Bumper Christmas for galaxy hunters (Forwarded)

University of Oxford
Oxford, U.K.

03 Jan 08

Bumper Christmas for galaxy hunters

Armchair astronomers using the galaxyzoo.org website have identified over
500 overlapping galaxies in the local Universe when astronomers had
previously only known of 20 such systems.

"This is the best Christmas present our users could hope for!" said Dr Chris
Lintott of Oxford University's Department of Physics, a member of the
galaxyzoo.org team. "Overlapping galaxies are useful because they enable us
to study the dust in each system. Dust grains play a crucial role in the
evolution of galaxies and how we see them -- the presence of such dust is
critical for star formation."

Visitors to www.galaxyzoo.org get to see stunning images of galaxies. By
classifying some of these images visitors are helping astronomers to
understand the structure of the universe. The new digital images were taken
using the robotic Sloan Digital Sky Survey telescope in New Mexico.

Each of the 500+ overlapping galaxies was discovered by a member of the
public signed up to the galaxyzoo.org forum where armchair astronomers can
compare notes on the images of galaxies they have seen and classified using
the website. The search for overlapping galaxies was led by Bill Keel of the
University of Alabama who wrote on the forum asking people to look out for
suitable systems.

Astronomers have been awarded five night's use of the WIYN telescope on Kitt
Peak, Arizona, to take a closer look at the overlapping galaxies identified
by the Galaxy Zoo volunteers. The WIYN telescope is one of the largest in
the Northern hemisphere and one of the most advanced in the world. This work
will begin on 25 April 2008.

"We are expecting to get some spectacular images from our Arizona nights
but, with the first set of science papers on Galaxy Zoo coming out very
soon, we still need more volunteers to visit galaxyzoo.org," said Dr Chris
Lintott. "Even if you've visited the site before, please come back and
classify some more galaxies as we need your help to confirm our results,
results which could have a profound impact on our models of the universe."

Further information:

* Galaxy Zoo
http://www.galaxyzoo.org/
* WIYN Telescope
http://www.noao.edu/wiyn
* Sloan Digital Sky Survey
http://www.sdss.org/