My new diversion:
Galaxy Zoo

Never has such an important computer application been invented that totally succeeds by employing the spare time brain power of the huge mass of intarwebs users and inhabitants to help collectively identify, sort and define what humanity understands about the qualities of the universe's gazillion-point-four-two galaxies.

And according to the latest, best "scientifically informed" guesstimate, there seem to be an unending number of the darn things to keep us all busy for a while. Just try to find a solid numerical answer. But now's your chance on our own little backwater 'burb to make some real choices that help define the known universe. And for once, they count. You are the universe seeing what it's like to be a happy click monkey.

So the basic idea is the folk can help marshal the parade of science by sorting through the various general shapes of the galaxies captured by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey telescope in New Mexico. Are they Spiral? Clockwise? Anti-Clockwise? Edge On? Or maybe it's Elliptical? You decide! A big ol' ne'er ending stack of 'em!

It's easy, addictive and geeky. Visit Galaxy Zoo. And who wouldn't go out pub hopping with these geeks?



Astrophysics | Galaxy Zoo | Science | Diversions
Space | Sorting | Grouchogandhi

Delivered unto you by Grouchogandhi precisely at 2:27:00 AM