Create a project for citizens to help investigate variable stars
Create a project for citizens to help investigate variable stars
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Credit: Variable Star Zoo.
The objective of the initiative, led by the director of the Millennium Institute of Astrophysics MAS Manuela Zoccali, is for people to cooperate in the classification of stars whose brightness varies over time. These stars, called variables, allow us to measure distances and ages of the central area of our galaxy. The most efficient users will be given different prizes and recognitions encouraging their cooperation and even some may be included in scientific publications as co-authors.
"Variable Star Zoo" is the name of the new citizen science project that has just been launched by a group of astronomers led by Manuela Zoccali. What is sought is to involve citizens in scientific research, so that they understand how astronomers work and thereby feel part of the discoveries made from our country.
Iván Lacerna, MAS postdoctoral researcher and astronomer at the Catholic University of the North and who is in charge of the platform, explains that "variable stars undergo cyclical changes in their brightness, in a limited period of their lives. Depending on the mass of the star, both the period and the variation of luminosity are different. We need help in classifying variables, which means looking at a graph with the variation in brightness time -which we call 'light curve'- and associating it with a variable star type. A given type of variable, for us, implies a mass for the star, which allows us to determine its distance, and its age. With the help of citizenship, we can classify thousands of variable stars that are at the center of our galaxy, a region little studied due to the large amount of gas and dust that make it difficult to observe. The distances of these variables will allow us to build a 3D map of the center of our galaxy as it has never been done before. Their ages allow us to reconstruct how and when this region was formed, "says the researcher.
He adds: "Of course, several codes make these classifications automatically, but while these are faster than the human brain, they are not equally accurate. Then another edge is that the classified variables can be used to improve the existing automatic classification codes. "
According to Ivan, in the center of our galaxy thousands of variables have been detected that could not be classified due to lack of time and if one or more astronomers began to classify them it would take many years. That makes including the citizenship even more significant, because not only would they help to make the work faster, but they will also be integrated into a scientific project.
Manuela Zoccali explains that to participate in "Variable Star Zoo"You do not need any previous knowledge in astronomy, but only the desire to participate in the project. "The idea is to register there (it's free) and to start participating. There is a tutorial that explains, both in English and in Spanish, the aspects that must be set to classify the light curves. For this reason, the project is recommended for school teachers, who could promote their students to learn astronomy, be entertained and excited about scientific research and cooperate with it ".
It is not necessary to register to make the classifications, however, from the 500, when it is verified that they were done with attention through a control sample, the people who do register will not only obtain a certificate of participation, but that also different awards of the Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (reaching different milestones of classifications such as 500, 1,000, 3,000 and 10,000 classifications), as posters of the Universe in high definition, poleras with designs of astronomical subjects, infographics, comics, among other products. Finally, a surprise prize for those who classify 10,000 or more variables. Prizes and winners will be announced by the social networks of the MAS (Twitter Y Facebook) and finally the most efficient users will be included as co-authors in the scientific publications that will result from the project.
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