{
  "id": 6800,
  "title": "Random black line on an image?",
  "url": "/competitions/galaxy-zoo-the-galaxy-challenge/discussion/6800",
  "author_name": "",
  "post_date": "2014-01-10T12:04:15.830Z",
  "votes": null,
  "comment_count": 10,
  "views": 2117,
  "content": "<p>This is 108474.jpg in test images. I saw a line through the galaxy. Could there be more of these in image sets?</p>",
  "messages": [
    {
      "id": "37217",
      "postDate": "01/10/2014 12:04:15",
      "content": "<p>This is 108474.jpg in test images. I saw a line through the galaxy. Could there be more of these in image sets?</p>",
      "rawMarkdown": "",
      "votes": null
    },
    {
      "id": "37218",
      "postDate": "01/10/2014 12:05:28",
      "content": "<p>This relates to Question 3 in the decision tree: &quot;Q3. Is there a bar?&quot;.</p>",
      "rawMarkdown": "",
      "votes": null
    },
    {
      "id": "37219",
      "postDate": "01/10/2014 12:10:55",
      "content": "<p>Thanks for the answer. I thought this was some kind of a mistake by image producer. So I suppose the bar does not have to go through (or near) the center of the galaxy?</p>",
      "rawMarkdown": "",
      "votes": null
    },
    {
      "id": "37220",
      "postDate": "01/10/2014 12:12:46",
      "content": "<p>Actually, the question is &quot;Is there a sign of a bar feature through the centre of the galaxy?&quot;. You can see all the questions <a href=\"https://www.kaggle.com/c/galaxy-zoo-the-galaxy-challenge/details/the-galaxy-zoo-decision-tree\">here</a>.</p>",
      "rawMarkdown": "",
      "votes": null
    },
    {
      "id": "37221",
      "postDate": "01/10/2014 12:14:02",
      "content": "<p>This isnt a bar, this is an artifact. It is the separation between CCDs on the camera that took the photo and the galaxy happens to fall on it.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p>My guess there would be more of these like this and it is unavoidable and unfortunately a fact of the data</p>",
      "rawMarkdown": "",
      "votes": null
    },
    {
      "id": "37222",
      "postDate": "01/10/2014 12:14:58",
      "content": "<p>I think by 'bar' they mean galactic bars, <a href=\"http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/hires/2009/milkywaygala.jpg\">like this </a>for example. I've noticed that image distortions like this one are not uncommon in the dataset (a lot of tears as well), I think this may be related to question 8, answer 3 ('disturbed' galaxies) but I'm not sure, and I haven't tried to verify this so far.</p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>",
      "rawMarkdown": "",
      "votes": null
    },
    {
      "id": "37223",
      "postDate": "01/10/2014 12:17:37",
      "content": "<p>[quote=AstroDave;37221]</p>\n<p>This isnt a bar, this is an artifact. It is the separation between CCDs on the camera that took the photo and the galaxy happens to fall on it.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>My guess there would be more of these like this and it is unavoidable and unfortunately a fact of the data</p>\n<p>[/quote]</p>\n<p>Wow okay, that changes some of the decision I will be taking then! I thought I was supposed to catch these bars in question 3. As sedielem writes, this might be captured in question 8 though.</p>",
      "rawMarkdown": "",
      "votes": null
    },
    {
      "id": "37224",
      "postDate": "01/10/2014 12:19:50",
      "content": "<p>sedielem is correct, the bar we are looking for is the central yellow thing in the picture he attached</p>",
      "rawMarkdown": "",
      "votes": null
    },
    {
      "id": "37225",
      "postDate": "01/10/2014 13:33:06",
      "content": "<p>[quote=sedielem;37222]</p>\n<p>I think by 'bar' they mean galactic bars, <a href=\"http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/hires/2009/milkywaygala.jpg\">like this </a>for example. I've noticed that image distortions like this one are not uncommon in the dataset (a lot of tears as well), I think this may be related to question 8, answer 3 ('disturbed' galaxies) but I'm not sure, and I haven't tried to verify this so far.</p>\n<p>&nbsp;[/quote]</p>\n<p>There's publicly available material - a presentation by Kyle Willett, at an astronomy conference, if I recall correctly* - which strongly suggests that that's exactly what a lot of zooites did (classify a galaxy with the 'black line' artifact running through it as 'disturbed' in question 8).</p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p>Needless to say, that's not what was intended! A galaxy may appear 'disturbed' because, for example, it's highly asymmetric but still has a general 'spirally' shape (many post-merger galaxies look like this); and 'overlaps' (chance projections, where two galaxies far apart in physical space appear to overlap) often look like disturbed galaxies (there is no 'overlaps' button/option in question 8; an oversight perhaps).</p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p>* if anyone's interested, I'll see if I can find a link to this, or similar</p>",
      "rawMarkdown": "",
      "votes": null
    },
    {
      "id": "37226",
      "postDate": "01/10/2014 13:39:24",
      "content": "<p>The reason I was considering this is because the schematic image for a 'disturbed' galaxy in the decision tree at the bottom of&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.kaggle.com/c/galaxy-zoo-the-galaxy-challenge/details/the-galaxy-zoo-decision-tree\">this page</a>&nbsp;looks like it has a tear in the middle, and such image tears (as well as other artifacts, like black lines) are not uncommon in the training data.&nbsp;But based on what you're saying I guess question 8 does not have anything to do with imaging artifacts. Good to know :)</p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p>EDIT: after a closer look at the (new) training data, I can confirm that the galaxies considered most 'disturbed' by the zooites almost invariably have one of these black lines running across them.</p>",
      "rawMarkdown": "",
      "votes": null
    },
    {
      "id": "37235",
      "postDate": "01/10/2014 16:40:31",
      "content": "<p>[quote=sedielem;37226]</p>\n<p>EDIT: after a closer look at the (new) training data, I can confirm that the galaxies considered most 'disturbed' by the zooites almost invariably have one of these black lines running across them.</p>\n<p>[/quote]</p>\n<p>So it's not a bug, it's a 'feature', right? ;-)</p>",
      "rawMarkdown": "",
      "votes": null
    }
  ],
  "comments": [
    {
      "id": 37218,
      "author_name": "utdiscant",
      "author_url": "",
      "post_date": "01/10/2014 12:05:28",
      "content": "<p>This relates to Question 3 in the decision tree: &quot;Q3. Is there a bar?&quot;.</p>",
      "votes": null,
      "replies": []
    },
    {
      "id": 37219,
      "author_name": "jwh143479",
      "author_url": "",
      "post_date": "01/10/2014 12:10:55",
      "content": "<p>Thanks for the answer. I thought this was some kind of a mistake by image producer. So I suppose the bar does not have to go through (or near) the center of the galaxy?</p>",
      "votes": null,
      "replies": []
    },
    {
      "id": 37220,
      "author_name": "utdiscant",
      "author_url": "",
      "post_date": "01/10/2014 12:12:46",
      "content": "<p>Actually, the question is &quot;Is there a sign of a bar feature through the centre of the galaxy?&quot;. You can see all the questions <a href=\"https://www.kaggle.com/c/galaxy-zoo-the-galaxy-challenge/details/the-galaxy-zoo-decision-tree\">here</a>.</p>",
      "votes": null,
      "replies": []
    },
    {
      "id": 37221,
      "author_name": "astrodave",
      "author_url": "",
      "post_date": "01/10/2014 12:14:02",
      "content": "<p>This isnt a bar, this is an artifact. It is the separation between CCDs on the camera that took the photo and the galaxy happens to fall on it.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p>My guess there would be more of these like this and it is unavoidable and unfortunately a fact of the data</p>",
      "votes": null,
      "replies": []
    },
    {
      "id": 37222,
      "author_name": "sedielem",
      "author_url": "",
      "post_date": "01/10/2014 12:14:58",
      "content": "<p>I think by 'bar' they mean galactic bars, <a href=\"http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/hires/2009/milkywaygala.jpg\">like this </a>for example. I've noticed that image distortions like this one are not uncommon in the dataset (a lot of tears as well), I think this may be related to question 8, answer 3 ('disturbed' galaxies) but I'm not sure, and I haven't tried to verify this so far.</p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>",
      "votes": null,
      "replies": []
    },
    {
      "id": 37223,
      "author_name": "utdiscant",
      "author_url": "",
      "post_date": "01/10/2014 12:17:37",
      "content": "<p>[quote=AstroDave;37221]</p>\n<p>This isnt a bar, this is an artifact. It is the separation between CCDs on the camera that took the photo and the galaxy happens to fall on it.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>My guess there would be more of these like this and it is unavoidable and unfortunately a fact of the data</p>\n<p>[/quote]</p>\n<p>Wow okay, that changes some of the decision I will be taking then! I thought I was supposed to catch these bars in question 3. As sedielem writes, this might be captured in question 8 though.</p>",
      "votes": null,
      "replies": []
    },
    {
      "id": 37224,
      "author_name": "astrodave",
      "author_url": "",
      "post_date": "01/10/2014 12:19:50",
      "content": "<p>sedielem is correct, the bar we are looking for is the central yellow thing in the picture he attached</p>",
      "votes": null,
      "replies": []
    },
    {
      "id": 37225,
      "author_name": "jeantate",
      "author_url": "",
      "post_date": "01/10/2014 13:33:06",
      "content": "<p>[quote=sedielem;37222]</p>\n<p>I think by 'bar' they mean galactic bars, <a href=\"http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/hires/2009/milkywaygala.jpg\">like this </a>for example. I've noticed that image distortions like this one are not uncommon in the dataset (a lot of tears as well), I think this may be related to question 8, answer 3 ('disturbed' galaxies) but I'm not sure, and I haven't tried to verify this so far.</p>\n<p>&nbsp;[/quote]</p>\n<p>There's publicly available material - a presentation by Kyle Willett, at an astronomy conference, if I recall correctly* - which strongly suggests that that's exactly what a lot of zooites did (classify a galaxy with the 'black line' artifact running through it as 'disturbed' in question 8).</p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p>Needless to say, that's not what was intended! A galaxy may appear 'disturbed' because, for example, it's highly asymmetric but still has a general 'spirally' shape (many post-merger galaxies look like this); and 'overlaps' (chance projections, where two galaxies far apart in physical space appear to overlap) often look like disturbed galaxies (there is no 'overlaps' button/option in question 8; an oversight perhaps).</p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p>* if anyone's interested, I'll see if I can find a link to this, or similar</p>",
      "votes": null,
      "replies": []
    },
    {
      "id": 37226,
      "author_name": "sedielem",
      "author_url": "",
      "post_date": "01/10/2014 13:39:24",
      "content": "<p>The reason I was considering this is because the schematic image for a 'disturbed' galaxy in the decision tree at the bottom of&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.kaggle.com/c/galaxy-zoo-the-galaxy-challenge/details/the-galaxy-zoo-decision-tree\">this page</a>&nbsp;looks like it has a tear in the middle, and such image tears (as well as other artifacts, like black lines) are not uncommon in the training data.&nbsp;But based on what you're saying I guess question 8 does not have anything to do with imaging artifacts. Good to know :)</p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p>EDIT: after a closer look at the (new) training data, I can confirm that the galaxies considered most 'disturbed' by the zooites almost invariably have one of these black lines running across them.</p>",
      "votes": null,
      "replies": []
    },
    {
      "id": 37235,
      "author_name": "jeantate",
      "author_url": "",
      "post_date": "01/10/2014 16:40:31",
      "content": "<p>[quote=sedielem;37226]</p>\n<p>EDIT: after a closer look at the (new) training data, I can confirm that the galaxies considered most 'disturbed' by the zooites almost invariably have one of these black lines running across them.</p>\n<p>[/quote]</p>\n<p>So it's not a bug, it's a 'feature', right? ;-)</p>",
      "votes": null,
      "replies": []
    }
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