Galactic Update

Credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration. Acknowledgment: B. Whitmore
(Space Telescope Science Institute)

Several months ago I blogged about Galaxy Zoo, a project that engages citizen scientists to help classify galaxies by shape. More than 150,000 people have taken part in Galaxy Zoo so far in an effort to classify almost a quarter of a million images. At the time of the blog post, Phase 1 was completed and Phase 2 was in the works.

Well, Phase 2 launched this week, so it's a good time to get on board if you'd like to help categorize the night sky. The human brain is better at this task than a computer, and it basically involves answering a series of questions about a galaxy's shape. It's a chance to view some lovely images while advancing astronomy research. Think of it as a way to stargaze without the freezing temperatures (at least for a while).