[CAnet - news] Citizen Science and Internet helps in the search for exo-planets

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[Great tool for exposing students at schools to astronomy. Some excerpts --
BSA]


http://www.astrobio.net/news/article2112.html

Systemic Planet Hunting
based on an UC Santa Cruz release

Astronomers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, are seeking the
public's help to find and understand planets outside our solar system. But
you don't need an advanced degree or even a telescope to participate--just a
computer, access to the Internet, and an interest in astronomy.

The project, called Systemic, enlists volunteers to help astronomers better
understand what kinds of planetary systems inhabit our galaxy, the Milky
Way, and whether systems like our solar system are common. Astronomers have
already found nearly 200 extrasolar planets orbiting other stars. But
according to Gregory Laughlin, associate professor of astronomy and
astrophysics at UCSC, the types of planetary systems astronomers are finding
may not represent the full range of what is out there.

The technique most often used to find extrasolar planets relies on measuring
slight wobbles in a star's motion caused by the gravitational tug of an
orbiting planet. This technique favors configurations in which the orbiting
planet is not only large, like Jupiter, but also close to the star. As a
result, these so-called "hot Jupiters" are overrepresented in the current
census of extrasolar planets.

Other potential biases arise from factors that limit how observations are
made. Astronomers are often limited to blocks of telescope time lasting only
a few days, which means they cannot observe prospective planetary systems as
often as they would like. The limited geographic locations of telescopes
also limit what parts of the sky astronomers can observe. As a result of
these kinds of restrictions, some planetary systems are studied more than
others, and so the current data on extrasolar planets does not yet fully
reflect what is really out there, Laughlin said.

To get a better handle on these problems, Laughlin and his collaborators
launched the Systemic project, in which public participation will help
create a virtual database of extrasolar planetary systems

Laughlin said he was inspired by the success of public participation in
other scientific research projects, such as SETI@home, where users download
a screensaver that uses their personal computer's processing power to
analyze radio telescope data. He wanted to do something similar that would
further stir public interest in astronomy. Instead of just a screensaver,
however, he wanted something that also engaged the user.

The project involves a sophisticated simulation of the search for planets.
The researchers created a data set of 100,000 stars, complete with many
diverse planetary systems. Participants can analyze this virtual galaxy with
software available on the project web site. Using the software, volunteers
can analyze the data for a target star, varying planetary properties like
mass, orbital shape, and period to find a configuration that best fits the
data. The web site includes a tutorial on the software, called the Systemic
Console, as well as a blog, which Laughlin updates regularly.

The simulated search uses the same kind of planetary wobble data that
astronomers measure, and it also incorporates all the observational biases
they encounter when collecting real data. What the public provides is a set
of simulated observations the researchers can compare with observations in
the real world. No one knows how extrasolar planets are distributed in the
Milky Way, but the researchers know the full range of planetary systems in
the simulated virtual galaxy. By comparing the simulated observations with
the real observations, the researchers hope to better understand how well,
or how poorly, the search process collects a census of extrasolar planets.

And because it is a large-scale simulation, the participation of the public
is critical. Complicated systems with multiple planets require a human eye
and patience to arrive at an accurate description. It is a time-consuming
process that involves a lot of data.

Recruiting the public to do astronomical research is not new to Laughlin,
who helped start the Transitsearch project. Transitsearch asked amateur
astronomers to point their telescopes at potential extrasolar systems and to
search for events called transits, when a planet passes in front of its
star, slightly dimming the starlight. Astronomers can learn about the size,
composition, and atmosphere of the planet just from the dimming of the
light. Of course, Transitsearch requires participants to have telescopes and
cameras. Systemic invites public participation without the need for
expensive equipment.

Systemic is now in an introductory phase to develop a reliable user base.
The first of the virtual data will not be released for another month.
Meanwhile, scientists have released real data of extrasolar systems for
people to analyze. Sky & Telescope magazine is sponsoring a contest in which
participants race to find the best configuration of a planetary system, with
a new set of data every two weeks. Winners receive a star atlas.

While users have come from all walks of life, educators and students form a
major market for Systemic. The web site already receives 800 unique hits a
day, Laughlin said. Eventually, he hopes to reach 10,000 users.

As computers become more powerful in the coming decades, the researchers
hope to go beyond virtual data of planetary systems. Laughlin said he
envisions creating entire virtual worlds that people can explore and that
remain true to the laws of physics.




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