Date: May 17, 2009

Title: Citizen Scientists – Making a Difference and Having Fun

Podcaster: Tavi Greiner and Rob Keown

Organization: None

Description: Tavi Greiner and Rob Keown discuss the ways that ordinary citizens are contributing to real science through fun projects like Galaxy Zoo, StarDust, and even NEO searches. They offer brief descriptions of various projects and what it takes to get involved. They also note some of the exciting discoveries that have resulted from these projects.

Bio: Focusing on outreach, Tavi previously worked as a SkyGuide and Radio Manager for the online robotic observatory, Slooh, and now produces and hosts Astrocast.TV’s OurNight Sky. Rob is a multimedia developer, photographer, and amateur astronomer who is active in conventional and remote amateur astronomy, as well as online community efforts to raise awareness of the value of the scientific process and skeptical thought. Together, Rob and Tavi recently created “A Sky Full of Stars” to share their experiences in learning more about the world we live in and the worlds we don’t.

Today’s sponsor: This episode of “365 Days of Astronomy” is sponsored by Clockwork.

Transcript:

ROB:
In 1996, Carl Sagan wrote: “We’ve arranged a global civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology. We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster.” Dr. Sagan was speaking about the need for increased understanding of science by all of humankind, not just a select few.

TAVI:
You’re listening to a 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast and today we’re featuring Citizen Science! Our names are Tavi Greiner

ROB:
And Rob Keown

TAVI:
And we’re both amateur astronomers and co-authors of the website, A Sky Full of Stars.com.

ROB:
There, you’ll find links for several Citizen Projects, as well as recommended astronomy websites and blogs.

TAVI:
Citizen Science is, simply put, contributions to the scientific process, and to public scientific awareness, by individuals who are not scientists by profession and are not necessarily part of the established scientific community. Ideally, the “citizen” in Citizen Science does not describe a specific national allegiance; rather, it means a citizen of Planet Earth.

ROB:
Participation in the systematized process of observation and experimentation by amateurs has a long history and spans from the time of Aristotle through Galileo, and continues today. Whether it is observing bird behavior, collecting weather and climate statistics, helping with scientific outreach, or, as we will discuss in this pod cast, observing objects in the sky, Citizen Science has become a vital part of Science today.

With the advent of the Internet, the ability to enlist large numbers of amateurs for science projects has skyrocketed. Nowhere is this truer than Astronomy. And the truly amazing things is, you can take part in many of these whether you are a novice or seasoned observer, 10-years-old, or 100. TAVI:
So let’s take a look at how you can be involved right now, today. Whether you enjoy image analysis, photography, conducting your own sky surveys, or simply spreading the word about the wonders of the sky, you will probably find something that inspires you.

ROB:
One of the simplest ways to contribute is through a project called BOINC (that’s B-O-I-N-C) an open-source software program that uses your computers’ idle time in a variety of projects, including the searches for pulsars and extra-terrestrial intelligence, the creation of a three-dimensional model of the Milky Way, and even the study of our own planet’s climate change. With distributed computing projects like BOINC, you simply connect with projects of your choice and your computer works quietly in the background, requiring no dedication of personal time, yet enabling you to contribute much.

TAVI:
Participation in BOINC is safe and simple. You can contribute as an individual, you can join an existing team, or you can start your own team. You can even switch around between teams.

ROB:
If you like actual hands-on work, StarDust @ Home is a lot of fun. Participants use a virtual microscope to search for embedded comet and interplanetary dust particles collected and returned to Earth by NASA’s StarDust craft. The samples were captured by aerogel-embedded aluminum cells as the craft traveled to and from Comet P/Wild 2. They were then returned to Earth, via flyby drop-off, in January of 2006. With the StarDust@Home project, volunteers simply need register and complete a short online training session to participate.

These projects do lead to actual discoveries. StarDust@Home led to the discovery of a new class of organics, which, in turn, led to the reformulation of what comprises a comet. Instead of being dominated by cold interstellar stardust, the project found that a comet is likely a mixture of ices that formed at the edge of the Solar System, which everyone expected, along with materials formed in the hottest possible conditions in the interior of the Solar System – something we did not expect.

TAVI:
GalaxyZoo is another fun hands-on project. And like many of the citizen science projects, this one is a good learning opportunity. With this project, volunteers classify galaxies. In other words they note specific characteristics, such as whether the galaxy is spiral or elliptical; how many arms are apparent and whether they are clockwise or anti-clockwise; and whether or not there are any unusual characteristics, such as whether the galaxy is spiral or elliptical; how many arms are apparent and whether they are clockwise or anti-clockwise; and whether or not there are any unusual characteristics, such as merging neighbors or prominent distortion.

ROB:
I understand that this project contributed to the discovery of an entirely new classification of galaxy – the red spiral galaxy.

TAVI:
Yes, it did! Over 150,000 Galaxy Zoo users looked at millions of galaxies and provided the insight that led the University of Nottingham – along with a similar study called STAGES – to identify a whole new class of galaxies, between the blue spiral galaxies and the older, red, elliptical ones – the red spirals. And it isn’t what they called the new class, it’s what they are learning about the evolution of galaxies, that is really exciting.

ROB:
For family involvement, the International Meteor Organization offers an excellent opportunity to contribute. I mean, how much fun is that – sitting under the stars with your family and observing meteors. The IMO website includes instructions and an online reporting form, as well as a meteor showers calendar. The neat thing about this project is that, at any given time, our planet is moving through cometary dust streams – there are far more showers than those better-known ones we are so familiar with, like the Leonids or the Orionids. Observing the lesser known, less prolific, showers helps scientists to determine the source comet of the showers, so, with this project, you’ll not only count meteors, you’ll report data such as orientation, brightness, and color.

TAVI:
Outreach is another way to involve your whole family in citizen science. Two endeavors that come immediately to mind are raising awareness about light-pollution and turning people onto the night sky. With light-pollution, involvement can be as simple as distributing informative flyers, or you can get really busy with it by lobbying for light-pollution ordinances and regulations. And it’s easy to introduce people to the night-sky by setting up somewhere to share your own equipment. You’ll be surprised at the number of people curious about what you’re doing and pleased with their reactions to a sky they never realized existed. And by sharing the sky, you’ve potentially recruited more citizen scientists and helped to further, as Carl Sagan noted, an understanding of science by all of humankind, not just a select few.

ROB:
Citizen science can go far beyond organized projects, if you are a person who enjoys something more complex. Many astronomy observations and discoveries are made by amateurs, either using their own equipment or remote-controlled and robotic observatories. For example, Terry Lovejoy discovered Comet C/2007 E2, using an off-the-shelf digital camera. Richard Miles discovered two asteroids in one year, using an amateur observatory; and Alessandro Dimai discovered supernova 2009bu, just last March, using the Global-Rent-A-Scope remote facility in Australia.

With today’s technology, amateurs can easily conduct their own sky surveys to search for new objects. They can also contribute with follow-up observations which can narrow down things like the trajectories of newly- discovered near-Earth objects or the photometry of variable stars, or even the class of progenitor stars in supernovae.

TAVI:
Even sharing your random astronomy endeavors can contribute to research and this makes you a citizen scientist. A couple of years ago, I used a robotic observatory to image a known supernova and shared the image in a forum. It just so happened that a research team was looking for images of that very same supernova – they ran across my forum post, used the image to build a light curve, and now I’ve been named a co-author of their research paper. So, really, this is a good example of both outreach – in my having shared – and actual involvement – in my having enough interest to learn how, when, and why to target specific objects.

ROB:
Sometimes it really is the seemingly mundane, coincidental observations that lead to greater understanding and even discoveries – and those observations need not be by professionals alone. But they must always be shared with others if they are ever to be of any scientific value.

TAVI:
Absolutely! Community and outreach are key – in both the professional and non-professional world. This is what brings the two together. This is what, ultimately, results in, and gives real value to that great understanding.

Speaking of community, outreach, and sharing, The International Year of Astronomy and 365 Days of Astronomy are two very good examples of where community, outreach, and sharing become Citizen Science. Just think of it – the many people, all across the globe, who have joined the IYA objective in reaching out to further a greater understanding – much, probably most, of these efforts are by citizen scientists.

ROB:
When Carl Sagan wrote the quote with which this podcast started, he had not started the paradigm shift that has occurred in Citizen Science and the great breadth pf interactive knowledge that the internet has fostered. While we think he would be pleased and inspired by it, we believe that his warning would still stand firm: along with unprecedented technology and revolutionary science, comes a responsibility for the citizens of the world to be aware, skeptical, and engaged.

TAVI:
Thank you for listening, and we hope that you will become engaged in Citizen Science!

ROB:
And we hope that you listen to all of the great programs that remain on the 365DaysOfAstronomy podcasts – and visit our website, A Sky Full Of Stars.com to learn more about Citizen Science and our questions and answers about astronomy.

End of podcast:

365 Days of Astronomy
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The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the New Media Working Group of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. Audio post-production by Preston Gibson. Bandwidth donated by libsyn.com and wizzard media. Web design by Clockwork Active Media Systems. You may reproduce and distribute this audio for non-commercial purposes. Please consider supporting the podcast with a few dollars (or Euros!). Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org. Until tomorrow…goodbye.