>> WHAT IF I TOLD YOU
THAT NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE
OR WHERE YOU ARE,
YOU CAN PARTICIPATE
IN SCIENCE AT NASA
AND MAKE REAL WORLD DISCOVERIES
ALONGSIDE NASA SCIENTISTS?
HELLO, I'M YOUR HOST,
EMILY FURFARO, AND THIS IS
ANOTHER VIRTUAL EPISODE
OF "NASA SCIENCE LIVE."
FROM MAPPING THE OCEAN FLOORS
TO DISCOVERING NEW PLANETS
OUTSIDE OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,
NASA HAS SO MANY DIFFERENT
CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECTS
WHERE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
ACTUALLY COLLABORATE
WITH NASA SCIENTISTS TO MAKE
AMAZING DISCOVERIES TOGETHER.
NASA'S CHIEF SCIENTIST,
JIM GREEN, IS HERE
TO TELL US MORE.
>> HAVE YOU EVER HAD
AN AHA! MOMENT?
THAT FEELING THAT EVERYTHING
JUST SEEMS TO MAKE SENSE.
SCIENTISTS HAVE THEM
ALL THE TIME.
HI, I'M JIM GREEN,
NASA'S CHIEF SCIENTIST,
AND I HAVE DISCOVERED
MANY NEW THINGS IN MY CAREER.
AND LET ME TELL YOU,
THERE'S NOTHING QUITE LIKE
THAT FEELING WHEN YOU DISCOVER
SOMETHING IMPORTANT THAT
NO ONE IN THE WORLD KNOWS.
WHAT IF I TOLD YOU THAT THROUGH
NASA'S CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAM,
YOU TOO CAN EXPERIENCE
THAT SAME FEELING?
ARE YOU INTERESTED?
CITIZEN SCIENTISTS WORKING
WITH NASA HAVE MADE
MANY SIGNIFICANT DISCOVERIES,
SOME OF THEM RIGHT FROM
THEIR OWN HOME.
FOR INSTANCE, 54,000
CIRCUMSTELLAR DISKS HAVE BEEN
FOUND BY CITIZEN SCIENTISTS.
WHAT ARE THEY?
THESE ARE DEBRIS FIELDS
AROUND STARS IN OUR GALAXY
WHERE PLANETS ARE BEING FORMED
FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.
WHAT ABOUT THE CITIZEN
SCIENTISTS THAT HAVE DISCOVERED
18,000 MOSQUITO BREEDING SITES
IN NASA EARTH SCIENCE IMAGES.
BREEDING SITES LIKE THESE
ARE IMPORTANT TO FIRST FLYING
SINCE MOSQUITOES CARRY
ALL SORTS OF DISEASES.
SO THERE ARE MANY OTHER
DISCOVERIES GOING ON IN
NASA'S CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECTS.
AND YOU CAN GET INVOLVED.
THESE PROJECTS ARE
REAL COLLABORATIONS
BETWEEN SCIENTISTS
AND THE INTERESTED PUBLIC,
LIKE YOU.
I AM SURE SOME OF YOU
MIGHT BE SAYING, "WELL,
I DON'T HAVE A FANCY DEGREE,"
OR, "I CAN'T DISCOVER
NEW PLANETS BEYOND
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM,"
AND YOU'D BE WRONG.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE
A SPECIAL DEGREE OR JOB TITLE.
IN FACT, YOU DON'T EVEN NEED
TO HAVE EXPERIENCE.
IF YOU'RE CURIOUS ABOUT
OUR UNIVERSE AND ABOUT
OUR PLANET EARTH,
YOU CAN GET INVOLVED WITH
REAL NASA PROJECTS
AND WORK ALONGSIDE
REAL SCIENTISTS RIGHT NOW.
SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
COME ON AND JOIN US!
TO GET STARTED, GO TO
SCIENCE.NASA.GOV/CITIZENSCIENCE.
SEE YOU THERE.
>> I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU,
BUT HEARING ABOUT
THE DISCOVERIES MADE BY
CITIZEN SCIENTISTS
IS SO EXCITING.
IF YOU'RE ANYTHING LIKE ME,
I-- SCIENCE WAS ALWAYS
INTERESTING, BUT I NEVER
THOUGHT I COULD BE A SCIENTIST.
SO IT WAS GREAT TO HEAR
DR. GREEN TALK ABOUT
HOW ANYONE CAN GET INVOLVED
WITH THESE PROJECTS
AND MAKE DISCOVERIES.
THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT PROJECTS
THAT YOU CAN GET INVOLVED WITH.
TODAY ON THE SHOW,
WE'LL TALK ABOUT A FEW,
BUT IF YOU WANT TO LEARN
ABOUT ALL OF THE OPPORTUNITIES,
VISIT SCIENCE.NASA.GOV/
CITIZENSCIENCE.
DID YOU KNOW THAT PLANETS
FORM FROM VAST CLOUDS OF
GAS, DUST, AND CHUNKS OF ROCK?
CLOUDS THAT ARE IN
THE SHAPE OF DISKS
WITH STARS AT THE CENTER.
BY SEARCHING FOR STARS
THAT ARE SURROUNDED
BY THESE CLOUD DISKS,
WE CAN FIND OUT WHERE PLANETS
ARE CURRENTLY FORMING
AND WHERE OTHER PLANETS
PROBABLY EXIST TODAY.
FINDING THESE PLANET FORMING
DISKS HAS BEEN A MAJOR QUEST
OF ASTRONOMERS
FOR THE PAST THREE DECADES.
THROUGH A PROJECT CALLED
DISK DETECTIVE, YOU CAN HELP.
WE'RE JOINED TODAY BY
DR. MARK KUSHNER,
CITIZEN SCIENCE OFFICER
AT NASA HEADQUARTERS,
AND CITIZEN SCIENTIST
HUGO DURANTINI LUCA.
THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR BEING WITH US TODAY.
>> THANKS, EMILY.
>> THANK YOU.
>> SO, MARK, CAN YOU TELL US
A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT
DISK DETECTIVE?
WHY DOES NASA NEED HELP
STUDYING THESE OBJECTS?
>> SO NASA HAS
A WONDERFUL PROBLEM,
WHICH IS THAT WE HAVE IMAGES
OF THE WHOLE SKY
IN INFRARED WAVELENGTHS,
AND THE IMAGES
FROM NASA'S WISE MISSION,
WIDE-FIELD INFRARED EXPLORER,
CONTAIN TWO BILLION SOURCES.
AND WHICH OF THOSE SOURCES
ARE THE PLANET FORMING DISKS?
THAT'S WHERE WE GO
TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
AND ASK FOR THEIR HELP
FIGURING OUT WHICH OF
THOSE NEEDLES IN THE HAYSTACK
IS A REAL PLANET FORMING DISK.
>> WOW, WOW, THAT IS AMAZING,
THAT REAL PEOPLE CAN HELP
WITH THIS TYPE OF RESEARCH.
UM, HUGO, YOU ARE
ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE.
SO WHAT HAS BEEN
THE MOST EXCITING PART
ABOUT WORKING ON THIS PROJECT?
>> FOR-- IN THIS MOMENT,
IT IS LIKE A COMPILATION
OF THINGS, SINCE I AM
PARTICIPATING SINCE 2014.
THE START FOR ME WAS FINDING
A PROJECT WHERE I WAS
ABLE TO PARTICIPATE
AND CONTRIBUTE WITH SCIENCE
AND BE ENGAGED AT THE SAME TIME,
BECAUSE I WAS STUDYING A COUPLE
OF THINGS AT THAT POINT,
BUT THEY WERE PROJECTS,
FUN PROJECTS AND ALL,
BUT THEY WERE NO INTERACTION
WITH THE SCIENCE TEAM,
FOR EXAMPLE.
AND WHY I STARTED TO
INTERACT WITH MARK--
VIA TWITTER AT THAT POINT--
I STARTED TO LEARN ABOUT
THE PROJECT AND TALK
BACK AND FORTH WITH
THE SCIENCE TEAM,
I WAS ABLE TO BE, UH, IN TOUCH
WITH THE PROJECT BECAUSE
THAT INTERACTION WAS ENGAGING.
SO I WAS ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE.
AT THE SAME TIME, I WAS LEARNING
ALL ABOUT THE PROJECT,
HOW THE PROJECT WORKED,
HOW THE PEOPLE WORKING
ON THE PROJECT WAS.
UM, THAT WAS A VERY IMPORTANT
THING AT FIRST,
BECAUSE I DIDN'T MUCH KNOW MUCH
ABOUT ASTRONOMY AT THAT POINT.
I WAS ABLE TO [ INDISTINCT ]
ASTRONOMY, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW
ABOUT THE SUBJECT.
SO TO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE
AND LEARN AND REACH
THE DISCOVERY LIKE THE PETER PAN
DISKS FROM-- FOR [ INDISTINCT ]
WAS SOMETHING HUGE.
I WAS NOT EVEN THINKING
[ INDISTINCT ]
AT THAT POINT MAYBE.
I WAS ONLY THINKING IN
PARTICIPATE AND BE ABLE TO
CONTRIBUTE IN AN ACTIVE WAY.
>> WOW.
>> AND WE'VE BEEN LEARNING
FROM YOU, TOO, HUGO.
IT'S BEEN A WONDERFUL SIX YEARS
WORKING TOGETHER WITH YOU.
I FEEL SO FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE
TO MEET THE CITIZEN SCIENTISTS
THAT WE MET THROUGH
THIS PROJECT.
>> YEAH, IT SEEMS LIKE
SUCH A GREAT COMMUNITY.
SO CAN ANYONE GET INVOLVED
AND HELP WITH THIS PROJECT?
WHAT SORT OF EXPERIENCE
DO PEOPLE NEED?
>> NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY.
SO JUST GO TO DISKDETECTIVE.ORG.
THERE'S A SHORT ONLINE TUTORIAL.
IN ABOUT FIVE MINUTES,
YOU'RE LOOKING AT DATA,
YOU'RE HELPING NASA,
AND YOU'RE POTENTIALLY
MAKING DISCOVERIES.
>> INDEED, AND REMEMBER,
YOU ARE GOING TO BE HAVING FUN
WHILE LEARNING.
SO BE PATIENT.
IF THE PROJECT REALLY GRABS YOU,
GRABS YOUR ATTENTION,
YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE
MUCH TIME TO LEARN ABOUT
MORE DETAILS AND DIFFERENT
PARTS OF THE PROJECT.
SO HAVE A TRY AND HAVE FUN.
>> THAT'S AWESOME,
THAT'S SUCH GOOD ADVICE.
THAT WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE
MY NEXT QUESTION--
WHAT SORT OF ADVICE
DO YOU HAVE FOR PEOPLE
THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTED
IN GETTING STARTED?
>> UH, IN ASTRONOMY, PATIENCE
IS ONE OF THE KEYS
BECAUSE IN ASTRONOMY,
YOU HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT
THINGS, A LOT OF TOOLS,
AND SURVEYS AND CATALOGS
AND VOCABULARY TO LEARN.
BUT PATIENCE IS ONE OF THE KEYS,
ASIDE FROM WANTING TO LEARN.
AND ASTRONOMY CAN ALSO
HAVE A HUGE VARIETY
OF THINGS TO STUDY.
UH, MAYBE YOU WANT
TO LOOK AT STARS, PERFECT.
OR MAYBE YOU WANT TO SEE
PRETTY GALAXIES.
THERE ARE ALSO PROJECTS
FOR THAT.
ASTRONOMY CAN [ INDISTINCT ]
HAVE A BIG SELECTION OF THINGS
FOR YOU THERE.
>> AND HUGO, YOU HELPED US
DISCOVER PETER PAN DISKS,
WHICH ARE THE OLDEST DISKS
THAT ARE STILL FORMING PLANETS.
SO SCIENTISTS-- WE ASTRONOMERS
THOUGHT THAT DISKS
STOPPED FORMING PLANETS
AFTER ABOUT FIVE MILLION YEARS,
BUT THEN THE CITIZEN SCIENTISTS
AT DISK DETECTIVES
STARTED FINDING OBJECTS
THAT WERE FORMING--
THAT WERE ABLE TO FORM PLANETS
ABOUT NINE OR TEN TIMES
THE AGE OF THAT, SO INTO
THE 40 AND 50 MILLION
YEAR OLD AGE RANGE.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW,
THE ASTRONOMY COMMUNITY
IS STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
WHAT THAT MEANS,
SO THAT'S PRETTY EXCITING.
>> THAT'S AMAZING, THAT IS
SO COOL THAT NEW DISCOVERIES
HAVE COME OUT OF THIS,
UM, WORKING WITH-WITH
CITIZENS AND SCIENTISTS.
>> YEAH, AND MAYBE FOR
PEOPLE PARTICIPATING
[ INDISTINCT ] SOME SURPRISE.
LIKE ME, WHEN I WAS INVITED
TO MY LOCAL TV STATION
TO AN INTERVIEW ABOUT THAT,
UM, WELL, YOU BECAME
A, UH, A LOCAL CELEBRITY
FOR A BIT, UM, BY MAKING
THIS SCIENCE DISCOVERY.
>> THAT IS SO COOL, WOW.
WELL, THAT'S ALL THE TIME
WE HAVE TODAY.
THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH
FOR JOINING US.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING US, EMILY.
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING US,
A PLEASURE.
>> YES, OF COURSE.
USING THE POWER OF
OUR GLOBAL COMMUNITY,
NASA HAS DEVELOPED
AN INTERACTIVE APP
CALLED NeMO-NET.
IT'S USED TO CHARACTERIZE
CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS
AROUND THE WORLD WITH
UNPRECEDENTED ACCURACY.
TODAY WE'RE JOINED BY
TEN YEAR OLD CITIZEN SCIENTIST
KELLEN HOMAN
AND NASA SCIENTIST
DR. VED CHIRAYATH TO TELL US
MORE ABOUT THIS FUN PROJECT.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR
JOINING US TODAY.
VED, SO CAN YOU TELL US
A LITTLE BIT MORE
ABOUT NeMO-NET? WHAT IS IT?
>> SURE, SO I INVENTED
A TECHNOLOGY CALLED
FLUID LENSING AT NASA,
AND IT'S THE FIRST TECHNIQUE
WE'VE HAD THAT CAN LOOK
BENEATH THE OCEAN WAVES
AND MAP CORALS IN 3D.
SO WE'VE BEEN TRAVELING
AROUND THE WORLD USING DRONES
AND THIS TECHNIQUE
TO MAP CORAL IN 3D.
AND THE REALLY--
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WE HAVE
WITH ALL OF THIS DATA
IS HOW TO CLASSIFY IT.
HOW DO WE GET THE BASIC NUMBER
OF HOW MANY CORALS THERE ARE,
HOW THEY'RE DOING AS A FUNCTION
OF CHANGING OCEAN TEMPERATURES?
AND THAT'S WHERE NeMO-NET
COMES IN.
SO WE BUILT A VIDEO GAME,
UH, THAT TIES INTO
OUR SUPERCOMPUTER.
AND YOU CAN DOWNLOAD IT
AND PLAY IT ON YOUR iPHONE
OR iPAD DEVICE.
AND WHAT YOU'RE DOING
IN THAT GAME IS LOOKING AT
OUR DATASETS THAT WE ARE GETTING
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
WITH THESE DRONES
AND HELPING LEARN ABOUT
CORALS AT THE SAME TIME
AS COLORING THEM
AND FEEDING DATA
INTO OUR SUPERCOMPUTER.
>> WOW, THIS IS SUCH
A COOL IDEA TO GET PEOPLE
INVOLVED IN THIS PROJECT.
UM, KELLEN, I UNDERSTAND
THAT YOU'VE BEEN WORKING WITH--
ON THIS PROJECT.
SO CAN YOU TELL US,
IS NeMO-NET MORE LIKE A GAME,
OR IS IT LIKE SCHOOLWORK?
AND HAVE YOU LEARNED SCIENCE
BY PLAYING THE GAME?
>> IT'S KIND OF--
IT'S KIND OF LIKE A GAME,
'CAUSE IT'S NOT SCHOOLWORK.
YOU KIND OF GET TO DO
WHAT YOU WANNA DO.
YOU CAN CHOOSE WHERE
YOU WANNA BE
AND WHAT-WHAT YOU WANNA DO.
THERE ARE LIKE 2D, 3D,
AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
>> THAT SOUNDS VERY FUN.
WHAT KINDS OF THINGS HAVE YOU
LEARNED FROM PLAYING THE GAME?
>> THERE'S A LOT OF TYPES
OF CORAL.
AND THERE ARE SOME KEY REGIONS
THAT HAVE CORAL.
UM, THEY ARE-- YOU CAN CLASSIFY
GUAM, THE GREAT BARRIER REEF,
AMERICAN SAMOA, HAWAII,
OR PUERTO RICO CORAL.
SO THAT SEEMS LIKE WHERE MOST
OF THE CORAL IS, PROBABLY.
>> WOW, I DIDN'T KNOW THAT.
SO CAN YOU SHOW US KINDA
HOW YOU INTERACT WITH THIS APP?
I HEAR THAT YOU ARE SO GOOD
AT CLASSIFYING CORAL
THAT YOU HAVE EARNED
THE STATUS OF SEA TURTLE.
UM, WAS IT HARD TO GET TO
THAT LEVEL?
>> YUP, I'VE BEEN PLAYING IT
FOR A FEW--
YEAH, A FEW MONTHS NOW.
SO I HAVE MY 3D MAP OF CORAL.
I HAVE THE TYPES OF CORAL
ON HERE.
I CAN PULL THIS, AND THEN
I CAN GO TO A LIST OF
ALL THE CORAL TYPES I HAVE--
WHAT I-WHAT I CAN CLASSIFY,
AND LIKE WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE.
SO THEN I'LL GET OUT OF THAT,
AND THEN YOU HAVE A 3D MAP TOO.
YOU CAN, LIKE, SCROLL
ALL THE DIRECTIONS,
YOU CAN LOOK FROM,
LIKE, ALL DIRECTIONS.
>> IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE A PRO.
SO VED, HOW ARE CITIZEN
SCIENTISTS LIKE KELLEN
AND THEIR WORK IN THIS APP
HELPING US UNDERSTAND
WHAT'S-WHAT'S GOING ON
WITH CORAL REEFS?
>> UH, I MEAN, TO PUT IT
BLUNTLY, THEY ARE CHANGING
THE WORLD.
I MEAN, WE HAVE MAPPED,
AS OF 2020, AROUND 6%
OF THE OCEAN FLOOR.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS
WHY IT'S SO DIFFICULT TO MAP
THE OCEAN FLOOR--
FIRST IS BECAUSE IT'S DIFFICULT
TO SEE ANYTHING
BENEATH OCEAN WAVES.
SO OUR INSTRUMENT HELPS FIX THAT
AND REVEAL THAT ENVIRONMENT
IN 3D, BUT THE SECOND IS
ONCE YOU HAVE ALL THAT DATA,
IT REALLY DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING
UNLESS YOU HAVE HUMANS COME IN
AND HELP ANNOTATE WHAT IT IS
WE'RE LOOKING AT.
IS IT SAND?
ARE WE LOOKING AT SEA CUCUMBERS,
SEA GRASS, CORALS?
AND IT REALLY BECOMES
A COMPLICATED MACHINE
LEARNING PROBLEM.
SO WHEN WE FIRST CREATED
THE PROJECT, WE DIDN'T HAVE
A VIDEO GAME IN MIND.
WE WERE PURELY FOCUSED ON
SUPERCOMPUTING AND BEING ABLE
TO DEVELOP A TOOL
TO CLASSIFY THESE REEFS.
BUT WE LEARNED, YOU KNOW,
THAT THE SUPERCOMPUTER RESULTS
AND THE MACHINE LEARNING OUTPUTS
WERE ONLY AS GOOD AS
THE TRAINING DATA WE HAVE.
AT THAT POINT, YOU KNOW,
WE THOUGHT, ALL RIGHT,
WE HAVE-WE HAVE
AN UNTAPPED POTENTIAL,
UM, ACROSS THE WORLD
AND IN OUR NATION AS WELL
WITH ALL OF THESE STUDENTS
WHO ARE-ARE INTERESTED, ENGAGED,
THEY WANT TO EXPLORE
THESE ENVIRONMENTS.
UM, IT'S-IT'S FUNNY
THAT THIS HAPPENED
DURING THE PANDEMIC
AND A LOT OF FOLKS WERE LOOKING
FOR AN ACTIVITY TO DO AT HOME
THAT WOULD BE
AT ONCE EDUCATIONAL
AND BENEFIT SCIENCE.
AND THAT'S WHEN WE DECIDED
TO LAUNCH NeMO-NET
ON EARTH DAY THIS YEAR.
AND SO WE-WE CURRENTLY HAVE
AROUND 100,000+ ACTIVE USERS.
KELLEN IS IN OUR-OUR TOP 1%
OF PRO PLAYERS.
HE OUT-CLASSIFIES PhD-TRAINED
CORAL REEF BIOLOGISTS REGULARLY.
>> OH, MY GOSH.
>> HIS SCREEN NAME IS, UH,
ADMIRAL CROCODILE,
AND IT'S-IT'S REALLY
JUST AMAZING HOW-HOW QUICKLY,
UM, KIDS IN HIS AGE GROUP
PICK UP ON CLASSIFYING.
THIS IS NOT AN EASY TASK.
I MEAN, I STRUGGLE WITH THIS.
YOU OPEN THE GAME, YOU SEE
A-A 3D CORAL,
WHICH LOOKS, YOU KNOW,
LIKE A LOAF OF BREAD
TO SOME PEOPLE, IT CAN LOOK LIKE
VERY DIFFERENT SHAPES.
KIDS HAVE TO LEARN WHAT THAT IS,
PASS AN ACCURACY TEST
WHILE PAINTING IN 3D,
AND THAT'S HOW THEY GRADUATE
AND LEVEL UP THE FOOD CHAIN,
UM, IN THE VIDEO GAME.
AND ALL THAT DATA THEN GETS
COMPARED IN OUR SUPERCOMPUTER.
WE CAN MEASURE
STATISTICS RELATED TO
OTHER SCIENTISTS' INPUTS,
OTHER, UH, AMATEUR PLAYERS,
AND IT'S-IT'S REALLY--
THE-THE SWEET SPOT, WE'VE FOUND,
FOR CLASSIFICATION IS-IS
ROUGHLY KELLEN'S AGE GROUP.
UM, AND THE AMOUNT OF TIME
THAT THEY PLAY,
THE KNOWLEDGE THEY HAVE
IN THESE ENVIRONMENTS
IS REALLY JUST EXTRAORDINARY.
SO, YEAH, I MEAN,
WE COULD NOT DO IT
W-WITHOUT KIDS LIKE KELLEN.
>> THIS IS SO AMAZING.
SO, UH, KELLEN,
DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE
FOR-FOR PEOPLE WATCHING
THAT MIGHT WANT TO GET INVOLVED.
>> YEAH, I ALSO WANNA--
WHERE I--
I ACTUALLY HAVE A NUMBER.
THERE HAVE BEEN 7,000--
700,300-- NO, 73,588
CLASSIFICATIONS BY EVERYBODY
WHO'S BEEN PLAYING THE INTERNET.
>> THAT'S AMAZING.
>> AND ADVICE IS DEFINITELY
TAKE YOUR TIME
AND, LIKE, DO IT ONE AT A TIME.
AND DEFINITELY LOOK
AND MAKE SURE YOU KNOW
WHAT EACH CORAL TYPE LOOKS LIKE,
'CAUSE THEY DO GIVE
ACTUAL PICTURES IN THE GAME OF
WHAT THE CORAL TYPES
LOOK LIKE.
SO THAT'S-THAT HELPS CLASSIFY,
WHEN YOU CAN SEE WHAT
THE CORAL TYPES LOOK LIKE,
AND THEN YOU CAN PUT THAT
INTO YOUR KNOWLEDGE
OF WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR
IN THE GAME.
>> THIS IS SO COOL.
I AM JUST SO IMPRESSED.
BUT THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH
FOR JOINING US.
LET'S MOVE UP
INTO THE ATMOSPHERE,
WAY UP TO WHERE
THE AURORAS DANCE
ACROSS OUR SKIES.
IN ORDER TO TRACK THE APPEARANCE
OF AURORAS ACROSS THE GLOBE,
NASA SUPPORTS
A CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT
CALLED AURORASAURUS,
WHERE VOLUNTEERS SUBMIT REPORTS
AND PHOTOGRAPHS
THROUGH A MOBILE APP
AND WEBSITE.
WITH ALL OF THIS DATA
FROM USERS AROUND THE PLANET,
RESEARCHERS ARE ABLE TO
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS MYSTERIOUS
AND DAZZLING PHENOMENON.
I'M JOINED BY NASA SCIENTIST
DR. ELIZABETH MacDONALD AND
CITIZEN SCIENTIST DONNA LACH.
THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR JOINING US.
>> HI, THANK YOU FOR
INCLUDING ME.
>> HI, THANKS.
>> OF COURSE.
SO ELIZABETH, WHY IS IT
AN IMPORTANT AREA OF RESEARCH,
UM, TO HAVE
THESE CITIZEN SCIENTISTS
CONTRIBUTE REGARDING AURORAS?
>> YEAH, SO AURORAS AFFECT
OUR TECHNOLOGIES ON EARTH
AND IN THE SKY, UM,
IN SATELLITES.
AND THEY MOVE REALLY QUICKLY.
AND IT'S IMPORTANT, UM,
TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF
WHAT THEY'RE DOING, UH,
EVEN WHEN THEY'RE REALLY QUIET
OR REALLY LARGE.
UM, AND CITIZEN SCIENTISTS
CAN REALLY HELP WITH THAT.
>> AMAZING.
SO DONNA, YOU, UM,
ARE A CITIZEN SCIENTIST
WITH THIS PROJECT.
CAN YOU, UH, KINDA
WALK US THROUGH
WHAT CONTRIBUTING LOOKS LIKE?
>> SURE.
UM, IT'S, UH--
WHAT AURORASAURUS WANTS
IS OUR OBSERVATIONS
FROM THE GROUND
WHEREVER WE ARE.
SO WE ARE THEIR
BOOTS ON THE GROUND,
EYES TO THE SKY.
AND IT STARTS WITH ME
WATCHING THE FORECAST
FOR THE AURORA AND THE, UH,
SOLAR ACTIVITY, UH, LISTENING TO
THE CHATTER ON TWITTER
AND OUR FACEBOOK GROUPS,
AND WHEN THE CONDITIONS
ARE RIGHT
AND THE SKY IS CLEAR,
I HEAD OUT WITH MY CAMERA,
AND I WILL TAKE PICTURES
OF THE AURORA.
AND AFTER THAT
I WILL REPORT BY, UH,
GOING ONLINE TO AURORASAURUS
OR ON THEIR-THEIR APP.
BUT WE WOULD, UH, GIVE THEM
OUR OBSERVATIONS
AND UPLOAD A PHOTO
OF WHAT WE SAW ON THE GROUND.
>> WOW.
AND ELIZABETH,
HOW DOES THAT HELP YOU
WITH YOUR RESEARCH?
>> WELL, KNOWING, UM,
EXACTLY WHAT TIME IT WAS
AND WHERE THE PERSON WAS
WHEN THEY SAW THE AURORA, UM,
ALLOWS US TO PUT ALL OF
THOSE DIFFERENT IMAGES TOGETHER,
ALONG WITH
OUR TRADITIONAL OBSERVATIONS,
AND, UM, UNDERSTAND
THE PHENOMENA IN MORE DEPTH.
>> WHAT KIND OF DISCOVERIES
HAVE CITIZEN SCIENTISTS MADE,
UH, WITH THIS PROJECT?
>> SO ONE BIG ONE
IS SOMETHING CALLED STEVE,
WHICH IS ACTUALLY AN AURORA
THAT CAN BE SEEN, UM,
FURTHER AWAY FROM THE POLES
THAN THE USUAL AURORA.
SO OVERHEAD OVER, UM,
SOUTHERN CANADA
AND THE NORTHERN U.S.
AND IT'S VERY UNUSUAL.
IT KIND OF LOOKS LIKE
AN AIRPLANE, UH,
CONDENSATION TRAIL.
BUT WITH A PHOTOGRAPH
YOU CAN PICK UP
THESE AMAZING COLORS AS WELL.
AND, UM, BY STUDYING IT FURTHER
WITH SATELLITE DATA
AND OTHER DATA FROM THE GROUND,
WE'VE DISCOVERED
IT'S REALLY LIKE
A FLOW-DRIVEN AURORA.
IT'S AN EAST TO WEST FLOW
THAT IS LIGHTING UP THE SKY
AND DOING SOME AMAZING KIND
OF NEW, UNUSUAL AURORA, UM,
AURORAL ACTIVITY
THAT'S STILL BEING, UM,
STUDIED NOW.
>> WOW, THAT IS AMAZING.
SO I'VE ONLY SEEN AURORAS
IN-IN VIDEOS AND IMAGES.
WHAT IS IT LIKE
TO-TO SEE IT FIRSTHAND?
>> FROM MY LATITUDE IN SOUTHERN,
UH, MANITOBA, IT'S--
IT JUST LOOKS LIKE
A WHITE LIGHT,
MAYBE WITH A GREEN TINT TO IT.
WHEN IT'S ACTIVE,
THEN SOMETIMES
I CAN SEE THE PINK FRINGE
ALONG THE BOTTOM.
AND, UH, SOMETIMES
I CAN ALSO SEE THE RED
THAT GOES HIGH ABOVE.
BUT, UH, MOST OF THE TIME
IT'S ONLY ABOUT 30 DEGREES
ABOVE THE HORIZON WHERE I AM.
ONCE IN A WHILE
IT WILL GO OVERHEAD.
AND, UH, IT STARTS WITH, UH,
JUST A LOW BAND.
IF WE HIT A--
GET TO A SUBSTORM,
THEN IT WILL START DANCING
FOR ABOUT 30 SECONDS
TO ABOUT 20 MINUTES.
AND THAT'S
THE VERY EXCITING PART
THAT WE WANT TO PHOTOGRAPH.
AND AFTER THAT, UH,
IS A VERY SUBTLE, UM,
PUL-PULSATING,
YEAH, PULSATING, UH, AURORA
THAT IS DIFFICULT
TO ACTUALLY SEE WITH THE EYES,
BUT THE CAMERA CAN
REALLY CAPTURE IT BEAUTIFULLY.
>> THAT IS JUST AMAZING.
AND SO WE ONLY HAVE
A COUPLE SECONDS LEFT,
BUT COULD YOU--
DO YOU HAVE A COUPLE PIECES
OF ADVICE FOR PEOPLE
THAT WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
>> I WOULD SAY PLEASE JOIN US,
BECAUSE IT'S, UH,
IT'S A VERY EXCITING THING
TO BE INVOLVED WITH,
TO BE ABLE TO REPORT, UH,
AND SHARE WHAT I SEE.
I'M NOT A SCIENTIST,
I DON'T HAVE A GREAT CAMERA,
I DON'T, UH--
I'M NOT A PROFESSIONAL,
BUT I CAN BE INVOLVED
IN SOMETHING
THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND RIGHT NOW IN THIS TIME
OF SOCIAL DISTANCING, UH,
WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING
TO DO OUTSIDE,
AND WE CAN DO THIS, UH,
ON OUR OWN.
WE DON'T NEED TO WORRY
ABOUT SOCIAL DISTANCING,
AND WE CAN LINK ARMS
WITH EVERYONE ACROSS THE GLOBE,
UH, TO, UH, BE A PART
OF SOMETHING VERY EXCITING
LIKE THIS.
>> YEAH, VIRTUALLY
WE CAN GET TOGETHER,
AND ALSO IT'S REALLY
A GREAT BRIDGE
BETWEEN THE PUBLIC
AND THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.
UM, AND IT SPURS A LOT
OF GREAT COMMUNICATION AND,
UM, QUESTIONS
ABOUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING.
UH, SO YEAH,
WE ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO JOIN US.
UM, BE PATIENT.
THE SUN-- WE HAVE TO WAIT
FOR THE SUN AND THE SKY
TO BE CLEAR,
AND THAT CAN TAKE A WHILE.
BUT, UM, YOU CAN JOIN
OUR COMMUNITY AND
LEARN MORE IN THE MEANTIME.
SO EVERYONE IS WELCOME.
>> AWESOME.
THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH.
>> THANK YOU.
>> IF YOU'RE INTERESTED
IN ASTRONOMY
AND LOOKING TO THE SKY,
THIS NEXT PROJECT
MIGHT BE FOR YOU.
THE INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL
SEARCH COLLABORATION,
ALSO KNOWN AS "ISAAC",
IS A PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS
CITIZEN SCIENTISTS
ALL AROUND THE WORLD
TO ANALYZE NASA'S
HIGH QUALITY DATA
OF NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS--
THINGS LIKE ASTEROIDS
AND COMETS.
WITH THIS DATA,
VOLUNTEERS ARE ABLE TO
MAKE DISCOVERIES OF
NEW ASTEROIDS
IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
AND NEAR EARTH.
I'M JOINED BY IASC FOUNDER
DR. PATRICK MILLER
AND CITIZEN SCIENTIST
LUDVIG ADOLFO FERNANDEZ.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR JOINING US.
>> YEAH, THANK YOU.
>> SO PATRICK, THIS SOUNDS LIKE
AN EXCITING PROJECT.
COULD YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT IT?
>> YES, UH, WE, UH,
STARTED THIS PROJECT IN, UH,
IN 2006.
I THINK WE HAD, LIKE,
FIVE TEAMS PARTICIPATING.
NOW WE'VE GOT OVER 3,000 TEAMS
FROM 80 COUNTRIES
AROUND THE WORLD
ARE PARTICIPATING.
UH, WE PROVIDE, UH, IMAGES
FROM LARGE TELESCOPES, UH,
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII, UH,
THE PAN-STARRS SKY SURVEY,
AND ALSO
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA,
THE CATALINA SKY SURVEY.
UH, WE TAKE THESE IMAGES,
WE, UH PROCESS THEM,
AND THEN SEND THEM OUT TO
TEAMS OF CITIZEN SCIENTISTS
AROUND THE WORLD.
AND THEIR JOB IS TO
LOOK THROUGH THESE, UH,
THESE IMAGES AND FIND, UH,
DISCOVERIES OF, UH,
OF ASTEROIDS AND OCCASIONALLY
NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS.
>> WOW, THIS IS REALLY
IMPORTANT WORK.
UM, SO LUDVIG,
YOU'VE BEEN INVOLVED
WITH THIS PROJECT.
CAN YOU TELL US, UH,
HOW-HOW YOU PARTICIPATE
AND WHAT SORT OF SKILLS
SOMEONE WOULD NEED
TO GET INVOLVED?
>> WELL, I MANAGED A CAMPAIGN
FOR BOLIVIA.
IT'S NAMED ALL BOLIVIAN
ASTEROID SEARCH CAMPAIGN.
THIS CAMPAIGN IS PRETTY NEW.
WE'RE WORKING WITH
IASC SINCE 2018.
UH, TO THIS DAY,
MORE THAN 1,000 STUDENTS
PARTICIPATED IN THE CAMPAIGN.
THERE ISN'T, LIKE,
A LIST OF SKILLS
TO PARTICIPATE,
BUT THE STUDENT NEEDS TO MEET
SOME REQUIREMENTS
SUCH AS HAVING A COMPUTER
AND HAVING INTERNET CONNECTION.
SOMETIMES THE SCHOOL
IS IN CHARGE OF THAT.
UH, WELL, BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT
IS TO HAVE THE DESIRE
TO LEARN AND TO MAKE--
TO CONTRIBUTE
TO OBSERVATION OF ASTEROIDS.
>> WOW, OKAY.
SO WHAT KIND OF, UM,
OBSERVATIONS AND DISCOVERIES
HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE
TO MAKE HERE?
>> WELL, THE BOLIVIAN CAMPAIGN,
WE HAVE MADE MORE THAN 400,
UH, PRELIMINARY ASTEROIDS,
AND 7 PROBATIONAL ASTEROIDS.
SO, UH, THE BOLIVIAN CAMPAIGN,
WE ALSO PARTICIPATED IN
SPECIAL CAMPAIGNS
THAT ARE COMPETITIVE
AMONG THE BEST TEN TEAMS
OF THE WORLD.
>> AMAZING.
SO, UH, DR. MILLER,
HOW DOES THE WORK
OF CITIZEN SCIENTISTS
HELP WITH YOUR RESEARCH?
>> THE-THE CITIZEN SCIENTISTS
ARE-ARE FINDING, UH, OBJECTS
THAT ARE ACTUALLY NOT REPORTED
BY THE LARGE SKY SURVEYS.
UH, THEY'RE--
CITIZEN SCIENTISTS
ARE ABLE TO LOOK AT THESE IMAGES
AND SEE DEEPER INTO THE IMAGES
THAN THE AUTOMATED
DETECTION UTILITIES
CONDUCTED EITHER
BY PAN-STARRS OR CATALINA.
SO THOSE ARE
IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS
BECAUSE THEY'RE FINDING THINGS
THAT ARE-THAT ARE MISSED
IN THE ORIGINAL-IN
THE ORIGINAL DATA.
>> WOW, THAT IS
QUITE INCREDIBLE.
WHAT AN IMPORTANT PROJECT,
AND IT'S VERY COOL
THAT CITIZEN SCIENTISTS
CAN HELP WITH THIS.
UM, SO WHAT ADVICE
DO BOTH OF YOU HAVE
FOR OTHER PEOPLE
THAT WANNA GET INVOLVED HERE?
>> WELL, FROM IASC'S
POINT OF VIEW,
IF YOU'D LIKE TO PARTICIPATE,
UH, YOU'RE WELCOME TO
COME TO OUR WEBSITE,
AND WE HAVE A REGISTRATION FORM,
AND, UH, THE STAFF AND I
WILL BE HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU.
UH, IT TAKES A DAY OR TWO
ONCE YOU, UH,
SEND IN YOUR INTERESTS.
UH, AND THEN
WE'LL GET YOU SET UP
AND PARTICIPATING
BEFORE YOU KNOW IT.
AND IT'S FREE.
>> YEAH, FOR ME
IT'S THAT
DON'T BE AFRAID TO APPLY.
IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY
TO MAKE IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES
IN ASTEROIDS.
SO THERE IS A GREAT EXPERIENCE,
IT'S FREE,
AND IT'S OPEN FOR EVERYONE.
>> AMAZING, GREAT ADVICE.
THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH
FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING,
AND FOR BEING WITH US
HERE TODAY.
SO TODAY, WE HAVE EXPLORED
OUR OCEANS, OUR SKIES,
AND PLANETS THAT ARE FAR,
FAR AWAY.
AND WE'VE LEARNED THAT YOU, TOO
CAN BE A SCIENTIST
FROM YOUR VERY OWN HOME.
LET'S SEE HOW THE KIDS
IN THIS NEXT VIDEO
HAVE BEEN CONTRIBUTING
TO NASA RESEARCH
FROM THE PLACE WHERE THEY LIVE.
NASA HAS SCIENTISTS
POSTED ALL OVER THE WORLD
STUDYING EARTH'S FROZEN REGIONS.
WE'VE GOT PEOPLE EXPLORING
ICE SHEETS, GLACIERS,
PERMAFROST, SEA ICE, SNOW,
AND EVEN ICE ON OTHER PLANETS.
BUT EVEN OUR TOP SCIENTISTS
NEED A LITTLE BACKUP SOMETIMES.
>> I'M A SCIENTIST!
>> DO YOU LIKE GOING OUTSIDE
TO DO SCIENCE?
>> YEAH.
>> WHY?
>> 'CAUSE IT'S FUN.
>> YEAH?
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PART?
>> FROST TUBE.
>> FROST TUBE!
COOL.
WE'RE FOLLOWING
THE MICRO EXPLORERS
THAT ARE HELPING NASA
COLLECT DATA
FROM THEIR OWN BACKYARD.
>> DO YOU THINK IT'S
GONNA BE FROZEN?
>> YEAH.
>> YES!
>> YES?
WHY?
>> BECAUSE IT'S VERY FROZEN!
>> HERE'S THE IDEA:
STUDENTS CONSTRUCT A FROST TUBE
THAT GETS PUT INTO A HOLE
IN UNDISTURBED
AND UNCOMPACTED SOIL.
DURING THE COLD MONTHS,
STUDENTS WILL MEASURE THE DEPTH
AT WHICH WATER
IN THE FROST TUBE FREEZES,
INDICATING THAT
THE SURROUNDING SOIL HAS FROZEN.
THIS IS ONE OF MANY
CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECTS
FACILITATED BY GLOBE,
THE GLOBAL LEARNING
AND OBSERVATIONS TO BENEFIT
THE ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM.
>> WHAT'S GOIN' ON?
WHAT'D YOU FIND OUT?
>> IT'S TURNING INTO ICE!
>> HOW FAR DOWN IS THE ICE?
>> OH, LOOK AT THAT.
>> IT'S A LONG WAY!
>> SO IS THERE STILL LIQUID
IN THERE?
>> IT'S A WORLDWIDE PROGRAM
THAT SO FAR HAS COLLECTED
OVER 130 MILLION MEASUREMENTS
FROM MORE THAN
10 MILLION STUDENTS
IN 113 COUNTRIES.
>> ARE YOU A SCIENTIST?
>> YES.
>> THESE MEASUREMENTS
ARE ADDED TO
A MASSIVE WORLDWIDE DATABASE
THAT'S FREE
AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
>> GLOBE CONNECTS MY STUDENTS
WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD
THROUGH SCIENCE
AND LOOKING AT CLIMATE CHANGE
AND HOW IT'S AFFECTING
THE FUTURE.
>> GLOBE TEACHERS LIKE TERRI
ARE TRANSFORMING
THE WAY KIDS SEE SCIENCE,
AND HOW THEY'LL RESPOND TO
CHANGES IN
THEIR FUTURE ENVIRONMENT.
>> LEMME SEE YOUR HAPPY FACE.
AAH!
>> THANK YOU ALL
FOR JOINING US TODAY
TO LEARN ABOUT CITIZEN SCIENCE.
IF YOU WANT TO BECOME
A CITIZEN SCIENTIST YOURSELF,
VISIT SCIENCE.NASA.GOV
/CITIZENSCIENCE
AND EXPLORE ALL THE PROJECTS
THAT NEED YOU.
THERE'S SCIENCE THAT CAN BE DONE
BY ANYONE, ANYWHERE,
ALL ACROSS THE GLOBE
WITH JUST A CELL PHONE
OR A LAPTOP.
YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW
@DoNASAScience ON TWITTER
AND FACEBOOK TO STAY INFORMED
OF THE LATEST UPDATES
AND DISCOVERIES.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING
NASA SCIENCE LIVE.
UNTIL NEXT TIME.
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