Hey everyone!
I’m forming a team for a citizen science project called IASC — International Astronomical Search Collaboration and I’m looking for teammates! Interested?
It's nothing too crazy and the process can be underwhelming. I'll say that just so you don't expect anything extraordinary.
Basically, what we'd have to do is analyse images that will be sent to us from these two observatories in Hawaii called Pan-STARRS 1 and 2. And we'd have to look for moving possibily unidentified objects and send an report to IASC (the organization behind it).
It's super quick and simple, and it really shouldn't take more than 20 minutes per pack out of your day and you'll have an entire month to sort through the packs. So, time really isn't an issue and you can do things on your own time.
This is a great way to be part of hands-on science. You're helping scientists track objects and identify new ones. This is very relevant, especially on a planetary defense level. You can't protect yourself from a threat you don't see coming.
They offer certificates to all participants, and the certificates are pretty neat.
Requirements/preferences:
- Willing to commit some time to analyzing telescope images
- Preferably located in the Americas, Europe, or Africa (similar time zones are a plus)
Relevant links: https://science.nasa.gov/citizen-science/international-astronomical-search-collaboration/ http://iasc.cosmosearch.org/
If you want in or have questions, lmk below :)
(Sorry if this isn't allowed mods. I couldn't find anything that said I couldn't do this in the rules T-T)
36 Comments
quediuspayu@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 9 pts · 209d
If one of the requirements is to run windows that leaves me out.
Alawami@lemmy.ml · 11 pts · 209d
I always found it fascinating when fedora has exteremtly niche spins like astronomy spin (https://fedoraproject.org/labs/astronomy).
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 209d
I didn't know about that!
seathru@quokk.au · 4 pts · 209d
I was able to install it through Bottles as a "productivity app" and it worked right out of the box (Fedora 43). Haven't 100% function checked it yet, but so far so good.
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 209d
The program we use is called "Astrometrica". It is Windows only in theory, but you could run it using Wine. Though, I haven't had much success in doing that.
If you'd like to try, I could help you out!
quediuspayu@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 209d
Maybe using proton like if it was a game.
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 209d
That could work. There's a guy in our group that uses Fedora and manged to get it running. So I'm guessing it's possible and easy to do.
Tramort@programming.dev · 3 pts · 209d
I would like to help. Please put me on the list.
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 209d
That's awesome! How can I reach out to you?
We've made a Discord server for our team, but if you don't have it that is completely okay.
Tramort@programming.dev · 1 pts · 209d
Dm me the discord link and I'll jump on
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 209d
Awesome!
If anyone else wants to join, let me know and I'll send the link.
fishos@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 209d
Can I get a link too? I already participate on BOINC
seathru@quokk.au · 3 pts · 209d
I'd like to join/help. Dm me the discord.
And for anyone wondering, I was able to get the app working in linux pretty easily (installed via Bottles as a "productivity app").
Edit: they updated the app. Still trying to get that running.
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 209d
Of course! DMimg you right up!
halfdane@piefed.social · 2 pts · 209d
Hell yeah, I could install astrometrica through bottles as well, so you can count me in 🥳
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 209d
Great news! Reaching out to you in your DMs right away.
Kevo@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 209d
Hi, I'm also interested!
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 209d
Awesome. Sending you our Discord in your DM!
SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.world · 1 pts · 209d
I have my blaze orange what kind of rifle guarantees a kill shot on an asteroid?
degenerate_neutron_matter@fedia.io · 4 pts · 209d
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 209d
Lol
Vanth@reddthat.com · 1 pts · 209d
Yes, please. I was just thinking about looking for a new citizen science thing to do over the winter and this falls in my lap. Please DM the discord link to me as well.
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 209d
That's great timing then. Check you DMs
Danitos@reddthat.com · 1 pts · 209d
Hi. Interested, could you send the the invite link, please.
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 209d
Awesome. Shooting you a DM
brachypelmide@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 209d
Any idea on when the campaign begins? I would love to help, but January is completely blocked up for me by various stuff. February would be optimal for me.
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 209d
It's hard to know, but I guess February/March. They happen pretty much every month, but there's a quota for each and the January one is full.
brachypelmide@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 209d
Awesome! I'll give it a look in February then
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 209d
Great!
If you want to be a part of my team, however, we'll need to submit our team form this month.
brachypelmide@lemmy.zip · 0 pts · 209d
Thank you!, but I'll have to decline because my life is anything but stable right now. Very likely something might come up during January and make me drop out after I had already registered. If that doesn't happen, I'll be able to assemble my own team for February no problem.
ChanchoManco@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 209d
Hi, I'm interested but before I'll commit I have a doubt: you say it'll take 20 minutes per pack but how many packs will get for the month?
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 208d
Each campaign lasts around a month, and the amount of packs per team can vary; I've seen 15 packs at the lowest and 25 at the highest. How many packs each team member will get will depend on how many members there are and how many we get. So, If there are 5 members, and 25 packs, it'd be logical for each member to get 5 packs to analyse that month.
ChanchoManco@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 208d
Ok that's not much, count me in
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 208d
I'll dm you
neidu3@sh.itjust.works · 0 pts · 209d
Love it. However, I feel that it should be possible to automate the procedure: Grab images, sort them, and compare them to find any moving objects. Then somehow look them up to check whether it's already registered.
Sounds like a reasonably simple script wrapped around curl, some gfx library calls, and possibly selenium or WWW::Mechanize
oysterenjoyer@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 209d
Automated software has a threshold for signal-to-noise ratio to avoid false positives. Human eyes (us hunters) are much better at spotting faint moving objects that dip below the threshold of the automated pipelines! :)
bruce965@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 209d
I have a feeling that this human step might be at the end of a chain of automated filters.