Galaxy spotting

I have just spent an evening in the far reaches of the universe. I had my I-Spy Book of Galaxies to classify them as ellipticals, spirals or mergers. It is incredibly compulsive.

I haven’t lost my marbles or invented a fast-than-light drive but been looking at the Galaxy Zoo project. Researchers from Oxford University and Portsmouth University and Johns Hopkins University in the US have taken images of a million galaxies and are asking members of the public to classify them. They reckon a human can do it better than a computer. Tens of thousand of people have already signed up, spurred on by the thought that they might see something no-one else has. The researchers will then use the results to decide which galaxies are worth another look. Every now and again, you come across an image of galaxy that’s really beautiful and there are active forums showing the best found so far. It’s truly addictive – I want to find something to show everyone else. So if you’ll excuse me, I’m heading back to the deep, dark reaches of space.