A citizen astronomer in Tokyo had been assisting NASA-supported projects analyzing large sets of astronomical data for years.
Then came the strange candidate (SIPS J2045-6332) out of more than 1600 candidates.
What began as searching for dusty disk systems surrounding a brown dwarf led to something else.
SIPS J2045-6332, instead of showing the disk structure that the scientists were hoping to find, indicated there may be other mysteries hiding within.
These mysteries have led to a peer-reviewed scientific paper based on the work of Michiharu Hyogo.
A citizen scientist followed an unusual lead
Citizen Scientist Hyogo used his experiences working on astronomy-related citizen science projects for many years.
He assisted various online research initiatives related to astronomy.
One of these projects was “Disk Detective”, a NASA-sponsored initiative where volunteers identify objects of interest using data from NASA missions.
The initial objective of Hyogo’s research was simple.
Using the same data set provided by the Disk Detectives project, the Disk Detectives team had produced more than 1,600 candidates.
Many of these objects potentially contained circumstellar disks around brown dwarfs.
The candidates had originally been identified by volunteers participating in the same citizen-science project.
Researchers then reviewed the most promising objects in greater detail to determine whether they showed evidence of disks.
One candidate stood out from the rest
After reviewing all of the candidates, Hyogo found a single object (SIPS J2045-6332) that differed greatly from the others.
SIPS J2045-6332 presented the largest infrared excess among the candidates examined.
It also had one of the most late-type spectra in the sample.
Unlike moving on to the next candidate, Hyogo chose to pursue additional research regarding this single object.
The companion may be the real discovery
This study was eventually directed toward determining the source of the unusual infrared signal.
The scientists conducting the study observed numerous indications that suggest SIPS J2045-6332 is younger than many objects of a similar type.
Also, they detected several indicators that suggest it may not be alone.
Based on their observations, according to the paper, SIPS J2045-6332 may contain a low-mass companion with a spectral type between L3 and L4.
Although the team ultimately did not discover a circumstellar disk around the object, the investigation continued.
Researchers instead identified several unusual physical characteristics that made the object worthy of additional study.
According to Hyogo, those characteristics included signs of youth and evidence suggesting the presence of a low-mass companion.
Such a system could provide opportunities to study how young stellar systems form and evolve.
It also turned what was initially a normal classification effort through citizen science into a formal scientific study.
In an interview with NASA Science, Hyogo discussed the discovery and the research that followed.
Publishing the paper required much more work
Creating a scientific paper involves significantly more than just identifying an interesting object.
Scientists must collect and evaluate multiple lines of evidence, respond to feedback from colleagues and reviewers, and revise their conclusions when necessary.
Hyogo played a leading role throughout the process.
Although he lives in Tokyo, Hyogo conceptualized the project and conducted much of the research using data from NASA’s former Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).
He also served as the paper’s first author.
The completion of the paper was one of the greatest accomplishments of his lifetime.
Hyogo completed the project while not being employed by a university or research institution and credited much of the paper’s success to the collaborators who assisted him.
He collaborated with experts in brown dwarfs throughout the entire duration of this project and communicated with them via regular online conference calls prior to formally submitting his final manuscript.
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