Data-driven education and public outreach with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Abstract
For over fifteen years, the international collaboration of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has made terabytes of professional astronomical data freely available to the world. The vast archival imaging and spectroscopic datasets of the SDSS, coupled with its multiple access points and interfaces suitable for users of all levels of experience, provide a novel sandbox for audiences from a wide range of backgrounds to explore and engage with the data while cultivating interests and proficiency in astronomy. SDSS scientists, educators, technicians, and observers involved in the collaboration's Education and Public Outreach working group have collaborated over the past decade to develop a large and diverse set of educational activities and exhibits built around SDSS data and engineering concepts. The recent expansion of SDSS-IV APOGEE-2 operations to Las Campanas Observatory in Chile has prompted a new emphasis on broadening the accessibility of these educational resources for Spanish-speaking audiences.
- Publication:
-
Boletin de la Asociacion Argentina de Astronomia La Plata Argentina
- Pub Date:
- August 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019BAAA...61..261L
- Keywords:
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- editorials;
- notices;
- miscellaneous;
- astronomical databases: miscellaneous