Every day, the Sun blasts bursts of radio waves into space captured by Solar Orbiter’s Radio and Plasma Waves (RPW) instrument. This extensive dataset, divided into six-hour segments, comprises 15,000 radio wave graphs awaiting analysis – far too many for one scientist alone.
“Scientists have already tried to develop algorithms to detect these radio bursts automatically, but they are often less effective at identifying fainter or more complex bursts,” says Katerina Pesini, who is leading the project as part of her PhD at Radboud University and Paris Observatory. “Human eyes are essential for identifying these subtle signals.”
Participants will inspect the graphs and outline the radio bursts they observe. Detailed instructions and guidance are provided on Zooniverse, the project's website. Each graph will be reviewed by eight different pairs of eyes to ensure accuracy. This will help create the first comprehensive catalogue of solar radio bursts detected by Solar Orbiter, covering recent solar activity.
Pesini: “We will use this catalog to investigate why the Sun’s outer layer is much hotter than its surface and to study the periodicity of the bursts along the solar cycle. We’ll also use it to train an algorithm that will automatically detect Type III solar radio bursts in the future.”
Join us and become a solar burst hunter today!
Solar Orbiter is a collaborative space mission between ESA and NASA, operated by ESA.
