I think I found a track! When will I know if it is real?

Frequently Asked Questions

Moderators: Stardust@home Team, DustMods

Post Reply
bmendez
Stardust@home Team
Stardust@home Team
Posts: 530
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2006 11:28 am
Location: UC Berkeley Space Sciences Lab
Contact:

I think I found a track! When will I know if it is real?

Post by bmendez »

Q: I think I found a track! When will I know if it is real?

A: We score each movie, based on the number of "hits" and the measured efficiencies of the people who identified them. We then individually examine each movie, starting with the movies with the biggest scores and going down the list.

It may take many weeks for us to get to any given event, depending on where it is in the list. Events which have been identified by only one or two people might take even longer, since they will be far down the list.

As we evaluate candidates, we will enter them into the database so that you can see the status of your events. We will then first look at our high-resolution images of these events. If they still look promising, we will then have an actual pair of eyes look at the events at high magnification in the Cosmic Dust Lab in Houston.

Events that still look promising will have to be extracted from the collector before we can definitively identify them as interstellar. We will update the status of the events as we go through each stage of evaluation.
MrComet
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Aug 20, 2006 3:10 pm
Location: St.John, NL Canada

Do all users get a chance at new movies?

Post by MrComet »

"Q: I think I found a track! When will I know if it is real?

A: We score each movie, based on the number of "hits" and the measured efficiencies of the people who identified them. We then individually examine each movie, starting with the movies with the biggest scores and going down the list.



The paragraph above tells about the order in which the tagged movies will be looked at by the Stardust Team, but will all tagged movies be looked at, even if tagged only once?

Ever time I tag one, there are already a nmber of tags already attached to it. Will I ever get movies that I will see before anyone else. Now I understand that you don't kniow which movies have particles or not, but does everone get chances at a new movie not examined by others or is it a totaly random process. Does the system send out new unexplored movies to it highest ranking members so they get first crack at them or does everyone get the same chance at getting a new one to look at? Most movies I tag have been looked at hundreds of times. Do I ever get fresh ones sent to me? Can you tell I really want to find dust particle or what?
Sorry for going on but I realy would like to know how this system works.

Thankx
MrComet
"It may be that the venture into space is the product of biological determinism which impels us to explore a new environment when we are technologically ready."
Richard S. Lewis, Appointment on the Moon, 1968
bmendez
Stardust@home Team
Stardust@home Team
Posts: 530
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2006 11:28 am
Location: UC Berkeley Space Sciences Lab
Contact:

Post by bmendez »

All focus movies are served up at random. No preference is given to anyone. When new movies are uploaded to the database everyone searching has an equal probability (which is low) of viewing them first.

The probability of you being the first to view a focus movie depends on how much time you spend searching, when you search (relative to when the new movies are uploaded), and how many others are searching.

Best of luck, and thanks for your efforts. Even if you don't find a particle your participation has been of great help to us and is greatly appreciated.

-Bryan
"I am made from the dust of the stars, and the oceans flow in my veins"
- RUSH
greuti
Posts: 200
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 10:11 am
Location: Switzerland

Post by greuti »

No preference is given to anyone.
Hi Bryan, thanks for that clear statement.

Could you please send me an e-mail every time just when new movies are uploaded?! 8)
No kidding, is there a given time in your labor time for each uploading? In Pacific (daylight saving time) Time, I guess.
bmendez
Stardust@home Team
Stardust@home Team
Posts: 530
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2006 11:28 am
Location: UC Berkeley Space Sciences Lab
Contact:

Post by bmendez »

No, I don't believe there is a regular time that the movies get uploaded. Which I suppose helps to keep it fair for everyone. :)

-Bryan
"I am made from the dust of the stars, and the oceans flow in my veins"
- RUSH
ManuelMansilla
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:55 pm

Post by ManuelMansilla »

Ok, lets suppose I found a real track, but many people also agreed there was a track in that movie and they got it right.

Who will be the co-author of the publication and who will give the name to the dust particle?

Thanks
DanZ
Site Admin
Posts: 777
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 2:44 pm
Location: Berkeley, CA
Contact:

Post by DanZ »

ManuelMansilla wrote:Ok, lets suppose I found a real track, but many people also agreed there was a track in that movie and they got it right.

Who will be the co-author of the publication and who will give the name to the dust particle?

Thanks
The first duster that clicked on it.

Dustpan Dan
ManuelMansilla
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:55 pm

Post by ManuelMansilla »

DanZ wrote:
ManuelMansilla wrote:Ok, lets suppose I found a real track, but many people also agreed there was a track in that movie and they got it right.

Who will be the co-author of the publication and who will give the name to the dust particle?

Thanks
The first duster that clicked on it.

Dustpan Dan
But we didn´t know somebody had also clicked on it. That means we also discovered it, doesn´t it?
DanZ
Site Admin
Posts: 777
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 2:44 pm
Location: Berkeley, CA
Contact:

Post by DanZ »

You may have also "discovered" it, but you may not have been the FIRST to discover it - that is the person who gets the naming rights. True, searchers do not know who else has clicked where on what. If you did, the search methodology would be flawed. But there is no flaw in the "contest" part of this project - our search database can tell us who first identified a particular candidate track.
ManuelMansilla
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:55 pm

Post by ManuelMansilla »

Ok, thanks a lot for the help. :)
Post Reply