SAEDNEWS: U.S. student Matteo Paz harnessed AI to analyze retired NASA mission data from Neowise, identifying 1.5 million celestial objects.
Matthew Paz, a high school student from Pasadena, California, identified more than 1.5 million previously overlooked cosmic objects—including supermassive black holes, newborn stars, and supernovae—by applying AI to NASA’s NEOWISE archival data.
His project began at Caltech’s Planet Finder Academy and, guided by the institute’s scientists, became a historic discovery. The findings are published in the Astronomical Journal, with coordinates of the objects set to aid future James Webb Telescope observations.
Space entrepreneur and new NASA administrator Jared Isaacman was so impressed he tweeted to Matthew: “Please apply to work at NASA—I’ll personally add a fighter jet flight as a signing bonus!”
The discovery highlights how AI and young minds are pushing the boundaries of astronomy. Matthew now works as a research assistant at Caltech, with a bright future ahead.
