AI System Finds Supernova Without Human Intervention

AI system called BTSbot has independently discovered a supernova without any human intervention

For the first time, an artificial intelligence (AI) system has independently discovered a supernova without any human intervention. The system, called Bright Transient Survey Bot (BTSbot), was developed by a team of scientists at Northwestern University.

BTSbot was trained on a massive dataset of images and data from supernovae and other transient events. This allowed the system to learn to identify the patterns in the data that are indicative of supernovae.

In October 2023, BTSbot was used to analyze data from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a robotic telescope in California that scans the northern sky every two days. BTSbot identified a new supernova in the data, which was later confirmed by human astronomers.

This discovery is significant because it demonstrates the potential of AI to revolutionize the way that astronomers search for and study supernovae. Supernovae are rare events, and it can be difficult to find them manually. AI systems like BTSbot can help astronomers to find more supernovae and to study them more quickly and efficiently.

The discovery of a supernova by BTSbot also has implications for the future of space exploration. Supernovae are extremely powerful events, and they can release more energy than the sun will produce in its lifetime. This energy can be used to power spacecraft and to propel them to distant planets and stars.

By using AI to find and study supernovae, scientists can learn more about these powerful events and how they can be used to power and propel future space exploration missions