Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Apr 29, 2005 20:20:26 GMT -6
Catch a gravity wave
Like the SETI screensaver before it, now you can help look for gravity waves...
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By installing a new screensaver, you can donate spare computer time to the search for gravity waves.
February 19, 2005; updated Feb. 21
Armchair astrophysicists rejoice: Now, you can help scientists find gravity waves — ripples in the fabric of space-time caused by spinning neutron stars. All you need is a computer, a fast connection to the Internet, and the Einstein@Home screensaver.
Bruce Allen heads the Einstein@Home project. UWM [larger image]
Following months of testing with some 8,000 users, the program is now available to everyone.
Bruce Allen, a professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (UWM), and leader of the Einstein@Home project, announced Saturday he was "throwing open the doors" to the public at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C. The project is the result of collaboration between UWM, the California Institute of Technology, and the Albert Einstein Institute in Germany.
The number of people running Einstein@Home has increased nearly 4 times since Saturday's announcement. Allen told Astronomy he expects the project to gain its 30,000th user sometime today.
More here: www.astronomy.com/default.aspx?c=a&id=2898
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Perhaps a Chicago Astronomer will discover a wave!