This is a live, interactive Acts of Science: Connected event held during Citizen Science Month.
Participants will contribute to real research together, in real time, with guidance throughout the session and opportunities to hear from the project team and ask questions. No prior experience is needed.
We’ll meet the scientist behind Rubin Comet Catchers and scan real images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory for hidden, active comets. Comets carry important clues about the origin of Earth’s water and the building blocks of life. Every comet you help identify supports scientists studying how planetary systems form and evolve—including our own.
The project Rubin Comet Catchers invites participants to help find new comets and explore small, icy objects in our solar system using images from the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. By looking at these pictures, volunteers can spot comets that have never been seen before. Every discovery helps scientists learn how comets form, how the solar system has changed over time, and where icy regions that could support life might be.
Participants will learn how to recognize comet tails and fuzzy comae, and how to label objects so the Rubin Comet Catchers team can study them. Comets are leftover ice from the birth of the solar system, and studying them helps answer big questions: How did Earth get its water? What was the early solar system like? How do icy objects move and change far from the Sun?
The shared goal of Citizen Science Month is 2.50 Million Acts of Science in one month in celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
Participants are HIGHLY encouraged to bring their own devices (laptop or tablet recommended).
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