NASA’s Hubble space telescope

The selected project for this work was “how do galaxies form”. This project is based on the galaxy pictures taken by NASA’s Hubble space telescope. This telescope takes thousands of pictures from space. In order for scientist to gain a better understanding of how these galaxies are formed, they must be classified into their respective groups. According to Zooniverse (1), a study of the shape and physical characteristics of a given galaxy reveals pertinent details such as: the orbital dynamics, star formation processes and any nuclear activity occurring on it. For example, if the morphological mapping indicates that the galaxy has multiple nuclei, then, the galaxy formation process is controlled by stars merging up. However, if there are no multiple nuclei, then that galaxy formation is controlled by interior processes. The website displays space images and assists participants classify these pictures through the use of short questions. In the galaxy zoo project, the universe is classified by visual inspection. To make the prediction right, members of the public, students and scientists participate in the classification process. These classifications are far more accurate than those obtained using computer programs or from experts as very large number of people classify these formations