![\"Andromeda](\"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/IMage-2-M31_edited1.jpg\")
It\u2019s part of being human to want to make sense of the world around us. <\/strong><\/p>\n
These days, expanding our knowledge involves looking further and further out into space, grappling with some of the mind-bogglingly vast questions about the existence of the universe and trying to understand the creation of everything in it.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the purpose of AstroQuest, ICRAR\u2019s citizen science project asking regular people to help scientists inspect galaxies to help out astronomers.<\/p>\n
The research project behind AstroQuest is the Galaxy and Mass Assembly <\/a>(GAMA) project \u2013a global research project led by Professor Simon Driver from the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research <\/a>(ICRAR) in Western Australia.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s just one of the big questions they\u2019re interested in.<\/p>\n
Far-off galaxies are the keys to the past<\/strong><\/h3>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/image-15-Antennae_Galaxies_reloaded.jpg\")
Two spiral galaxies, known as the Antennae Galaxies, colliding. Source: NASA\/ESA\/Hubble<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThere are over 200,000 images of galaxies between 800 million to 4 billion light-years away to be classified by citizen scientists in AstroQuest.<\/p>\n
Comparing distant galaxies will help scientists understand inconsistencies with what\u2019s observed in the universe and what\u2019s predicted by Einstein\u2019s equations, and as a result may change our fundamental understanding of dark matter and dark energy. They will also help astronomers understand how galaxy evolution has changed through time, which will provide insight into how the processes in the universe have evolved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re drilling a hole right through the universe, collecting samples of galaxies,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it takes so long for light to travel when we\u2019re looking at something further away we\u2019re looking at something as it was in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s very analogous to drilling a core sample in Antarctic, he says, where every layer tells you something about what conditions on Earth were like at different times.<\/p>\n
Similarly, astronomers can look at examples of nearby galaxies and far-away galaxies and work out how they might have changed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Galaxy evolution has changed through the history of the universe<\/strong><\/h3>\n![\"Colliding](\"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/image-14-ngc2207_hubble_2907.jpg\")
Colliding spiral galaxies. Source: Debra Meloy Elmegreen\/Vassar College\/NASA\/Hubble<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAstronomers believe the process that drives galaxy growth has changed from the time of the early universe.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far we think that right after the Big Bang, gravity started to pull galaxies together, and then they went through a period when there was lots of merging, lots of collisions, and violent episodes leading to distorted looking galaxies,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
Galaxies undergoing collisions tend to be highly distorted and have an asymmetrical shape.<\/p>\n
While mergers may have been the dominant process early on, gas accretion is much more common now, he says. This occurs when a galaxy swallows gas and results in a symmetrical flattened rotating disk of stars, often with spiral arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when we start to see the beautiful spiral arms and those sort or ordered symmetrical structures,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
Comparing galaxies of differing age should allow astronomers to confirm this theory of galaxy evolution.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will also provide detailed information about when mergers were taking place, when the gas accretion began, and when galaxies first started to develop spiral arms and other features of more ordered systems,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00a0What does the shape and size of the galaxy tell us?<\/h3>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/image-5-NGC1300.jpg\")
The barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nEach galaxy carries a record of how it formed and its evolutionary history is encoded in its shape, colour, and features.<\/p>\n
\u00a0If a galaxy has a central bulge then it\u2019s probably the result of a merger that has had time to re-organise itself into a spherical shape. If it\u2019s a thin disc then it\u2019s grown by slowly swallowing gas.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of galaxies we see have a central bulge and a thin disk. Which suggests that the galaxy first formed by merging and then later on it formed a disc through gas accretion,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
If a galaxy looks messy or irregular then it\u2019s undergoing a significant evolutionary event – either merging with another galaxy or accreting gas very fast. These galaxies aren\u2019t in equilibrium.<\/p>\n
Alternatively, if a galaxy is left alone and hasn\u2019t undergone any major mergers for a long time then a bar may start forming. This begins if there\u2019s a region where there are slightly more stars. With time, these stars tend to pull others towards them.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn\u00a0over-density of stars rotating round \u00a0a galaxy\u2019s centre will pull on the ones in front, slowing them down, and accelerate the ones behind,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd over time, you go from a flat Frisbee-like structure to a galaxy with a bar. But it only happens if a galaxy is left alone. If another galaxy goes by, it gives enough of a kick that disrupts that bar process.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to spiral arms, the process that forms them is not fully understood.<\/p>\n
“They\u2019re believed to be a shock-wave or\u00a0density-wave\u00a0that permeates out from the centre of the galaxy,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
Many galaxies have all three features \u2013 bulges, bars and spiral arms \u2013 telling a complex story of evolution.<\/p>\n
Why we need citizen scientists to help<\/strong><\/h3>\nWith the help of citizen scientists, the astronomers will be able to very quickly build up statistics as to how much light each galaxy is emitting at each wavelength, how quickly they are forming new stars, how much dust they contain, and what phase of life they are currently in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese statistics can be used to build a model of how the entire galaxy population in the universe has evolved,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would take an enormous amount of time for us to go through every galaxy one by one – we\u2019re just a team of five or six here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The astronomers understand that the process of inspecting galaxies will be challenging for some people. It\u2019s a process they themselves often have trouble with. That’s why each galaxy will be looked at by volunteers multiple times. The astronomers are taking a “wisdom of the crowds” approach, by averaging everyone’s attempts they are able to produce an answer that is more accurate than any single attempt.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Answering the big questions<\/strong><\/h3>\nBesides the evolution of galaxies and the origin of energy, Driver and his team are also interested in other big questions like how mass built up in the universe and the processes that created gravity.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo maybe if we carry on studying the distribution of galaxies, carrying on studying the motions of galaxies we\u2019ll start to get some insight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just trying to understand this strange force called gravity in all its glory, and then one day we may find a way to harness it, just like we harnessed electromagnetism and use it to our benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This article is modified from an article written by Kylie Andrews.
\nIt was originally published on ABC Science<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s part of being human to want to make sense of the world around us. These days, expanding our knowledge involves looking further and further out into space, grappling with some of the mind-bogglingly vast questions about the existence of the universe and trying to understand the creation of everything in it. That\u2019s the purpose […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76,"parent":21,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/sciencearticle.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14751,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74\/revisions\/14751"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
There are over 200,000 images of galaxies between 800 million to 4 billion light-years away to be classified by citizen scientists in AstroQuest.<\/p>\n
Comparing distant galaxies will help scientists understand inconsistencies with what\u2019s observed in the universe and what\u2019s predicted by Einstein\u2019s equations, and as a result may change our fundamental understanding of dark matter and dark energy. They will also help astronomers understand how galaxy evolution has changed through time, which will provide insight into how the processes in the universe have evolved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re drilling a hole right through the universe, collecting samples of galaxies,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it takes so long for light to travel when we\u2019re looking at something further away we\u2019re looking at something as it was in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s very analogous to drilling a core sample in Antarctic, he says, where every layer tells you something about what conditions on Earth were like at different times.<\/p>\n
Similarly, astronomers can look at examples of nearby galaxies and far-away galaxies and work out how they might have changed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Galaxy evolution has changed through the history of the universe<\/strong><\/h3>\nColliding spiral galaxies. Source: Debra Meloy Elmegreen\/Vassar College\/NASA\/Hubble<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAstronomers believe the process that drives galaxy growth has changed from the time of the early universe.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far we think that right after the Big Bang, gravity started to pull galaxies together, and then they went through a period when there was lots of merging, lots of collisions, and violent episodes leading to distorted looking galaxies,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
Galaxies undergoing collisions tend to be highly distorted and have an asymmetrical shape.<\/p>\n
While mergers may have been the dominant process early on, gas accretion is much more common now, he says. This occurs when a galaxy swallows gas and results in a symmetrical flattened rotating disk of stars, often with spiral arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when we start to see the beautiful spiral arms and those sort or ordered symmetrical structures,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
Comparing galaxies of differing age should allow astronomers to confirm this theory of galaxy evolution.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will also provide detailed information about when mergers were taking place, when the gas accretion began, and when galaxies first started to develop spiral arms and other features of more ordered systems,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00a0What does the shape and size of the galaxy tell us?<\/h3>\nThe barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nEach galaxy carries a record of how it formed and its evolutionary history is encoded in its shape, colour, and features.<\/p>\n
\u00a0If a galaxy has a central bulge then it\u2019s probably the result of a merger that has had time to re-organise itself into a spherical shape. If it\u2019s a thin disc then it\u2019s grown by slowly swallowing gas.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of galaxies we see have a central bulge and a thin disk. Which suggests that the galaxy first formed by merging and then later on it formed a disc through gas accretion,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
If a galaxy looks messy or irregular then it\u2019s undergoing a significant evolutionary event – either merging with another galaxy or accreting gas very fast. These galaxies aren\u2019t in equilibrium.<\/p>\n
Alternatively, if a galaxy is left alone and hasn\u2019t undergone any major mergers for a long time then a bar may start forming. This begins if there\u2019s a region where there are slightly more stars. With time, these stars tend to pull others towards them.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn\u00a0over-density of stars rotating round \u00a0a galaxy\u2019s centre will pull on the ones in front, slowing them down, and accelerate the ones behind,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd over time, you go from a flat Frisbee-like structure to a galaxy with a bar. But it only happens if a galaxy is left alone. If another galaxy goes by, it gives enough of a kick that disrupts that bar process.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to spiral arms, the process that forms them is not fully understood.<\/p>\n
“They\u2019re believed to be a shock-wave or\u00a0density-wave\u00a0that permeates out from the centre of the galaxy,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
Many galaxies have all three features \u2013 bulges, bars and spiral arms \u2013 telling a complex story of evolution.<\/p>\n
Why we need citizen scientists to help<\/strong><\/h3>\nWith the help of citizen scientists, the astronomers will be able to very quickly build up statistics as to how much light each galaxy is emitting at each wavelength, how quickly they are forming new stars, how much dust they contain, and what phase of life they are currently in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese statistics can be used to build a model of how the entire galaxy population in the universe has evolved,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would take an enormous amount of time for us to go through every galaxy one by one – we\u2019re just a team of five or six here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The astronomers understand that the process of inspecting galaxies will be challenging for some people. It\u2019s a process they themselves often have trouble with. That’s why each galaxy will be looked at by volunteers multiple times. The astronomers are taking a “wisdom of the crowds” approach, by averaging everyone’s attempts they are able to produce an answer that is more accurate than any single attempt.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Answering the big questions<\/strong><\/h3>\nBesides the evolution of galaxies and the origin of energy, Driver and his team are also interested in other big questions like how mass built up in the universe and the processes that created gravity.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo maybe if we carry on studying the distribution of galaxies, carrying on studying the motions of galaxies we\u2019ll start to get some insight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just trying to understand this strange force called gravity in all its glory, and then one day we may find a way to harness it, just like we harnessed electromagnetism and use it to our benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This article is modified from an article written by Kylie Andrews.
\nIt was originally published on ABC Science<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s part of being human to want to make sense of the world around us. These days, expanding our knowledge involves looking further and further out into space, grappling with some of the mind-bogglingly vast questions about the existence of the universe and trying to understand the creation of everything in it. That\u2019s the purpose […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76,"parent":21,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/sciencearticle.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14751,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74\/revisions\/14751"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Astronomers believe the process that drives galaxy growth has changed from the time of the early universe.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far we think that right after the Big Bang, gravity started to pull galaxies together, and then they went through a period when there was lots of merging, lots of collisions, and violent episodes leading to distorted looking galaxies,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
Galaxies undergoing collisions tend to be highly distorted and have an asymmetrical shape.<\/p>\n
While mergers may have been the dominant process early on, gas accretion is much more common now, he says. This occurs when a galaxy swallows gas and results in a symmetrical flattened rotating disk of stars, often with spiral arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when we start to see the beautiful spiral arms and those sort or ordered symmetrical structures,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
Comparing galaxies of differing age should allow astronomers to confirm this theory of galaxy evolution.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will also provide detailed information about when mergers were taking place, when the gas accretion began, and when galaxies first started to develop spiral arms and other features of more ordered systems,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u00a0What does the shape and size of the galaxy tell us?<\/h3>\nThe barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nEach galaxy carries a record of how it formed and its evolutionary history is encoded in its shape, colour, and features.<\/p>\n
\u00a0If a galaxy has a central bulge then it\u2019s probably the result of a merger that has had time to re-organise itself into a spherical shape. If it\u2019s a thin disc then it\u2019s grown by slowly swallowing gas.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of galaxies we see have a central bulge and a thin disk. Which suggests that the galaxy first formed by merging and then later on it formed a disc through gas accretion,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
If a galaxy looks messy or irregular then it\u2019s undergoing a significant evolutionary event – either merging with another galaxy or accreting gas very fast. These galaxies aren\u2019t in equilibrium.<\/p>\n
Alternatively, if a galaxy is left alone and hasn\u2019t undergone any major mergers for a long time then a bar may start forming. This begins if there\u2019s a region where there are slightly more stars. With time, these stars tend to pull others towards them.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn\u00a0over-density of stars rotating round \u00a0a galaxy\u2019s centre will pull on the ones in front, slowing them down, and accelerate the ones behind,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd over time, you go from a flat Frisbee-like structure to a galaxy with a bar. But it only happens if a galaxy is left alone. If another galaxy goes by, it gives enough of a kick that disrupts that bar process.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to spiral arms, the process that forms them is not fully understood.<\/p>\n
“They\u2019re believed to be a shock-wave or\u00a0density-wave\u00a0that permeates out from the centre of the galaxy,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
Many galaxies have all three features \u2013 bulges, bars and spiral arms \u2013 telling a complex story of evolution.<\/p>\n
Why we need citizen scientists to help<\/strong><\/h3>\nWith the help of citizen scientists, the astronomers will be able to very quickly build up statistics as to how much light each galaxy is emitting at each wavelength, how quickly they are forming new stars, how much dust they contain, and what phase of life they are currently in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese statistics can be used to build a model of how the entire galaxy population in the universe has evolved,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would take an enormous amount of time for us to go through every galaxy one by one – we\u2019re just a team of five or six here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The astronomers understand that the process of inspecting galaxies will be challenging for some people. It\u2019s a process they themselves often have trouble with. That’s why each galaxy will be looked at by volunteers multiple times. The astronomers are taking a “wisdom of the crowds” approach, by averaging everyone’s attempts they are able to produce an answer that is more accurate than any single attempt.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Answering the big questions<\/strong><\/h3>\nBesides the evolution of galaxies and the origin of energy, Driver and his team are also interested in other big questions like how mass built up in the universe and the processes that created gravity.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo maybe if we carry on studying the distribution of galaxies, carrying on studying the motions of galaxies we\u2019ll start to get some insight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just trying to understand this strange force called gravity in all its glory, and then one day we may find a way to harness it, just like we harnessed electromagnetism and use it to our benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This article is modified from an article written by Kylie Andrews.
\nIt was originally published on ABC Science<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s part of being human to want to make sense of the world around us. These days, expanding our knowledge involves looking further and further out into space, grappling with some of the mind-bogglingly vast questions about the existence of the universe and trying to understand the creation of everything in it. That\u2019s the purpose […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76,"parent":21,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/sciencearticle.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14751,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74\/revisions\/14751"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Each galaxy carries a record of how it formed and its evolutionary history is encoded in its shape, colour, and features.<\/p>\n
\u00a0If a galaxy has a central bulge then it\u2019s probably the result of a merger that has had time to re-organise itself into a spherical shape. If it\u2019s a thin disc then it\u2019s grown by slowly swallowing gas.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of galaxies we see have a central bulge and a thin disk. Which suggests that the galaxy first formed by merging and then later on it formed a disc through gas accretion,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
If a galaxy looks messy or irregular then it\u2019s undergoing a significant evolutionary event – either merging with another galaxy or accreting gas very fast. These galaxies aren\u2019t in equilibrium.<\/p>\n
Alternatively, if a galaxy is left alone and hasn\u2019t undergone any major mergers for a long time then a bar may start forming. This begins if there\u2019s a region where there are slightly more stars. With time, these stars tend to pull others towards them.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn\u00a0over-density of stars rotating round \u00a0a galaxy\u2019s centre will pull on the ones in front, slowing them down, and accelerate the ones behind,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd over time, you go from a flat Frisbee-like structure to a galaxy with a bar. But it only happens if a galaxy is left alone. If another galaxy goes by, it gives enough of a kick that disrupts that bar process.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it comes to spiral arms, the process that forms them is not fully understood.<\/p>\n
“They\u2019re believed to be a shock-wave or\u00a0density-wave\u00a0that permeates out from the centre of the galaxy,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
Many galaxies have all three features \u2013 bulges, bars and spiral arms \u2013 telling a complex story of evolution.<\/p>\n
Why we need citizen scientists to help<\/strong><\/h3>\nWith the help of citizen scientists, the astronomers will be able to very quickly build up statistics as to how much light each galaxy is emitting at each wavelength, how quickly they are forming new stars, how much dust they contain, and what phase of life they are currently in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese statistics can be used to build a model of how the entire galaxy population in the universe has evolved,\u201d says Driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would take an enormous amount of time for us to go through every galaxy one by one – we\u2019re just a team of five or six here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The astronomers understand that the process of inspecting galaxies will be challenging for some people. It\u2019s a process they themselves often have trouble with. That’s why each galaxy will be looked at by volunteers multiple times. The astronomers are taking a “wisdom of the crowds” approach, by averaging everyone’s attempts they are able to produce an answer that is more accurate than any single attempt.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Answering the big questions<\/strong><\/h3>\nBesides the evolution of galaxies and the origin of energy, Driver and his team are also interested in other big questions like how mass built up in the universe and the processes that created gravity.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo maybe if we carry on studying the distribution of galaxies, carrying on studying the motions of galaxies we\u2019ll start to get some insight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just trying to understand this strange force called gravity in all its glory, and then one day we may find a way to harness it, just like we harnessed electromagnetism and use it to our benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This article is modified from an article written by Kylie Andrews.
\nIt was originally published on ABC Science<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s part of being human to want to make sense of the world around us. These days, expanding our knowledge involves looking further and further out into space, grappling with some of the mind-bogglingly vast questions about the existence of the universe and trying to understand the creation of everything in it. That\u2019s the purpose […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76,"parent":21,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"templates\/sciencearticle.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14751,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/74\/revisions\/14751"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/astroquest.net.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Besides the evolution of galaxies and the origin of energy, Driver and his team are also interested in other big questions like how mass built up in the universe and the processes that created gravity.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo maybe if we carry on studying the distribution of galaxies, carrying on studying the motions of galaxies we\u2019ll start to get some insight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just trying to understand this strange force called gravity in all its glory, and then one day we may find a way to harness it, just like we harnessed electromagnetism and use it to our benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This article is modified from an article written by Kylie Andrews.
\nIt was originally published on ABC Science<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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