Skip to main content
SearchLoginLogin or Signup

First Results With a Network of Small Digital & Smart Telescopes: Citizen Science For Astronomy

Presentation #413.02 in the session “Education and Community Engagement 2”.

Published onOct 26, 2020
First Results With a Network of Small Digital & Smart Telescopes: Citizen Science For Astronomy

The SETI Institute is a scientific partner of Unistellar, a project to develop the scientific applications of their network of small, digital and smart telescopes for everybody. To date, ~2000 eVscopes have been shipped and by December the network with be larger that 4,000 eVscopes with citizen astronomers located in Europe, America, Australia, Japan and other places.

We have developed pilot programs to test the capabilities of the eVscope network to conduct meaningful scientific studies, such as asteroid occultations, transiting exoplanets, Planetary Defense, and the study of comets. We will present the first scientific results collected with citizen astronomers in Europe and North America, this includes the detections of TESS Objects of Interest (TOIs), as well as successful detection of asteroid occultations and lightcurve of main-belt asteroids and near-earth asteroids.

We will also discuss the potential of the eVscope at schools (e.g. community colleges in the US) as a tool to learn about astronomy and data processing while bringing space to the classrooms. We will also describe programs with informal education centers (national parks, museums, youth associations) that could become a tool to connect the young generation to astronomy, educate them on the importance of the dark sky and nally demystify science by allowing all of us to participate to the scientific conversation.

Comments
0
comment
No comments here