SDSS-III Education and Public Outreach

Collision between NGC 5257 and 5258 galaxies

SDSS-III continues the legacy of SDSS-II and SDSS in providing high quality data and materials for the public and educators. This includes the creation of the SkyServer, as well as providing data, and support, for the Galaxy Zoo project.

SkyServer

The SkyServer website presents data from SDSS to show the public, educators, and learners of all ages the beauty of the Universe, and share with these different audiences our excitement as we build the largest map in the history of the world. Tools are provided to explore over 80 million galaxies and we have produced guides to help users learn how to use these tools. There are projects appropriate for learners ranging from kids to college students interested in learning about the universe and instructor guides for teachers interested in using the projects with their students in the classroom.

Galaxy Zoo and the Zoouniverse

The original Galaxy Zoo project based on SDSS data has spawned a Zooniverse of other successful and popular citizen science projects. These projects help scientists understand the Universe as people are much better than computers at sorting the millions of images of galaxies collected by SDSS. You could even be the first person ever to see one of the galaxies (or Moon craters) that you classify if you get involved with one of these Zoos:

• GalaxyZoo: You get to see the beauty and wonder of the farthest reaches of the Universe while helping scientists better understand it by determining galaxy shapes. So far, over 250,000 volunteers have produced a wealth of data by classifying millions of galaxies, which has led to many scientific publications.
• GalaxyZoo Mergers: You get to help scientists figure out what happens when galaxies collide by comparing SDSS images of actual galaxies colliding to simulated images created by scientists to try to understand how galaxy collisions really happen.
• MoonZoo: You get to see the Moon like you’ve never seen it before by classifying craters and other surface features in an effort to help scientists better understand the 4-billion-year old history of the Moon.

Collaborations and Alliances

As part of the SDSS-III EPO agenda, our team has created materials for learners and educators through a number of collaborations and alliances, including:

• Center for Astronomy Education (CAE)
• Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS)
• Citizen Science Alliance (CSA)

Science Blog from the SDSS-III

SDSS-III also maintains the Science Blog from the SDSS-III where you’ll find short descriptions of interesting scientific research and discoveries from the SDSS-III. We’d love to see your comments and questions about what you read there!