What is Disk Detective?

In Disk Detective, you look at stars to find dusty debris disks, which are similar to our asteroid field. These disks suggest that the related stars are in the early stages of forming planetary systems. Learning more about these stars can tell us how our Solar System was formed.

What do you do?

Planets are formed from vast clouds of gas, dust, and chunks of rock clouds that take the shape of disks with stars in the centre. It is possible to tell where planets are forming and where planets probably exist by searching for specific stars surrounded by these types of disks. Computers often confuse debris disks around stars with other astronomical objects. Your help is needed to find the stars that actually have these disks around them in galaxies or nebulae.

Relation to school topics

The Solar System, stars, satellites, the science of astronomy