Scientists have been able to combine their astronomical knowledge and fascination for marine life through a new method for counting whales from space -- and they have used the Golfo Nuevo off of the coast of Argentina as an example.  

Using high-resolution satellite pictures and image-processing software, scientists are able to automatically detect the large mammals at or near the ocean surface.

According to the BBC News, a test count, reported in the journal Plos One, was conducted on southern right whales in the Golfo Nuevo on the coast of Argentina. The automated system found about 90 percent of creatures pinpointed in a manual search of the imagery.

This has been a huge step for research conducted from space, and could now "revolutionize the way whale populations are estimated."

How is this research normally conducted?

There are three methods that are used to collect the information: from a shore position, from the deck of a ship or from a plane, the BBC News adds.

Not only could a satellite search could cover more ground, but it would be more cost-effective as well.

"Our study is a proof of principle," said Peter Fretwell from the British Antarctic Survey. "But as the resolution of the satellites increases and our image analysis improves, we should be able to monitor many more species and in other types of location. It should be possible to do total population counts and in the future track the trajectory of those populations," he told the Inside Science programme on BBC Radio 4.

While this is exciting news in terms of the progression of science, there is also alarming news as well that coincides with its mission -- the decline of the southern right whale population.

According to the California Academy of Sciences, there has been a rise in southern right whales deaths on the Atlantic coast of Argentina, based on reports from the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Sadly, "the southern right whales that use Península Valdés, Argentina, as a nursery ground have suffered the largest mortality event ever recorded for the species in the world. At least 605 right whales have died along the Argentine coast since 2003, including 538 newborn calves. One hundred and thirteen calves died in 2012 alone."

The California Academy of Sciences points out that the high-resolution satellite pictures from space should be helpful to help assess the cause of this decline in species, which has been challenging for researchers, and they also reiterate that it will save costs in long run when it comes to the research conducted by land.