Category Astronomy/Space

Face Recognition for Galaxies: Artificial Intelligence brings new tools to astronomy

A 'deep learning' algorithm trained on images from cosmological simulations is surprisingly successful at classifying real galaxies in Hubble images. Top row: High-resolution images from a computer simulation of a young galaxy going through three phases of evolution (before, during, and after the "blue nugget" phase). Middle row: The same images from the computer simulation of a young galaxy in three phases of evolution as it would appear if observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. Bottom row: Hubble Space Telescope images of distant young galaxies classified by a deep learning algorithm trained to recognize the three phases of galaxy evolution. The width of each image is approximately 100,000 light years. Credit: Image credits for top two rows: Greg Snyder, Space Telescope Science Institute, and Marc Huertas-Company, Paris Observatory. For bottom row: The HST images are from the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS).

A ‘deep learning’ algorithm trained on images from cosmological simulations is surprisingly successful at classifying real galaxies in Hubble images. Top row: High-resolution images from a computer simulation of a young galaxy going through three phases of evolution (before, during, and after the “blue nugget” phase). Middle row: The same images from the computer simulation of a young galaxy in three phases of evolution as it would appear if observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. Bottom row: Hubble Space Telescope images of distant young galaxies classified by a deep learning algorithm trained to recognize the three phases of galaxy evolution. The width of each image is approximately 100,000 light years...

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Galaxies grow Bigger and Puffier as they Age

This is a long-exposure image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope of massive galaxy cluster Abell 2744. It shows some of the faintest and youngest galaxies detected in space. Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI

This is a long-exposure image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope of massive galaxy cluster Abell 2744. It shows some of the faintest and youngest galaxies detected in space. Credit: NASA/ESA/STScI

A new international study involving ANU and Sydney University has found that galaxies grow bigger and puffier as they age. Professor Matthew Colless from ANU said that stars in a young galaxy moved in an orderly way around the galaxy’s disk, much like cars around a racetrack...

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Martian Moons model indicates Formation following Large Impact

This composite image compares how big the moons of Mars appear, as seen from the surface of the Red Planet, in relation to the size that our Moon appears from Earth’s surface. While Earth’s Moon is 100 times bigger than the larger Martian moon Phobos, the Martian moons orbit much closer to their planet, making them appear relatively larger in the sky. Deimos, at far left, and Phobos, beside it, are shown together as photographed by NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Aug. 1, 2013. Credit: Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems/Texas A&M Univ.

This composite image compares how big the moons of Mars appear, as seen from the surface of the Red Planet, in relation to the size that our Moon appears from Earth’s surface. While Earth’s Moon is 100 times bigger than the larger Martian moon Phobos, the Martian moons orbit much closer to their planet, making them appear relatively larger in the sky. Deimos, at far left, and Phobos, beside it, are shown together as photographed by NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Aug. 1, 2013. Credit: Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems/Texas A&M Univ.

New models predict that Phobos, Deimos compositions will be similar to Mars but dry...

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Atoms may Hum a Tune from grand Cosmic Symphony

An expanding, ring-shaped cloud of atoms shares several striking features with the early universe. (Credit: E. Edwards/JQI)

An expanding, ring-shaped cloud of atoms shares several striking features with the early universe. (Credit: E. Edwards/JQI)

An expanding cloud of atoms could offer insight into unanswered cosmological questions. Researchers playing with a cloud of ultracold atoms uncovered behavior that bears a striking resemblance to the universe in microcosm. Their work, which forges new connections between atomic physics and the sudden expansion of the early universe, will be published in Physical Review X and highlighted by Physics.8

“From the atomic physics perspective, the experiment is beautifully described by existing theory,” says Stephen Eckel, an atomic physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). “But even more striking is how that theory connects with cosmology.”

In ...

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