First Indian Citizen Science Research initiative: Researchers discover most powerful ‘odd radio circle’ with help of citizen scientists

“ORCs are among the most bizarre and beautiful cosmic structures we’ve ever seen – and they may hold vital clues about how galaxies and black holes co-evolve, hand-in-hand,” Dr Hota said. These curious rings are a relatively new astronomical phenomenon, having been detected for the first time just six years ago. Only a handful of confirmed examples are known so far. They typically are 10-20 times the size of our Milky Way galaxy.

Researchers led by the University of Mumbai made their discovery with the help of RAD@home citizen science and LOFAR—the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope operating at low frequencies (10 to 240 megahertz). Published recently in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, this research proposes that the rings of light may actually be linked to superwind outflows from spiral host radio galaxies.

“Sometimes, there are even two rings like the newly discovered one RAD J131346.9+500320. They have been caused by shockwaves from galaxy merger or black hole merger or superwind outflow from Speca-like spiral-host large radio galaxies. It has not one but two intersecting rings – only the second such example with this feature – sparking more questions than answers. Astronomers have no clear idea at the moment,” Dr Hota added.

However, the expert said that that this discovery is important especially as it shows how professional astronomers and citizen scientists together can push the boundaries of scientific discovery. Dr Hota, who set up the Collaboratory in 2013, said it was the first Indian Citizen Science Research initiative in the field of astronomy and astrophysics.
“This platform was established as a platform where any BE/BSc undergraduate/graduate can do serious multiwavelength, extragalactic astronomy research at home and can join citizen science research ,learn to use the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) near Pune and grow their own academic career,” he said.

On the ORC, Dr Hota said  it was the farthest and the most powerful ORC. “We are pushing our limit of knowledge which will help us model the formation mechanism better. This is the first ORC discovery from the LOFAR radio telescope and first from citizen science research. Thus the potential of RAD@home Collaboratory model of citizen science research is proved better than AI/ML when discovery of rare objects is the target,” Dr Hota said.
Co-author Dr Pratik Dabhade, of the Astrophysics division of National Centre for Nuclear Research, in Warsaw, Poland, said these discoveries show that ORCs and radio rings are not isolated curiosities – they are part of a broader family of exotic plasma structures shaped by black hole jets, winds, and their environments. “The fact that citizen scientists uncovered them highlights the continued importance of human pattern recognition, even in the age of machine learning,” he added.

“When I presented this unusual double-ring structure in a radio galaxy to my research guide (Dr Ananda Hota), he immediately compared it to supernova 1987A, and realised it as a rare ORC. Contributing to RAD@home citizen science has been a great journey, exceeding all expectations and opening my eyes to the hidden patterns of the cosmos through multi-wavelength astronomy,” Prasun Machado, citizen scientist with the RAD@home Collaboratory said in an official statement.