Finding planets that orbit stars other than our own is Taste of Future Sister-in-law (2023)no simple task. Some scientists are calling on gamers to help sift through huge amounts of astronomical data to confirm the presence of exoplanets throughout our Milky Way galaxy.
In its second foray into scientific crowdsourcing, the popular online multiplayer game EVE Onlineis collaborating with Massively Multiplayer Online Science, Reykjavik University, the University of Geneva and professor Michel Mayor to bring real-world astronomical data to EVEand task players with classifying the data to help refine the search for more exoplanets. This is the second iteration of game developer CCP Games' citizen science efforts, Project Discovery.
SEE ALSO: NASA discovered 7 Earth-sized planets and everyone made the same Trump jokesStarting this year, EVE Onlineplayers will have the opportunity to look at data provided by the University of Geneva and classify it. Then, once enough players reach a consensus on the classification of a piece of data, they'll send it back to the University.
The last time EVE Onlinehad a similar citizen science project, players submitted over 25 million classifications of human cells to assist the Human Protein Atlas, which EVEexecutive producer Andie Nordgren said she was thrilled about in a statement.
"In searching for the next dataset for our massive player community to tackle, the stars aligned for players to have the opportunity to directly contribute to the search for new planets with a world-renowned scientific team," she said in a statement. "Real people around the world collaborating in a virtual universe to explore the real universe is the stuff science fiction, and soon science fact, is made of."
One way exoplanets are discovered is the transit method, in which scientists observe changes in light emanating from stars when planets pass in front of them. To really get an idea of planets' masses and diameters, scientists have to observe multiple transits, so the amount of data on potential exoplanets can really pile up when you consider how many stars there are in observable space.
The very first exoplanet discovery by scientists happened in 1992 thanks to Project Discovery partner Michel Mayor. Just yesterday, seven Earth-sized worlds were added to the ever-growing list of verified exoplanets.
EVE Onlinedid not announce when the new citizen science project will be implemented into the game but more information will be presented by Mayor at EVE Fanfest in April.
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