VOA科学技术2023--Researchers Build First AI Tool to Discover Supernovas

Researchers Build First AI Tool to Discover Supernovas

Scientists say they have built an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can successfully identify and confirm supernovas.

A supernova is an "extremely bright, super-powerful explosion of a star," the American space agency NASA reports. The explosion takes place at the end of a star's life.

The current process for discovering supernovas usually involves both machines and people. Telescopes repeatedly collect images of the night sky and compare these images to identify differences in observed objects. These differences can suggest the presence of supernovas.

Robotic telescopes can present a list of possible supernovas to human scientists. This data is then examined by human scientists whose job it is to identify and confirm supernova candidates. Now, for the first time, researchers say they have successfully used an AI tool to complete all steps in this process.

An international team of scientists developed the AI-based system. Researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois led the team. The team's chief was Adam Miller², an assistant professor of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern.

Miller said his team recently informed the international astronomical³ community of its success with the new AI system. The tool is called the Bright Transient Survey Bot, or BTSbot.

The robot was used to find, identify and classify a supernova for the first time, Miller said. He noted⁴ that researchers had spent more than 2,000 hours over the past six years looking at telescope data in order to find and classify supernova candidates.

"For the first time ever, a series of robots and AI algorithms has observed, then identified, then communicated with another telescope to finally confirm the discovery of a supernova," Miller said.

The researchers say the new system can take over much of the work humans now do looking for and classifying supernovas. This can free up scientists to do more in-depth examinations of the supernovas themselves and the reasons they were created.

In order to confirm a supernova, scientists have to examine its spectrum⁵. The spectrum represents the object's dispersed⁷ light, which shows elements that were present during the explosion of a supernova.

The study of supernovas has high scientific value because it can help astronomers⁸ learn more about the universe and how it began. For example, NASA says scientists have learned a lot about the behaviors and chemical processes of stars from supernovas.

Miller said the new tool can help researchers "analyze⁹ their observations and develop new hypotheses" to explain why the supernova explosions happened.

Nabeel Rehemtulla co-led the research and development of the BTSbot. He said the tool greatly "streamlines¹⁰ large studies of supernovas." This helps scientists better understand the life cycles of stars and helps to identify elements supernovas create, such as carbon, iron and gold, Rehemtulla noted.

The research team said testing of the BTSbot involved looking at a newly discovered supernova candidate called SN2023tyk. The AI tool identified the supernova on October 5.

After the identification, the BTSbot requested additional data on its own from the California-based Palomar Observatory¹¹. Then, another telescope, known as the SED Machine, performed its own "in-depth observations" to get information on the object's spectrum.

The SED Machine then sent the spectrum data to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Caltech uses an AI algorithm to classify the kind of supernova. This can either be a thermonuclear explosion of a white dwarf¹² or the collapse¹³ of a star's center, or core.

The algorithm classified the supernova a Type 1a, a kind of star explosion in which a white dwarf in a star system fully¹ explodes.

Rehemtulla said the success of the BTSbot will ease supernova identifications, while freeing up human scientists to do more detailed¹⁴ study of the newly discovered objects.

"The beauty of it is that, once everything is turned on and working properly, we don't actually do anything," Rehemtulla noted. "We go to sleep at night, and, in the morning, we see that BTSbot, and these other AIs, unwaveringly do their jobs."

Words in This Story

classify – v. to put people or things together in groups based on their kind, size, etc.

disperse⁶ – v. to separate and go into different directions

analyze – v. examine the details of something

hypothesis – n. a theory for something that has not yet been proven

algorithm – n. a set of steps that are followed in order to solve a mathematical problem or to complete a computer process

unwavering – adj. not moving of changing

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

3 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

6 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

7 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

8 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

10 streamlines   

把…做成流线型( streamline的名词复数 )； 简化使效率更高； （系统、机构等）效率更高； （尤指）使增产节约

参考例句：

• In a junction, there is no fixed pattern of streamlines. 在接头中，流线没有固定图形。
• Small droplets tend to follow the streamlines of the air. 小水滴顺着气流运动。

11 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

12 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

13 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

14 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。