Science News

Science@NASA

 

Spritacular: NASA’s New Citizen Science Project to Capture Elusive Upper Atmospheric Electrical Phenomena on Camera
Earth, Sky Watching, Citizen Science
Oct 26, 2022
A flash of lightning, and then – something else. High above the storm, a crimson figure blinks in and out of existence. If you saw it, you are a lucky witness of a sprite, one of the least-understood electrical phenomena in Earth’s upper atmosphere. But if you caught it on camera, your photo could... Read More
Red sprites formed above thunderstorms in the southeast Aegean Sea, as captured from the eastern suburbs of Athens, Greece on December 4, 2021.
Spritacular: NASA’s New Citizen Science Project to Capture Elusive Upper Atmospheric Electrical Phenomena on Camera
Citizen Science
Oct 26, 2022
NASA’s newest citizen science project, Spritacular (pronounced sprite-tacular), will bring together scientsts and camera-wielding storm enthusiasts to advance the study of elusive upper atmospheric lights.
Judy Schmidt: Duster, Disk Detective and JWST Image Wizard
Citizen Science
Oct 6, 2022
If you’ve been following the James Webb Space Telescope, there’s a decent chance you’ve already been admiring the spectacular images processed by NASA citizen scientist Judy Schmidt.
Photo of a smiling woman holding a smiling toddler, a computer screen displaying James Webb Space Telescope imagery is in the background.
Join the NASA GLOBE Trees Challenge 2022: Trees in a Changing Climate
Citizen Science
Oct 4, 2022
Participate in the NASA GLOBE Trees Challenge from Oct 11-Nov 11, 2022!  Join us on Oct. 11 for a kick-off webinar! 
Graphic illustration of a pine tree and a sunset
Disk Detective 2.1 is Live! Come Join the Search!
Solar System, Citizen Science
Sep 29, 2022
The Disk Detective project invites you to help search for disks of gas and dust around nearby stars, places where exoplanets form and dwell
Image of an orange planet with red rings
NASA’s Citizen Science Program Continues to Grow: 19 New Grants Awarded
Citizen Science
Aug 12, 2022
With 29 different projects online, NASA’s citizen science program offers many ways members of the public can participate in real scientific research. Now NASA is funding 19 new awards across the U.S. to develop or support citizen science projects.
Photo of a group of 7 people smiling and interacting with a robot. The blue NASA logo is in the upper left corner.
Intern Spotlight: Anna Ladd McElhannon
Citizen Science
Jul 28, 2022
“When I was a freshman in college, my astronomy professor gave us an assignment to do a citizen science project- I believe it was Backyard Worlds: Planet 9.”
Citizen Scientist Leads Discovery of 34 Ultracool Brown Dwarfs with Companions
Universe, Citizen Science
Jul 20, 2022
When do brown dwarfs and white dwarfs mix? Ask NASA citizen scientist Frank Kiwy!
Illustration with black background and a larger red sphere in the foreground and a small white-blue glowing sphere in the distance.
Members of the Public Won Time on the James Webb Space Telescope
Universe, Citizen Science
Jul 11, 2022
Think only professional astronomers will have access to the James Webb Space Telescope? Think again!
black and white pixelated video with a red dot moving across the frame
Planet Patrollers Turn In 144 Imposter Planets
Solar System, Citizen Science
Jul 5, 2022
When you’re trying to catch a planet, you’d better look twice! Volunteers on NASA’s Planet Patrol Citizen Science Project finished checking their first batch of 999 exoplanet candidates from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission. The results, published in Monthly Notices of... Read More
Illustration of the yellow sun fading to orange around the outside and a planet represented by a black dot transiting across. An illustrated satellite overlays the sun and the text Planet Patrol sits above the illustration.
Love spectacular photos of Jupiter? Become a Jovian Vortex Hunter!
Solar System, Planets of Our Solar System, Citizen Science
Jun 27, 2022
A new NASA citizen science project, Jovian Vortex Hunter, seeks your help spotting vortices---spiral wind patterns—and other phenomena in gorgeous photos of the planet Jupiter.
A Big Thank You from Snapshot Wisconsin
Earth, Citizen Science
Jun 3, 2022
Today we’re saying thank you to everyone who has pitched in to classify wildlife photos at snapshotwisconsin.org. Over the last four years you helped scientists model species distributions, measure vegetation phenology, study how deer use habitats to escape extreme temperatures, and much more.... Read More
Photo of a large bull elk with horns walking up to a trail camera in the woods
Puzzling Triple Star System Found by Citizen Scientists Working on Planet Hunters TESS
Universe, Citizen Science
May 24, 2022
Citizen scientists have discovered a strange lopsided system consisting of three very massive stars orbiting around one another very rapidly---a rare combination that has scientists asking how this system could have formed.
Two white spheres next to each other and in orbit around a larger white sphere that fades to blue.
Juno Captures Moon Shadow on Jupiter
Citizen Science
Apr 27, 2022
Citizen scientist Thomas Thomopoulos created this enhanced-color image using raw data from the JunoCam instrument (Figure A). At the time the raw image was taken, the Juno spacecraft was about 44,000 miles (71,000 kilometers) above Jupiter’s cloud tops, at a latitude of about 55 degrees south, and... Read More
Photo of a shadow on Jupiter's moon