Galaxy Zoo

According to Nature, "See new galaxies - without leaving your chair," an ambitious new collaborative project is being launched between professional astronomers and laymen across the world, allowing a tedious project to be completed in months rather than years.

The goal is simple, if mind-boggling: classify a million galaxies. For professional astronomers to view these galaxies and classify them would take years, but the hope is that by posting the pictures on the internet and allowing volunteers to assign their classifications. To take part, you must go through a brief tutorial and pass a qualifying test, to make sure you understand the distinctions which the astronomers are looking for. Then you can get started classifying galaxies.

As the galaxies become classified, this will help astronomers analyze and understand how matter and energy is distributed throughout our galaxies. If certain types of galaxies are shown to be clustered together (in astronomical terms), it may provide indications of what has taken place in that region of space during our stellar history, or help them predict the direction of spin in certain sections of the sky.

Find out more about this project, including how to take part, at the official Galaxy Zoo website. Also see this topic discussed on About Space.

Image: Image of a spiral galaxy provided by StockTrek / Getty Images.