Galaxy Zoo

Imagine you have a giant photo album of space, filled with millions of pictures of galaxies. That's what Galaxy Zoo is! It's a super cool project where people like you, from all over the world, get to look at these pictures and help scientists figure out what kind of galaxies they are.

Are they round like a ball, or do they have long arms like a pinwheel? Your job is to be a galaxy detective and point out their shapes!

Galaxy Zoo started a little while ago, in 2007. Scientists had so many pictures of galaxies from telescopes that they couldn't look at them all by themselves. So, they asked for help from everyone!

It was like a big, online party where people could explore space from their computers. Millions of people joined in, making it one of the biggest science projects ever. It showed that anyone can help with real science!

Looking at galaxies helps us understand our own home, the Milky Way galaxy. By studying how other galaxies are shaped and how they move, scientists learn about how galaxies are born, how they grow, and how they change over billions of years. It's like learning about your family history by looking at old photos! Plus, you might even discover something new that no one has ever seen before!

When you join Galaxy Zoo, you'll see a picture of a galaxy. You'll be asked simple questions, like 'Does it have a bar?' or 'Is it smooth or does it have a disk?' You just click the answer that looks right to you. If lots of people agree on the shape of a galaxy, scientists can be pretty sure they've got it right. It's like voting for your favorite shape, but for galaxies!