Petri Kuossari
NASA Citizen Scientist
Petri is an Information Technology manager at a private company.
I remember as a child looking at stars from a pile of snow. My dream job was to be an astronomy professor. As an adult, I joined the local astronomical society and read everything to do with astronomy. When I bought an eVscope telescope, I got involved in citizen science projects. I have enjoyed being pulled into this work by my telescope!
In my professional life, I work as an IT manager for a volunteer association. I have also been the owner of an IT company. My hobbies include hunting, sports (I enjoy various forms of skiing), nature activities, and going to the gym. I also run a local astronomical society.
I’ve learned a lot about the observations of exoplanets and how data are collected and processed.
I’ve been named as a co-author on two papers so far. The first was titled “Utilizing a Global Network of Telescopes to Update the Ephemeris for the Highly Eccentric Planet HD 80606 b and to Ensure the Efficient Scheduling of JWST” and was published in 2022 in The Astronomical Journal.
The second was titled “A 16 hr Transit of Kepler-167 e Observed by the Ground-based Unistellar Telescope Network” and was also published in 2022 in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
In both projects, I was involved in making observations that were used in the work. In addition, I was involved in writing the articles.
The Unistellar Network Investigating TESS Exoplanets or UNITE project (TESS is the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite). I love observing exoplanets, and I want to help in their research.
I’ve made lots of new friends around the world. I have also learned many new things from doing research. Overall, my image of the world has grown.
Feel free to join. When you get tired of taking pretty pictures of stars, you can join a citizen science project and make observations that have scientific value.
Dr. Tom Esposito and Dr. Franck Marchis have helped get me hooked on citizen science. They have developed a great system for the project. They have also answered all of my questions.
Whenever possible. I invest every clear night in astronomy.
Planetary science is a global profession.