Tag

Citizen Science

All articles tagged with #citizen science

science-and-discovery15 days ago•38 min saved

Citizen astronomer’s map search uncovers 25-km impact crater in Quebec

Amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe identified a circular feature near Lake Marsal in Quebec’s Côte-Nord region while planning a camping trip in 2024. His inquiry led to a 2025 expedition by planetary geologist Gordon Osinski and colleagues, who confirmed the site as a 25-kilometer impact crater formed approximately 390 million years ago. The discovery, provisionally named Uhackatik, is the largest confirmed impact structure found since 2018 and awaits formal recognition by the Meteoritical Society.

via The Brighter Side of News|

#citizen-science #geology #impact-crater

photography17 days ago•19 min saved

Octopus clings to Risso’s dolphin captured off Devon, fueling marine research

A photographer off Devon captured the rare sight of an octopus clinging to a Risso’s dolphin, with the images now used as evidence in ongoing research on an octopus bloom and the dolphins’ feeding ecology, highlighting the value of citizen science in marine research.

via Digital Camera World|

#citizen-science #devon #marine-research

science20 days ago•10 min saved

Citizen Scientists Revive ISEE-3, But Pressurant Shortfall Halts Major Return

In 2014 a crowd-funded, private team used software-defined radio and global observatories to re-activate NASA’s ISEE-3 probe, firing its spin thrusters and re-establishing two-way communication after decades of dormancy; however, a planned large burn to retarget the craft failed because the nitrogen pressurant had likely depleted, leaving the mothballed probe in heliocentric orbit and preserving data from its revived operations rather than achieving the intended Earth–Sun observation path.

via Space Daily|

#citizen-science #mission-recovery #nasa

science1 month ago•11 min saved

Underground Bee Cities: Millions of Mining Bees Discovered Beneath a New York Cemetery

Researchers surveying East Lawn Cemetery in Ithaca, NY, estimated about 3–8 million ground-nesting mining bees (centered on Andrena regularis) occupy 1.5 acres, based on 10 emergence traps that captured 3,251 insects across 16 species; the midpoint estimate is 5.5 million. These solitary bees live in individual burrows with pollen provisions and no hive or queen. The site’s well-drained soil, flower diversity, low pesticide use, and quiet disturbance likely support such aggregations. The finding suggests large, hidden bee colonies may exist, prompting a citizen-science effort on iNaturalist to map more sites and protect them from paving or development.

via Space Daily|

#andrena-regularis #cemetery-nesting #citizen-science

space1 month ago•11 min saved

Eight-year-old Brazilian Girl Could Break 25-Year Asteroid-Discovery Record

An eight-year-old from Fortaleza, Nicolinha, participates in Asteroid Hunters, a NASA-backed citizen-science program, scanning sky-survey images on two screens after school and logging 18 preliminary asteroid detections. If any are confirmed, she would become the youngest asteroid discoverer, beating 1999’s Luigi Sannino at age 18. But preliminary detections are not official discoveries; they must pass verification before naming and designation. The piece highlights how open data and free tools let ordinary people contribute to scientific discovery and broaden access to science for children.

via Space Daily|

#asteroids #astronomy #brazil

good-medicine1 month ago•30 min saved

Video games and VR are reshaping pediatric care and citizen science

Video games and virtual reality are being repurposed from entertainment to medical tools: they're helping calm children during imaging and minor procedures—reducing or avoiding general anesthesia in some cases—and enabling public participation in scientific research through games that guide tasks like DNA sequencing, signaling a broader future where gaming tech advances health care and science.

via vox.com|

#citizen-science #good-medicine #mri-without-anesthesia

science1 month ago•3 min saved

Sky fire to rock treasure: NZ’s 11th meteorite recovered by citizen scientists

After a July fireball over New Zealand’s North Island, Fireballs Aotearoa and citizen scientists traced a possible strewn field and recovered four meteorite fragments totaling 75 g, including an 8 g piece found by Steve Wyn-Harris; a 39 g fragment was found the next day, followed by two more, all confirmed as meteorites and slated for naming and analysis, likely ordinary chondrites from an asteroid belt and possibly linked to NZ’s first meteorite near Masterton in 1863.

via The Guardian|

#astronomy #citizen-science #fireballs-aotearoa

science2 months ago•11 min saved

Ground observers reveal skyglow is accelerating beyond satellite estimates, dimming the night sky for a generation

A 2023 Science study analyzing 51,351 naked-eye reports from Globe at Night finds artificial night-brightening is increasing about 9.6% per year, faster than satellite records showed, which could reduce the number of visible stars for a growing portion of the world’s population (roughly 6.5%/yr in Europe and 10.4%/yr in North America). The mismatch arises because satellites measure radiance differently from how the human eye perceives star visibility, especially with blue-rich LEDs and light scattered by the atmosphere. The overall message is that light pollution is advancing quickly and solutions like shielding and smarter lighting could help retain the night sky for future generations.

via Space Daily|

#citizen-science #globe-at-night #light-pollution

environment2 months ago•2 min saved

Beetle’s poo shield and patient volunteers reveal Wales’s hidden wildlife

In a West Wales Wildwatch morning, volunteers and recorders identify a range of species—from a dark giant horsefly to marmalade hoverflies and a Rosa micrantha—before spotting a tortoise beetle larva whose prehensile anus forms a self-made fecal shield to deter predators, illustrating how dedicated citizen scientists uncover extraordinary wildlife in ordinary fields.

via The Guardian|

#biodiversity #citizen-science #conservation

space2 months ago•135 min saved

Citizen scientists team up to broadcast the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse from Spain

Space.com profile of the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast Initiative (DEB), a NASA-/NSF-supported network of volunteer solar observers guided by Southern Illinois University Carbondale that uses portable, affordable gear to record and livestream the sun’s corona during total solar eclipses. For the Aug. 12, 2026 eclipse, two DEB teams will observe from Leon and Valoria la Buena in Spain, with data streamed in real time to public streams and NASA coverage, and the project plans a larger 2027 campaign across North Africa to expand participation and data collection.

via Space|

#astronomy #citizen-science #eclipse

science2 months ago•46 min saved

Maps and Meteorites: Citizen Science Reveals a 390-Million-Year-Old Crater

An amateur astronomer in Québec spotted a 15.5‑mile circular feature on Google Maps. A field visit confirmed it as a meteorite crater dating about 390 million years, thanks to impact melt-rock and shatter cones, with findings to be presented at the Meteoritical Society Meeting—highlighting the value of citizen science.

via Yahoo|

#amateur-astronomer #citizen-science #google-maps

science2 months ago•3 min saved

AI-made bird photos threaten accuracy of citizen-science records

AI-generated and edited bird photos are flooding online forums, raising concerns that fake or altered images could contaminate citizen-science databases (like iNaturalist and Macaulay Library) and misreport species’ ranges. While outright hoaxes are rare, AI edits can introduce traits from other species—for example, a red-winged blackbird appearance in Brazil—prompting researchers to urge caution and stricter verification to preserve data quality.

via The Guardian|

#ai #birdwatching #citizen-science

science5 months ago•5 min saved

Humpbacks perform rare 'gape' display as migration begins

Off Western Australia, a humpback was filmed performing a rare 'gape' display—jaw wide, fins sweeping—likely a social signal or calf-stretch rather than feeding. Macquarie University researchers, drawing on 66 crowd-sourced videos, suggest gaping is a distinct behavior revealed through citizen science, not a feeding move. As humpbacks begin their annual migration, experts urge observers to keep distance to protect whales amid increased coastal activity and risks like entanglements.

via The Guardian|

#australia #citizen-science #gaping-behavior

science5 months ago•2 min saved

Volunteer-Powered Search Doubles Brown Dwarf Census with 3,000 New Discoveries

NASA’s Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 volunteers have essentially doubled the known population of brown dwarfs, adding more than 3,000 discoveries over the last decade from WISE/NEOWISE data via the Zooniverse platform. About 200,000 volunteers contributed, with 61 co-authors among the 75 authors, uncovering rare objects such as extreme T subdwarfs and possible aurorae, improving maps of the galaxy’s mass distribution while the search continues through billions more sources.

via NASA Science (.gov)|

#astronomy #backyard-worlds-planet-9 #brown-dwarfs

science5 months ago•3 min saved

Citizen Scientists Help NASA Pave the Way for Safer, Longer Space Missions

NASA invites the public to join citizen-science projects that aid human space exploration—sorting MMS data to study solar storms, growing space crops with Growing Beyond Earth, analyzing life-in-space data, and building space-weather stations with HamSCI—open to anyone with a love of science and no citizenship requirements.

via NASA Science (.gov)|

#citizen-science #nasa #science