Mapping the Universe: Space. Time. Discovery!
Chaomei Chen, Jian Zhang, and Lisa Kershner work in the College of Information Science and Technology at Drexel University. Michael is in the Department of Physics at Drexel University. J. Richard Gott III works at Princeton University and Mario Juric is at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. This image depicts 1) a circular map of the entire universe selectively annotated with discovery dates and the durations of accelerated citation growth, continuous burst of citations; 2) a time spiral of emergent themes from astronomical literature specifically related to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS); and 3) an evolving network of novel topics.
Description of Unique Features:
The map of the universe depicts a total of 618,233 distinct astronomical objects, including some of the most distant quasars discovered by the SDSS and interesting regions of discoveries such as the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, according to their right ascension and the natural logarithm of its distance from Earth. Short-term predictions of research trends can be made by linear extrapolation of the current average citation acceleration rate in the SDSS literature, 3.17 years with a standard deviation of 1.8 years. Candidates of points of growth in the near future are suggested in the network and the time spiral.
Chen, Chaomei, Jian Zhang, Lisa Kershner, Michael S. Vogeley, J. Richard Gott III, Mario Juric. 2007. Mapping the Universe: Space. Time. Discovery! Philadelphia, Pa and Princeton, NJ. Courtesy of Drexel University and Princeton University. In Katy Börner & Julie M. Davis (Eds.), 3rd Iteration (2007): The Power of Forecasts, Places and Spaces: Mapping Science.
