The advent of space-based and large automated telescopes

Astronomy is all about observation. A lot of significant discoveries were made by “amateurs” who were dedicated to their passion for looking at the night sky. The advent of space-based and large automated telescopes has brought with it a constant stream of data – far too much for professional astronomers to look at and catalog. But, the computerized analysis may miss things only a human observer would notice. And so, there is a renewed need for interested citizen scientists who have time and a passion for discovery. Zooniverse is a website that helps connect scientists with large sets of data to citizen scientists who may be able to help them analyze it. Your assignment is to visit the website (http://www.zooniverse.org/ ), join a project that interests you, and report back on your experiences. There are several space-oriented projects, but in order to maintain relevance to the material we are covering in this class, please limit your choice to one of the following: 1. Galaxy Zoo: How do galaxies form? 2. Solar Jet Hunter

3. Dark Energy Explorers 4. Citizen ASAS SN 5. Zwicky Chemical Factory 6. Bursts from Space 7. Gravity Spy 8. Supernova Hunter Keep a log of your work including information about the project you chose, a basic description of the tasks you worked at, the hours you spent, and what you accomplished. Be sure to also document your thoughts as you go along to assist you in writing your final report. Your report should include the following sections: 1. Introduction: a description of the project you joined, including background on what is being studied and why. 2. Methods: this should include information about the source of the data you worked with and a description of the task(s) you performed to analyze it. 3. Results: a summary table of your work and a description of what you accomplished. ● Example table (make your own table for your specific observing projects, and feel free to make the columns that make sense to summarize your specific work)