Astronomers discover over 800 cosmic anomalies using a new AI tool (www.engadget.com)

Astronomers at the European Space Agency (ESA) have developed a powerful AI tool, AnomalyMatch, that has uncovered over 800 previously undocumented cosmic anomalies from Hubble Space Telescope images. In just two and a half days, the neural network processed nearly 100 million image cutouts, identifying 1,400 potential anomalies. Although trained scientists play a crucial role in verifying these findings, the AI dramatically accelerates the exploration of the Hubble Legacy Archive, which contains a vast history of astronomical data spanning 35 years. The significance of this development lies in its ability to enhance the study of cosmic phenomena that human experts alone would struggle to analyze due to the sheer volume of data. The anomalies discovered include intriguing cases of galaxy interactions, gravitational lensing effects, and unusual star formations, with some objects remaining unclassified. This not only showcases the efficacy of AI in processing large datasets in astronomy but also opens new avenues for future research, highlighting the potential of such technology to maximize the scientific returns from large-scale observational databases.