I think I just found my new study break activity…

I promised myself that my next blog post would be a reflection on trying out one of the online citizen science projects mentioned in Diaries so I decided to try out Galaxy Zoo. When you first get to the identifying, you are presented with a fairly blurry image of space with a galaxy in the middle of the image. On the right side of the screen it gives you the options “smooth”, “features or disk”, or “star or artifact” paired with visuals. Depending on what you first identify the image as, you’re led to different options to further describe the image.

I was hoping to come across a never-before-identified galaxy so I could name it after myself, but I guess the odds of coming across that in the first 10 minutes on the site are pretty slim. I would get a strange rush of excitement whenever the image that popped up was more than just a circular blob. I got a few galaxies with spirals, one or two that may have been an image of a disc on it’s side, and a few totally irregular formations. I’ve even found that just spending 10 minutes on the site got me familiar with the terminology that they use. I would see an image and think “ah, definitely a star or artifact” without having to glance to the right to see the diagram. This is a shockingly relaxing activity, and it’s easy to forget that by participating in this brain break, you’re contributing to the knowledge of the universe.

I have found it difficult to cease marveling over the existence, success, and potentially massive impact of citizen science. It’s SO EASY to go on to Galaxy Zoo for a few minutes, bang out some identifications, and then go on your way. It’s also SO MUCH MORE BENEFICIAL TO SOCIETY than scrolling through Instagram or watching a cat video. I vow to use Galaxy Zoo as my goof-off tool from now on. I also feel like Galaxy Zoo has refreshed my mind without facilitating a loss of working momentum. Imagine if every college kid did 10 minutes of Galaxy Zoo as a study break! We could classify an exorbitant amount of images!

I challenge all of you guys to do some Galaxy Zoo when you need a few minutes between homework tasks!