Citizens enlisted to find changes to Comet 67P/C-G during Rosetta mission
The European Space Agency (ESA) and Zooniverse have partnered to create a new citizen science project, allowing anyone to more easily review the archive of high resolution photos taken by Rosetta of Comet 67P/C-G and look for changes that occurred during the probe’s mission to the comet.
“The Rosetta archive, which is openly accessible to scientists and the public, contains a vast amount of data collected by this extraordinary mission that have only been partially explored,” says Bruno Merín, head of ESA’s ESAC Science Data Centre near Madrid, Spain. “In the past few years, astrophotographers and space enthusiasts have spontaneously identified changes and signs of activity in Rosetta’s images. Except for a few cases, though, it has not been possible to link any of these events to surface changes, mostly due to the lack of human eyes sifting through the whole dataset. We definitely need more eyes!”
This is why ESA partnered with the Zooniverse, the world’s largest and most popular platform for people-powered research. The new Rosetta Zoo project presents a particular set of data: pairs of images collected by Rosetta’s OSIRIS camera showing Comet 67P’s surface before and after perihelion.
Volunteers are invited to view images of roughly the same region side by side and identify a variety of changes, from large-scale dust transport to comet chunks that moved or even vanished. Sometimes this may require zooming in or out a few times, or rotating the images to spot changes on different scales, getting up close and personal with the iconic comet.
Using Rosetta Zoo will require no software, nor will anyone need to register to use it. You simply go to the website and begin comparing pairs of images, for as long as you wish, marking differences you spot of the same locations.
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The European Space Agency (ESA) and Zooniverse have partnered to create a new citizen science project, allowing anyone to more easily review the archive of high resolution photos taken by Rosetta of Comet 67P/C-G and look for changes that occurred during the probe’s mission to the comet.
“The Rosetta archive, which is openly accessible to scientists and the public, contains a vast amount of data collected by this extraordinary mission that have only been partially explored,” says Bruno Merín, head of ESA’s ESAC Science Data Centre near Madrid, Spain. “In the past few years, astrophotographers and space enthusiasts have spontaneously identified changes and signs of activity in Rosetta’s images. Except for a few cases, though, it has not been possible to link any of these events to surface changes, mostly due to the lack of human eyes sifting through the whole dataset. We definitely need more eyes!”
This is why ESA partnered with the Zooniverse, the world’s largest and most popular platform for people-powered research. The new Rosetta Zoo project presents a particular set of data: pairs of images collected by Rosetta’s OSIRIS camera showing Comet 67P’s surface before and after perihelion.
Volunteers are invited to view images of roughly the same region side by side and identify a variety of changes, from large-scale dust transport to comet chunks that moved or even vanished. Sometimes this may require zooming in or out a few times, or rotating the images to spot changes on different scales, getting up close and personal with the iconic comet.
Using Rosetta Zoo will require no software, nor will anyone need to register to use it. You simply go to the website and begin comparing pairs of images, for as long as you wish, marking differences you spot of the same locations.
In order to remain completely independent and honest in my writing, I accept no sponsorships from big space companies or any political organizations. Nor do I depend on ads.
Instead, I rely entirely on the generosity of readers to keep Behind the Black running. You can either make a one time donation for whatever amount you wish, or you sign up for a monthly subscription ranging from $2 to $15 through Paypal, or $3 to $50 through Patreon, or any amount through Zelle.
The best method to donate or subscribe is by using Zelle through your internet bank account, since it charges no fees to you or I. You will need to give my name and email address (found at the bottom of the "About" page). What you donate is what I get.
To use Patreon, go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
For PayPal click one of the following buttons:
If these electronic payment methods don't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
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