NASA chief praises teen Matteo Paz for using AI to analyse Neowise data and discover 1.5 million hidden stars | – The Times of India

Breakthroughs in scientific research are not always made in experienced laboratories and research teams. Occasionally, they are made by new eyes that are eager to challenge how data is analysed. This is exactly what happened when Matteo Paz, a teenager from the United States, used AI to re-analyse data from NASA’s now-retired research project. Given data that had been considered analysed to its fullest extent, Paz found 1.5 million new objects in the cosmos. Not only did this discovery impress NASA’s researchers, but it also caught the personal attention of NASA’s director, Jared Isaacman. The brief moment when this happened evokes the reality that youth and new technology are changing the face of modern astronomy.

NASA chief praises Matteo Paz for using AI and Neowise data to uncover hidden stars

Matteo Paz decided to conduct his research using data from the Neowise NASA mission, whose infrared telescope was already decommissioned. The reason for choosing the data was that it had been studied for many years, and the faint signals it contained were difficult to separate using traditional analysis techniques. Matteo took a different approach by developing a data analysis AI framework with the sensitivity to notice faint changes in the infrared region.Rather than going through each object individually, his method looked for patterns within billions of data points, uncovering celestial bodies that were obscured within the noise when looked at through the traditional lens. But the key to the discovery was the machine learning algorithm Paz himself designed. The algorithm analysed almost 200 billion infrared data points amassed by the Neowise space telescope during its operational lifetime. While human analysts might have missed the subtle signal, the computer algorithm more easily recognized the pattern.Just six weeks after the launch of the computer simulation, the system identified numerous occurrences in the cosmos, such as quasars, unidentified stars, and possible supernovae. The results were astonishing in both scope and rapidity to those who were familiar with the workings of earlier analytical computers. This discovery is already recognised formally, as Paz being an author of an article in The Astronomical Journal.

How academic guidance helped Matteo Paz gain NASA recognition

Paz’s project started through Planet Finder Academy, an organization affiliated with Caltech, where Paz worked with an astrophysicist named Davy Kirkpatrick. The experience of being mentored in the project had significant importance in defining the venture, with the experience of the professional scientist integrated with the creativity of the student.This partnership ensured that the results produced by the AI system were scientifically verified and interpreted. This is also evident in how academic mentorship was able to leverage young talent instead of stifling it by nurturing innovative thinking against set research parameters. News of the discovery spread quickly through the space science community. NASA director Jared Isaacman publicly responded to the achievement, inviting Paz to apply for a position at the agency and offering a fighter jet ride as a personal incentive.While the gesture was light-hearted, it underscored the seriousness with which the discovery was taken. It also signalled a growing openness within major space institutions to recognise talent regardless of age or formal credentials.