The more we learn about the universe the harder it becomes to keep track of everything. That’s why several months ago Galaxy Zoo sought the help of the public in spotting potential galaxies across the universe.

Now, in an effort to learn even more about cosmology, scientists are again seeking the help of people like you and I.

A new project has been developed by Benjamin D. Wandelt at the University of Illinois that will help scientists analyze things like the universe’s acceleration and fluctuations in the cosmic-microwave background. The software used to capture this data is called Cosmology@Home.

Said Wandelt:

When you run Cosmology@Home on your computer, it uses part of the computer’s processing power, disk space and network bandwidth. Our goal is to search for cosmological models that describe our universe and agree with available astronomical and particle physics data.

For users of SETI@Home you should feel at home with the way the program is set-up and run. I’m assuming, however, that means it could also eat up a lot of resources on your computer. I’ve yet to try it but I’d imagine those with older, slower computers  might find the program more frustrating than scientific.

If you do give it a shot let us know what you think in the comments.

Share:

Kevin resides in Chicago where he spends most of his day avoiding Cubs fans and the homeless. He works in marketing for an financial services company.
Email this author | All posts by Kevin