AI Uncovers 1,300 Hidden Cosmic Anomalies in Hubble Archive

A team led by ESA scientists used an AI tool called AnomalyMatch to sift through nearly 100 million Hubble Legacy Archive image cutouts. In about 2.5 days, the algorithm flagged over 1,300 true anomalies, more than 800 of which had not been documented before, including galaxy mergers, gravitational lenses, a ring galaxy, jellyfish-like galaxies, and edge-on planet-forming disks; six examples are highlighted in the release. The study demonstrates how AI can dramatically speed up discovery in archival data and signals a new era for upcoming surveys from Roman, Euclid, and Vera C. Rubin Observatory, as NASA and ESA continue collaborative exploration of the universe.