projects
Susan Delaney
coming soon!
I am an independent researcher, collaborating with scientists, researchers and AI initiatives to explore and advance creative and scientific endeavors. As a volunteer citizen scientist, I contribute and classify data to further our understanding of Space.
I also develop custom GPT models for researchers, designed to inspire exploration and appreciation for our extraordinary universe. GPT Models: Cosmic Quest Adventure, Cosmic Weave and Astro Light Explorer
My photography and art capture the intricate beauty of the natural world and vastness of the Cosmos.
Structured Light Phenomena Research
This research explores emergent structured light phenomena influenced by plasma interactions, electromagnetic fields, harmonic resonance, and perception-based visibility; raising new questions about their nature and origin.
Transformative Photography and Art
Experience the interplay of light, color, and emotion in my photography and art. From ethereal landscapes to bold abstractions, each piece invites you to pause, reflect and bring the extraordinary into your space.
The Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) is a NASA funded project supported by the Near Earth Object Observation Program (NEOO) under the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) that is dedicated to discovering and tracking near-Earth asteroids. Its Daily Minor Planet project harnesses the power of high-resolution astronomy, artificial intelligence and human observers to confirm that the objects are likely to be asteroids and to train the AI.
Solar observation data that I contribute to the AAVSO Solar Section, an international group of observers dedicated to observing our Sun, the closest variable star in the sky. The AAVSO Solar Section monitors and records sunspots from which the monthly American Relative Sunspot Numbers (RA) are computed and used by scientific and academic organizations.
Deep Sky Observations (CitSci)
My observations of galaxies, star clusters, globular clusters and nebulae in the Herschel 400, NGC, Messier, Abell, Barnard, Harvard, Perek-Kohoutek, Sharpless, Stephenson, Stock and several other celestial catalogues.
Custom GPT models developed
"Cosmic Quest Adventure": An interactive research game
"Cosmic Weaver": An art assistant for visualizing a timeless, spatial universe
"Astro Light Explorer": An expert-level astronomy research assistant
NASA Solar Jet Hunter (CitSci)
This NASA citizen science project aims to create a comprehensive database of solar jets, small yet significant ejections of solar material, by analyzing data from NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory. Utilizing high-resolution images in extreme ultraviolet light, the initiative seeks to enhance our understanding of the Sun's behavior and its impact on space weather and deepens our knowledge of solar phenomena and their effects on our solar system.
NASA CosmoQuestX Lunar features classification (CitSci)
Identify and classify Moon craters and contribute to the advancement of lunar science. Moon Mappers' objective is to provide a large, scientifically robust and geographically broad catalog of lunar craters and other features. Specifically, the identification, cataloging, classification and analysis of small impact craters (10-1000 m in size), atypical impact formations (e.g., elliptical, exogenic dark-haloed, and concentric craters; bright rays; ejecta exclusion zones), volcanic structures (e.g., vents, endogenic dark-haloed craters, domes, rilles) and other unusual/interesting geologic features that can be used to help answer several fundamental questions in lunar science.
NASA Globe Cloud Gaze (CitSci)
This project assists scientists studying how clouds influence Earth's energy balance and their role in climate change by contributing to atmospheric research through image classification of cloud types, contrail formations and seasonal cloud variations. Photos are captured from the ground and by NASA satellites.
Galaxy classification (CitSci)
The latest galaxy images come from the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey (DECaLS) and uses a larger telescope, DECaLS, that is 10 times more sensitive to light and detail than the survey that supplied images to the first iteration of Galaxy Zoo and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. In an effort to speed up classifications of the large number of galaxies expected from new sky surveys, machine learning from AI and human classification is utilized.
Gamma rays are the most energetic radiation in the universe and we study them to explore the most exotic and extreme processes and physical conditions. Objects that emit gamma rays include supernova remnants (the remains of stars that exploded at the end of their life), active galactic nuclei (supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies that are accreting matter to produce jets thousands of light years long) and potentially even dark matter (an unidentified type of matter comprising approximately 27% of the mass and energy in the observable universe). In fact, this emission offers the only direct probe of the extreme conditions in these exciting phenomena.
Gravitational lenses are useful for putting constraints on values of the Hubble constant, the dark energy equation of state, dark matter halo substructure, and for studying high-redshift galaxies at high spatial and flux magnification. Rare lens systems, for example the Jackpot lens, are particularly useful for dark energy and halo profiles. There is a need to find rare lens configurations to obtain statistics on lens and source parameters and to improve cosmological parameters. However rare lens systems can only be found with large lens samples, and large survey samples are also needed to remove small number statistics. The Euclid telescope performs an imaging and slitless spectroscopy survey over half the sky, to map baryon wiggles and weak lensing. During the survey Euclid is expected to resolve 100,000 strong gravitational lens systems. This is ideal to find rare lens configurations, provided they can be identified reliably and on a reasonable timescale.
My citizen science contributions involve cataloging New England native plants, berries, wildflowers, ferns, lichens, seaweed, and geological formations. These observations, reviewed through iNaturalist.org are categorized as Research grade for use by scientific and academic organizations
Custom GPT models I built for research scientists and artists
"Cosmic Quest Adventure": An interactive research game
"Cosmic Weaver": An art assistant for visualizing a timeless, spatial universe
"Astro Light Explorer": An expert-level astronomy research assistant