Overlap Zoo
NASA Science ·
Confirm and describe overlapping galaxy pairs to reveal interstellar dust. For anyone with an internet-connected computer. The post Overlap Zoo appeared first on NASA Science .
… Citizen Science Projects Overlap Zoo Projects Highlights Publications NASA Citizen Scientists Science Activation Resources Overlap Zoo Galaxies, which are themselves vast collections of billions of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity, are scattered across the immensity of space. Every so often, a rare cosmic coincidence occurs: two galaxies overlap one another in the sky, lining up perfectly from our point of view (on Earth or from a telescope in space). These rare overlapping galaxies let us study something normally invisible: the dust in the foreground galaxy. As a volunteer in Overlap Zoo, you’ll view images that volunteers in a different project ( Galaxy Zoo ) previously identified as containing overlapping galaxies. The Overlap Zoo project will teach you how to verify the presence of galaxy pairs in these images, classify key features of each galaxy, and mark their outlines. Your work will help build the first large-scale catalog of galaxy pairs suitable for dust studies and enable a huge step forward in accuracy of astronomical estimates.
project task Examining images
Universe
Online
2026
What you’ll do:
Requirements
Get started!
Learn more:
The Overlap Zoo project’s Research page gives an overview of the value of overlapping galaxies to astronomy, especially to scientists interested in learning more about cosmic dust and its impact on observational astronomical data. The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page has additional, practical information relevant to doing the work of the project.
Project lead, graduate student in astrophysics, University of Louisville
Benne Holwerda Astronomer, Professor, University of Louisville
William “Bill” Keel Astronomer, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy, University of Alabama
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