Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
The Dutch Black Hole Consortium has introduced a new citizen science app called Black Hole Finder. This mobile application invites the public to assist in identifying potential black holes by examining thousands of images.
The primary goal of the Black Hole Finder app is to detect kilonovas—intense bursts of radiation resulting from the collision of a neutron star and a black hole. These events can lead to the formation of stellar-mass black holes.
The Dutch Black Hole Consortium employs the BlackGEM array of telescopes in Northern Chile to capture extensive images of the night sky. The telescopes are designed to detect brief and bright kilonova explosions. However, distinguishing these from false signals, such as reflections from satellites, poses a challenge.
Given that AI algorithms are not always effective at filtering out false signals, the consortium is seeking public assistance. Users of the Black Hole Finder app review sets of three images to determine whether they show real astronomical sources or false ones. They can also choose "unknown" if they are unsure.
Steven Bloemen, project manager at Radboud University, explained that human pattern recognition remains superior to current AI capabilities. The involvement of global citizens helps refine AI algorithms to better differentiate between authentic and false sources.
The app is user-friendly, requiring participants to evaluate images based on provided guidelines. This simple process helps in training AI models and accelerates the identification of promising black hole candidates.
The collaboration between the public and scientists aims to expedite the search for new black holes and improve the overall efficiency of the project. By leveraging public input, the Dutch Black Hole Consortium hopes to make significant strides in black hole research.