UCSC: Artificial Intelligence Brings New Tools to Astronomy

Find out the latest thinking about our universe.
Post Reply
User avatar
bystander
Apathetic Retiree
Posts: 21571
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 2:06 pm
Location: Oklahoma

UCSC: Artificial Intelligence Brings New Tools to Astronomy

Post by bystander » Mon Apr 23, 2018 6:39 pm

Face Recognition for Galaxies: Artificial Intelligence Brings New Tools to Astronomy
University of California, Santa Cruz | 2018 Apr 23

A 'deep learning' algorithm trained on images from cosmological simulations has been surprisingly successful at classifying real galaxies in Hubble images

A machine learning method called “deep learning,” which has been widely used in face recognition and other image- and speech-recognition applications, has shown promise in helping astronomers analyze images of galaxies and understand how they form and evolve.

In a new study ... researchers used computer simulations of galaxy formation to train a deep learning algorithm, which then proved surprisingly good at analyzing images of galaxies from the Hubble Space Telescope.

The researchers used output from the simulations to generate mock images of simulated galaxies as they would look in observations by the Hubble Space Telescope. The mock images were used to train the deep learning system to recognize three key phases of galaxy evolution previously identified in the simulations. The researchers then gave the system a large set of actual Hubble images to classify.

The results showed a remarkable level of consistency in the neural network’s classifications of simulated and real galaxies. ...

Galaxies are complex phenomena, changing their appearance as they evolve over billions of years, and images of galaxies can provide only snapshots in time. Astronomers can look deeper into the universe and thereby “back in time” to see earlier galaxies (because of the time it takes light to travel cosmic distances), but following the evolution of an individual galaxy over time is only possible in simulations. Comparing simulated galaxies to observed galaxies can reveal important details of the actual galaxies and their likely histories. ...

Deep Learning Identifies High-z Galaxies in a Central Blue Nugget Phase in a Characteristic Mass Range - M. Huertas-Company et al
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk.
— Garrison Keillor

Post Reply