Rosetta Zoo comparison image

ESA and the Zooniverse have launched Rosetta Zoo, a citizen science project that invites volunteers to engage in a cosmic game of 'spot the difference'. By browsing through pictures collected by ESA's Rosetta mission, you can help scientists figure out how a comet's surface evolves as it swings around the Sun.

The Rosetta archive contains a huge number of images that have only been partially explored. Lots of eyes are needed to sift through them – given the complexity of the imagery, the human eye is better at detecting small changes than automated algorithms are.

Rosetta Zoo presents pairs of images collected by Rosetta’s OSIRIS camera showing Comet 67P's surface as it approached and moved away from the Sun. Volunteers are invited to view images of roughly the same region side by side and identify a variety of changes, from large-scale dust transport to comet chunks that moved or even vanished. Sometimes this may require zooming in or out a few times, or rotating the images to spot changes on different scales, getting up close and personal with the iconic comet.

Thanks to the visual inspection of many volunteers, the project will produce maps of changes and active areas on the comet's surface, with labels for each type of change. Scientists will then be able to associate the activity of the comet with modifications on its surface, developing new models to link the physics of comet activity to observed changes such as lifted boulders or collapsed cliffs.

Anybody can use Rosetta Zoo online for free, without needing to sign up, install an app or programme, or have any previous scientific experience.