents brightness measured from the star. The graphs are presented in an interactive player with choices for identification in a systematic manner. The data at times has noise and the measurements are occasionally very confusing.