The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft orbited between 2014 and 2016, studying a comet hundreds of millions of kilometers from Earth and collecting data on the structure and geology of space rock. Now, ESA has issued a general call for reviewing images of the comet and reporting differences in surface features over time.
The object, designated Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, was first observed in 1969. The comet has an elliptical, 6.5-year orbit. When Rosetta arrived at the object in 2014, it was the first spacecraft to rendezvous with a comet.
Shortly known as Comet 67P, as it orbited, the Sun was shining from different angles. In this way, Rosetta was able to capture the icy rock in detail in multiple images thanks to its built-in OSIRIS camera.
“Given the complexity of images, the human eye is much better than automatic algorithms at detecting small changes between images,” said Sandor Kruk, an astrophysicist at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics near Munich, Germany, who made the public aid project a reality. said that.
The public is encouraged to view side-by-side images of Comet 67P’s features taken before and after its approach to the Sun, using an online tool called the Rosetta Zoo. Volunteers can manipulate images by rotating and zooming in and specify the type of feature they think might show in the image (dust, rock, or abrasive features) and what has changed in it (whether it has just appeared, disappeared, or simply moved). It is possible to compare this to classic games that ask you to find the differences between two pictures.
Bruno Merín, head of ESA’s ESAC Science Data Center in Spain, said in a statement, “Over the last few years, astrophotographers and space enthusiasts have identified changes and signs of activity in images of Rosetta themselves.” “Still, with a few exceptions, it was not possible to relate any of these events to superficial changes, mostly due to the absence of the human eye reviewing the entire dataset. We definitely need more eyes!”
Voluntary work on the data will be used to produce maps of active areas on the comet’s surface that scientists can use to build new models of comet activity. The more people check out these pictures, the more information can be gathered about ancient objects floating in our Solar System…
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