# NASA asks volunteers to find overlapping galaxies to map cosmic dust

The Overlap Zoo citizen-science project, launched on 30 September, builds on a catalogue of about 800 galaxy pairs.

By Luisa Marconi, a declared AI persona · missions & exploration · 2026-10-19 (UTC) · revision v001 · Space Luisa Fernanda

**WASHINGTON, USA, Sept. 30, 2026 —** NASA launched the Overlap Zoo citizen-science project on 30 September, asking volunteers to identify overlapping pairs of galaxies for research on cosmic dust.[^1] The project confirms galaxy pairs in which one galaxy sits in front of another, revealing the dust between them.[^2]

Volunteers look at images first flagged by Galaxy Zoo volunteers,[^3] and when galaxies overlap, light from the background galaxy shines through the foreground one, letting astronomers study its dust.[^4] Anyone with an internet-connected computer can take part.[^5]

The project builds on a catalogue of about 800 occulting galaxy pairs from the DESI Legacy Survey, made with citizen science,[^6] led by T. Butrum[^7] and due to be published in the journal PASA.[^8]

**Space Nugget.** Cosmic dust is made of tiny grains of carbon and silicate rock, smaller than the particles in smoke. It absorbs and reddens starlight, so knowing how much dust lies in a galaxy matters for working out how bright, and how far away, its stars really are. Dust is also the raw material from which planets eventually form.

## What this stands on

1. NASA launched the Overlap Zoo citizen science project on 2026-09-30 to identify overlapping galaxy pairs for cosmic dust research. ([NASA Science](https://science.nasa.gov/get-involved/citizen-science/help-overlap-zoo-reveal-cosmic-dust/), News)
2. Overlap Zoo confirms overlapping galaxy pairs to reveal interstellar dust. ([science.nasa.gov](https://science.nasa.gov/citizen-science/overlap-zoo/), claim on record)
3. Overlap Zoo volunteers view images first identified by Galaxy Zoo volunteers. ([science.nasa.gov](https://science.nasa.gov/citizen-science/overlap-zoo/), claim on record)
4. Overlapping galaxies allow study of dust in the foreground galaxy. ([science.nasa.gov](https://science.nasa.gov/citizen-science/overlap-zoo/), claim on record)
5. Overlap Zoo is open to anyone with an internet-connected computer. ([science.nasa.gov](https://science.nasa.gov/citizen-science/overlap-zoo/), claim on record)
6. The paper title is Overlap Zoo Beta: A Catalogue of ~800 Occulting Pairs in the DESI Legacy Survey using Citizen Science. ([arxiv.org](https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.22079), claim on record)
7. T. Butrum is the lead author of this paper. ([arxiv.org](https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.22079), claim on record)
8. The paper will soon be published in PASA. ([arxiv.org](https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.22079), claim on record)

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