Distributed Computing For Astronomers

Your computer can now spend its free time searching for new planets.

A pair of California researchers have started PlanetQuest, a new distributed-computing project, to comb through reams of data collected from powerful telescopes across the world. The software recalls Berkeley’s SETI@Home, which put idle computers to work in the search for extraterrestrial life. But PlanetQuest comes with a twist: Its creators estimate that more than one in 5,000 people will discover a new planet, and they plan to let the lucky winners name whatever they find.