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posted by Fnord666 on Friday January 12 2018, @10:43PM   Printer-friendly
from the stargazing dept.

Multi-planet System Found Through Crowdsourcing

A system of at least five exoplanets has been discovered by citizen scientists through a project called Exoplanet Explorers, part of the online platform Zooniverse, using data from NASA's Kepler space telescope. This is the first multi-planet system discovered entirely through crowdsourcing. A study describing the system has been accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal.

Thousands of citizen scientists got to work on Kepler data in 2017 when Exoplanet Explorers launched. It was featured on a program called Stargazing Live on the Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). On the final night of the three-day program, researchers announced the discovery of a four-planet system. Since then, they have named it K2-138 and determined that it has a fifth planet -- and perhaps even a sixth, according to the new paper.

Zooniverse. Also at Caltech and SpaceRef.

The K2-138 System: A Near-resonant Chain of Five Sub-Neptune Planets Discovered by Citizen Scientists (open, DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/aa9be0) (DX) (arXiv)


Original Submission

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NASA's Kepler Spacecraft Pauses Science Observations to Download Science Data

Earlier this week, NASA's Kepler team received an indication that the spacecraft fuel tank is running very low. NASA has placed the spacecraft in a hibernation-like state in preparation to download the science data collected in its latest observation campaign. Once the data has been downloaded, the expectation is to start observations for the next campaign with any remaining fuel.

[...] To bring the data home, the spacecraft must point its large antenna back to Earth and transmit the data during its allotted Deep Space Network time, which is scheduled in early August. Until then, the spacecraft will remain stable and parked in a no-fuel-use safe mode. On August 2, the team will command the spacecraft to awaken from its no-fuel-use state and maneuver the spacecraft to the correct orientation and downlink the data. If the maneuver and download are successful, the team will begin its 19th observation campaign on August 6 with the remaining fuel.

Also at The Verge and Engadget.

Related: Google Researchers Discover an 8th Planet in the Kepler-90 System
Citizen Scientists Credited for Discovery of Multi-Planet System
Kepler's K2 Mission Going Strong With Another 95 New Exoplanets Confirmed
NASA's TESS Mission Set to Launch on Wednesday, April 18


Original Submission

NASA Retires the Kepler Space Telescope after It Runs Out of Hydrazine 15 comments

NASA Retires Kepler Space Telescope

After nine years in deep space collecting data that indicate our sky to be filled with billions of hidden planets - more planets even than stars - NASA's Kepler space telescope has run out of fuel needed for further science operations. NASA has decided to retire the spacecraft within its current, safe orbit, away from Earth. Kepler leaves a legacy of more than 2,600 planet discoveries from outside our solar system, many of which could be promising places for life.

"As NASA's first planet-hunting mission, Kepler has wildly exceeded all our expectations and paved the way for our exploration and search for life in the solar system and beyond," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "Not only did it show us how many planets could be out there, it sparked an entirely new and robust field of research that has taken the science community by storm. Its discoveries have shed a new light on our place in the universe, and illuminated the tantalizing mysteries and possibilities among the stars."

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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 12 2018, @10:52PM (14 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 12 2018, @10:52PM (#621591)

    AKA Scientists. As if universities ever had a monopoly on science.

    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 12 2018, @11:06PM (9 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 12 2018, @11:06PM (#621596)

      Indeed. What is a "Citizen"? How does it relate to, say, "Civilian"?

      What are the relationships of those words to this one particular organization that calls itself "Government"? Why should every person be classified in relation to that one particular organization?

      There's an air of religion in all of this. I can smell it, and it stinks.

      • (Score: 4, Insightful) by bob_super on Friday January 12 2018, @11:50PM (8 children)

        by bob_super (1357) on Friday January 12 2018, @11:50PM (#621617)

        I think it was a substitute for a journalist who didn't want to write "Amateur".
        There are professional scientists (i.e. it's their job), and there are amateurs.

        But don't let me get in the way of SN's outrage.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 12 2018, @11:55PM (7 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 12 2018, @11:55PM (#621618)

          Sure, mentally substitute "Amateur" if you wish, but it's still the fact that someone chose to us the word "Citizen" as a synonym for "Amateur".

          That's worth discussing.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @12:12AM (3 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @12:12AM (#621622)

            Unfortunately that question remains answered. It is science done using excel spreadsheets that you email to a REAL™ scientist when you are done.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @12:27AM (2 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @12:27AM (#621626)

              Unfortunately that question remains answered. It is science done using excel spreadsheets that you email to a REAL™ scientist when you are done.

              Einstein spent how long double checking relativity? Even if he had been wrong, it would still be science wouldn't it? Perhaps he should have passed his hypothesis to a REAL™ scientist and had figure them it out? Either way, you're a moron!

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @01:25AM

                by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @01:25AM (#621633)

                Einstein spent how long double checking relativity?

                If he were a REAL™ scientist I can't imagine that would be more than 10-15 minutes. That is all the time I've ever required before moving on to the next topic to master.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @01:30AM

                by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @01:30AM (#621634)

                Really I'm just parodying some people I've interacted with who didn't think it was "scientific" enough to input data into excel (if only they knew...).

                Also, the "citizen" label is quite creepy. Once you've seen it from the inside you realize "pro" science is >99% BS at this point anyway though.

          • (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday January 13 2018, @02:09AM (2 children)

            by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday January 13 2018, @02:09AM (#621642) Journal

            There is clearly something different from discovering a planet using your backyard telescope to classifying millions of images with thousands of other people, handed to you by a research team and their algorithm.

            If you don't like the branding, stay salty.

            --
            [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @03:24AM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @03:24AM (#621672)

              Why "CITIZEN"?

              • (Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Saturday January 13 2018, @03:43AM

                by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Saturday January 13 2018, @03:43AM (#621679) Journal

                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_science [wikipedia.org]

                Citizen science (CS; also known as community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, volunteer monitoring or networked science) is scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by amateur (or nonprofessional) scientists. Citizen science is sometimes described as "public participation in scientific research", participatory monitoring and participatory action research.

                https://www.citizensciencealliance.org [citizensciencealliance.org]

                The CSA is a collaboration of scientists, software developers and educators who collectively develop, manage and utilise internet-based citizen science projects in order to further science itself, and the public understanding of both science and of the scientific process. These projects use the time, abilities and energies of a distributed community of citizen scientists who are our collaborators.

                Our projects live within the ‘Zooniverse’, the home of Citizen Science on the web. Each is inspired by a science team who provide the initial ideas, the reassurance that what we’re doing can make a real contribution and an audience who are willing to use the end result. We are working with a wide variety of partners, from classicists to climate scientists and ecologists to planetary scientists.

                https://www.citizensciencealliance.org/philosophy.html [citizensciencealliance.org]

                In the early years of this data flood, researchers were able to cope by recruiting more willing collaborators and students, but in many fields this proved to be only a stopgap. We need a much larger workforce than any academic department can provide. Luckily, the web provides a means of reaching a much larger audience, willing to devote their free time to projects which can add to our knowledge of the world and the Universe.

                We call this method of involving the public ‘citizen science’

                --
                [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday January 12 2018, @11:09PM (1 child)

      by JoeMerchant (3937) on Friday January 12 2018, @11:09PM (#621598)

      through a project called Exoplanet Explorers, part of the online platform Zooniverse, using data from NASA's Kepler space telescope. This is the first multi-planet system discovered entirely through crowdsourcing.

      Crowdsourcing project produces results from the crowd. Well, I should hope so.

      --
      🌻🌻 [google.com]
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 12 2018, @11:21PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 12 2018, @11:21PM (#621605)

        If you want to go back to the Victorian era in the UK, you will find that many scientists were "citizen scientists". Men with means and interests who had no need to don a silly square hat or ingratiate themselves into the cult of El [wikipedia.org]. The elite are no such thing!

    • (Score: 2) by Hawkwind on Saturday January 13 2018, @02:54AM

      by Hawkwind (3531) on Saturday January 13 2018, @02:54AM (#621654)

      Citizen Scientist is the trendy name, and I have no trouble with it when looking at phenological phases of trees and bushes the academics have asked me to monitor.

    • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Sunday January 14 2018, @10:14AM

      by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Sunday January 14 2018, @10:14AM (#622144) Homepage Journal

      Folks, a lot of our university students are illegal. I'm with our Dreamers, 100%. So I gave Congress 6 months to legalize DACA. That was 4 months ago. Tick tock!

      Democrats are doing nothing for DACA -- just interested in politics. DACA activists and Hispanics will go hard against Dems, will start "falling in love" with Republicans and their President! We are about RESULTS.

  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @12:56AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 13 2018, @12:56AM (#621629)

    Found some more lights in the sky?

    The only thing that needs to be found is the curve. The Earth is flat.

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