Crowdsourcing star-formation research and the power of participatory science

Abstract

We review participatory science programs that have contributed to the understanding of star formation. The Milky Way Project (MWP), one of the earliest participatory science projects launched on the Zooniverse platform, produced the largest catalog of “bubbles” associated with feedback from hot young stars to date, and enabled the identification of a new class of compact star-forming regions (SFRs) known as “yellowballs” (YBs). The analysis of YBs through their infrared colors and catalog cross-matching led to discovering that YBs are compact photodissociation regions generated by intermediate- and high-mass young stellar objects embedded in clumps that range in mass from 10 - 10⁴ M_⊙ and luminosity from 10 - 10⁶ L_⊙. The MIRION catalog, assembled from 6176 YBs identified by citizen scientists, increases the number of candidate intermediate-mass SFRs by nearly two orders of magnitude. Ongoing work utilizing data from the Spitzer, Herschel and WISE missions involves analyzing infrared color trends to predict physical properties and ages of YB environments. Methods include applying summary statistics to histograms and color-color plots as well as SED fitting. Students in introductory astronomy classes contribute toward continued efforts refining photometric measurements of YBs while learning fundamental concepts in astronomy through a classroom-based participatory science experience, the PERYSCOPE project. We also describe an initiative that engaged seminaries, family groups, and interfaith communities in a wide variety of science projects on the Zooniverse platform. This initiative produced important guidance on attracting audiences that are underserved, underrepresented, or apprehensive about science.