Teen Discovers 1.5M Space Objects With His Own AI
An 18-year-old high school student from Pasadena built his own AI algorithm to analyze NASA satellite data and discovered 1.5 million previously unknown objects in space, including supermassive black holes and newborn stars. His groundbreaking work won him $250,000 and could revolutionize how we study everything from astronomy to climate change.
While most teens were scrolling through their phones, Matteo Paz was building artificial intelligence powerful enough to unlock mysteries of the universe.
The Pasadena high school student created his own AI algorithm called VARnet that discovered more than 1.5 million previously unknown objects in space. Among his finds were supermassive black holes, newborn stars, and supernovae hidden in mountains of NASA data.
Paz's journey started in 2022 when he joined the Caltech Planet Finder Academy, a program designed to spark high schoolers' interest in astronomy. His mentor, Davy Kirkpatrick, wanted to manually sort through massive archives of data from NASA's NEOWISE satellite.
Paz had a better idea. Instead of spending years combing through the information by hand, he spent months building VARnet to do the job faster and more accurately.
The AI analyzed the data and catalogued around 1.9 million objects total. More than 1.5 million were completely new discoveries that had never been documented before.
But Paz sees applications far beyond astronomy. "The model I implemented can be used for other time domain studies in astronomy, and potentially anything else that comes in a temporal format," he explained in a Caltech press release.
He pointed to stock market analysis and atmospheric pollution studies as examples where his AI could track patterns over time. The same technology that spots distant stars could help predict market trends or monitor climate change.
Why This Inspires
Paz entered his work in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, competing against hundreds of brilliant young minds. When organizers announced him as the winner and handed him a $250,000 prize, he looked genuinely shocked.
His advice to other young people is simple and powerful. "If I could give one piece of advice to young people with ambition, just start it," he said after his win.
"You are never going to know before you start where you could go. Your first step will lead you to your next, and that's how you do great things in life."
Paz plans to use his winnings for college, where he'll likely continue pushing the boundaries of what's possible. At just 18, he proved that age is no barrier to making real contributions to science.
His story reminds us that the next major breakthrough could come from anyone willing to try something new, even a teenager with a laptop and an idea.
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Based on reporting by Google: NASA discovery
This story was written by BrightWire based on verified news reports.
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