Gems of the Galaxy Zoos—A Wide-ranging Hubble Space Telescope Gap-filler Program*
William C. Keel, Jean Tate, O. Ivy Wong, Julie Banfield, Chris Lintott, Karen L. Masters, Brooke Simmons, Claudia Scarlata, Carolin N. Cardamone, Rebecca Smethurst, L. Fortson, Jesse Shanahan, Sandor Kruk, Izzy L. Garland, Colin Hancock, David O’Ryan
Abstract
Abstract We describe the Gems of the Galaxy Zoos (Zoo Gems) project, a gap-filler project using short windows in the Hubble Space Telescope's schedule. As with previous snapshot programs, targets are taken from a pool based on position; we combine objects selected by volunteers in both the Galaxy Zoo and Radio Galaxy Zoo citizen-science projects. Zoo Gems uses exposures with the Advanced Camera for Surveys to address a broad range of topics in galaxy morphology, interstellar-medium content, host galaxies of active galactic nuclei, and galaxy evolution. Science cases include studying galaxy interactions, backlit dust in galaxies, post-starburst systems, rings and peculiar spiral patterns, outliers from the usual color–morphology relation, Green Pea compact starburst systems, double radio sources with spiral host galaxies, and extended emission-line regions around active galactic nuclei. For many of these science categories, final selection of targets from a larger list used public input via a voting process. Highlights to date include the prevalence of tightly wound spiral structure in blue, apparently early-type galaxies, a nearly complete Einstein ring from a group lens, redder components at lower surface brightness surrounding compact Green Pea starbursts, and high-probability examples of spiral galaxies hosting large double radio sources.