New Citizen Science Opportunities: MacGyvering collaboration tools for science discovery in Heliophysics
Abstract
Citizen science has excellent use cases for Heliophysics, as recently recognized by the major report for the field: the Decadal Survey's midterm assessment. Notably, many of these use cases have matured with recent emergent technologies and demonstrated innovative scientific yields only since the last Decadal report was conceived. In practice, however, citizen science comes in all shapes and sizes. Opportunities abound and interdisciplinary best practices on project design yield the strongest outcomes. Heliophysics has both informal grassroots efforts that innovate new ways of doing science; and top-down support. The latter comes from federal agencies, formal communities of practice, and even within NASA's Science Mission Directorate, including the Heliophysics Division with its recently formed Strategic Working Group on Citizen Science. This presentation will survey the many splinters of transformative opportunity that exist between Heliophysics and the passionate public. For example, solar eclipses perennially inspire excitement across the world, while solar maximum can produce spectacular auroras that fire the interest and imagination of the public. Phenomena like these can serve as springboards for citizen science. An innovative, multidisciplinary, MacGyver-style approach may be appropriate to fully harness the extant opportunities which dovetail with the natural cycles of Heliophysics that drive public awareness.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AGUFMSM044..06M
- Keywords:
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- 9805 Instruments useful in three or more fields;
- GENERAL OR MISCELLANEOUS;
- 9810 New fields (not classifiable under other headings);
- GENERAL OR MISCELLANEOUS;
- 9820 Techniques applicable in three or more fields;
- GENERAL OR MISCELLANEOUS;
- 7999 General or miscellaneous;
- SPACE WEATHER