A first Galaxy Zoo:Rubin project

We’re delighted to announce the first Galaxy Zoo workflow to include images from the NSF-DOE Vera C Rubin Observatory, using galaxies drawn from its first Data Preview. 

First look image showing the diversity of galaxies we can expect from the Vera C Rubin’s LSST survey.

The new workflow went live on the site just now, but with only 10,359 subjects it won’t stick around for long, so do jump in and get classifying. While the goal, as ever, is to understand the processes which shape the galaxies revealed by this new survey, we will also use the results from this project to help us decide which of the millions of galaxies that will be included in images from the Observatory’s upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), which will start soon, should be classified. To this end, we’ve also included three different images of each galaxy, combining images taken with different filters (technically, these are ugri, riz, and gri images) so that we can see how classifications change if we include information from the ultraviolet (u band) and infrared (i and z bands). 

These images were taken as part of the testing and commissioning the observatory teams carried out while preparing the telescope and camera for action. They are a little more rough and ready than those we will expect from the main survey, but they are just the start.

Once the main survey starts, Rubin will produce a spectacular treasury of galaxy images, and we’ve been looking forward to it for a long time. The first mention of the survey on this blog comes from 2008 (when we expected the start date to be, um, 2013, which may have been ambitious even then). Still, good things come to those who wait, and we’re excited to see what you make of these new images. 

Chris & the Galaxy Zoo team.