There have been plenty of opportunities for citizen scientists to join in the search for exoplanets, but this new opportunity makes a fun game out of it. Literally.

EVE Online is a space-based multiplayer online role-playing game set far into the future. In the game, players can visit any of the 7,800 star systems and take up any profession to mine for resources and survive in these systems.

Now the interactive game has become more helpful for actual scientific research. The company, in collaboration with the University of Geneva, has launched a minigame called Project Discovery, where players can help find exoplanets using real data from the CoRoT telescope. If something interesting comes up while the player is playing the game, they can submit the information to the university so scientists can follow up on it.

In addition to contributing to science, players will also receive higher ranks and rewards in the game for their efforts. If you want to join in on the search for exoplanets while playing EVE, all you need to do is create an account and get started.

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Help find exoplanets with EVE Online - Astronomy Magazine