Are We Alone? Citizen Science and the Search for Exoplanets

Recently I attended a lecture by award-winning astronomy professor Dr. Andrew Fraknoi, who spoke about the most exciting research happening in astronomy today. He said that while black holes and gravity waves are interesting, the research he finds most intriguing is the search for planets in other solar systems, called exoplanets. What sets exoplanet research apart, … Read more “Are We Alone? Citizen Science and the Search for Exoplanets”

Categories: Citizen Science, Physics, Project Profile

Using Citizen Science to Track Sevengill Sharks

Guest post by Mike Bear The San Diego-based non-profit Ocean  Sanctuaries was founded in 2014 to create and provide support for marine citizen science projects. The Sevengill Shark Identification Project was one of its first citizen science projects, begun in 2010 in response to anecdotal evidence that divers were seeing increasing numbers Sevengill sharks off … Read more “Using Citizen Science to Track Sevengill Sharks”

Categories: Citizen Science, Guest Contributor, Project Profile

Southwest Monarch Study Taps Citizen Scientists to Track Butterfly Migration

In Arizona and the surrounding Southwestern United States, over 400 people are participating in a nine-year ongoing game of tag. But these folks are not tagging each other. They’re actually romping about in meadows with small nets, hoping to catch and tag a Monarch butterfly. In 2003 Chris Kline began the Southwest Monarch Study in order to … Read more “Southwest Monarch Study Taps Citizen Scientists to Track Butterfly Migration”

Categories: Biology, Citizen Science, Ecology & Environment, Nature & Outdoors, Project Profile

Autoimmune Diseases Affect Millions of Americans: Here’s How Citizen Science Can Help

Autoimmune Citizen Science is an app to help people with autoimmune diseases track their symptoms, lab tests, and treatments in order to see what’s working and what isn’t. Individual data is aggregated in order to see what’s working for the community as a whole. Check out the project on SciStarter and sign up for the … Read more “Autoimmune Diseases Affect Millions of Americans: Here’s How Citizen Science Can Help”

Categories: Apps, Biology, Citizen Science, Computers & Technology, Guest Contributor, Project Profile

Orchid Observers: Tracking the Effect of Climate Change Through Citizen Science

by Russ Campbell Orchids have long held an enigmatic mystique.  Perhaps their origins as tropical and subtropical plants found in exotic locales and an early lack of understanding of how they survive have contributed to their status.  By the 19th century, orchids were a status of the British well-to-do. The famed voyager and scientist Charles … Read more “Orchid Observers: Tracking the Effect of Climate Change Through Citizen Science”

Categories: Citizen Science, Guest Contributor, Project Profile

Conversations in CitSci: Kay Havens of Project BudBurst

The beauty of citizen science is the ability for non-professional researchers to get up close and personal with science. Think about all of your experiences collecting data from your backyard, analyzing images of spring online, and learning about new topics in science, have you heard from the scientists you’re helping? In our new series, “Conversations … Read more “Conversations in CitSci: Kay Havens of Project BudBurst”

Categories: Citizen Science, Nature & Outdoors, Project Profile