[3][4] theSkyNet Sourcefinder aimed to test and refine automatic radio sourcefinding algorithms in preparation for radio galaxy surveys using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder and the Square Kilometre Array.
theSkyNet POGS used Spectral Energy Distribution fitting to calculate characteristics of many galaxies using images taken by the Pan-STARRS PS1 optical telescope in Hawaii.
theSkyNet Sourcefinder project was introduced publicly on 13 September 2011,[5] operating on a Java-based user platform, processing data using new distributed computing software called Nereus.
The project is operated by ICRAR in Perth, Western Australia, under the team leadership of Associate Professor Kevin Vinsen.
[12] On 7 June 2013 a paper entitled "A BOINC based, citizen-science project for pixel Spectral Energy Distribution fitting of resolved galaxies in multi-wavelength surveys" was submitted for publication.
A mosaic of results from theSkyNet, a BOINC based volunteer computing project. The main image shows how fast stars are forming in ‘nearby’ galaxy Messier 100 (M100), white patches are hotbeds of new stars, purple areas are where fewer young stars are forming. Each sub image is results from the other 45,000+ galaxies theSkyNet volunteers have processed. The original data that theSkyNet volunteers processed to make these images is from the Pan-STARRS Optical Galaxy Survey, which is conducted by Pan-STARRS1, a powerful visible light telescope in Hawaii.
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An example of the data that is processed by
theSkyNet POGS
distributed computing project. Three different images of the same galaxy are shown, at Ultraviolet, Optical and Infrared wavelengths, taken by the GALEX, Pan-STARRS1 and WISE telescopes respectively. The far right image then shows the process used by
theSkyNet POGS
to determine different characteristics of the galaxy in question using the three images in a process called Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) fitting.
