Citizen Science Stories

Water-ice (blue) and dust (red) in the atmosphere of Mars above the cratered Martian surface as viewed from orbit by the THEMIS camera (false-color composite image).

Major Martian Milestones

1 min read

There’s good news from NASA’s Cloudspotting on Mars project! That’s the project that invites you to help identify exotic clouds high in the Martian atmosphere. Congratulations to the Cloudspotting on Mars team and all the volunteers who have helped spot Martian clouds!

Article3 days ago
This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the barred spiral galaxy UGC 12158. The majestic galaxy has a pinwheel shape made up of bright blue stars wound around a yellow-white hub of central stars. The hub has a slash of stars across it, called a bar. The galaxy is tilted face-on to our view from Earth. A slightly s-shaped white line across the top is a Hubble image is of an asteroid streaking across Hubble's view. It looks dashed because the image is a combination of several exposures of the asteroid flying by like a race car.

Hubble Goes Hunting for Small Main Belt Asteroids

5 min read

Like boulders, rocks, and pebbles scattered across a landscape, asteroids come in a wide range of sizes. Cataloging asteroids in space is tricky because they are faint and they don’t stop to be photographed as they zip along their orbits…

Article2 weeks ago
Background: A black landscape with small stars. Left: A small Jupiter-like orb. Right: A larger reddish orb passes in front of a star.

A Solar Neighborhood Census, Thanks to NASA Citizen Science

4 min read

To take a census of nearby cosmic objects, sending out a survey won’t work. Scientists need to use many telescopes with different specializations to chart what is in the general neighborhood of the Sun. Looking to understand more about our…

Article2 weeks ago
Artist concept of TESS satellite

Citizen Science Resources

2 min read

We continue Citizen Science Month with these ongoing NASA projects! Remember: everybody can participate in science – not just professional scientists. Although it is referred to as citizen science, people from around the globe can participate. In fact, many valuable…

Article2 weeks ago
Against a black background, the total solar eclipse. It is a black circle surrounded by white, wispy streams of light that flow away from the black circle in every direction.

The April 8 Total Solar Eclipse: Through the Eyes of NASA

5 min read

On April 8, 2024, the Moon’s shadow swept across North America, treating millions to a breathtaking view of a total solar eclipse. As the Moon passed in front of the Sun, it revealed the Sun’s wispy white outer atmosphere —…

Article3 weeks ago
A photo showing a sequence of the different stages of the eclipse going across the sky.

More Than 36,000 Volunteers Helped Do NASA Eclipse Science

2 min read

Thank you for helping us out! Over 36,000 people helped do NASA Science during Monday’s total solar eclipse. Together, these volunteers submitted more than 60,000 vital pieces of eclipse data to NASA science projects. More than 30,000 volunteers with the SunSketcher project…

Article3 weeks ago
This photograph shows a very large crowd of hundreds of people gathered outside to watch the eclipse.

Good Luck, Eclipse Chasers!

2 min read

Today is the day! Many of us have been preparing for this day for years. Some of you participated in 2017 Eclipse citizen science and have returned for this year’s eclipse. Whatever your story is, we thank you from the…

Article3 weeks ago
The Sun, seen in red with bright orange area, partially covered by black circle coming from the top left – the Moon.

Harnessing the 2024 Eclipse for Ionospheric Discovery with HamSCI

3 min read

As the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, draws closer, a vibrant community of enthusiastic amateur radio operators, known as “hams,” is gearing up for an exciting project with the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) group. Our goal…

Article4 weeks ago
Argentine students gather cloud observations and temperature data to upload through the GLOBE Eclipse tool during the eclipse that crossed South America on July 2, 2019.

Citizen Scientists Invited to Collect Data for NASA During Eclipse

4 min read

On April 8, 2024, as the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, thousands of amateur citizen scientists will measure air temperatures and snap pictures of clouds. The data they collect will aid researchers who are investigating how the Sun…

Article1 month ago
Typical of Cloudspotting on Mars data, this graphical representation shows data in white on a dark field. The graph is labeled with time increasing from left to right and altitude increasing from bottom to top. In this image, the cloud indicating data look like pure white flames that reach almost halfway to the top of the image, with seven “peaks” irregularly distributed along the timeline. This strong signal is the Martian atmosphere. Some peaks have a faint but distinct blue arch or arches near to them.

April’s Night Sky Notes: Participate in Eclipse Science

3 min read

April is Citizen Science Month at NASA. Here are some projects that you take part in during the eclipse on April 8th, and beyond!

Article1 month ago