NASA wants you to be a citizen scientist. They are inviting members of the public to assist them with collecting data during the August 21, 2017, eclipse. Even if you are not in the path of the total eclipse, you can still gather important information.
NASA has developed an app that walks participants through the research project and will enable them to capture needed data during the eclipse.
From the NASA website:
“The public will have an opportunity to participate in a nation-wide science experiment by collecting cloud and temperature data from their phones. NASA’s Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program Observer (NASA GO) is a citizen science project that allows users to record observations with a free app.
“On Aug. 21, NASA GO will feature a special eclipse experiment. With the app and a thermometer, citizen scientists can help observe how the eclipse changes atmospheric conditions near them, and contribute to a database used by students and scientists worldwide in order to study the effects of the eclipse on the atmosphere. Observers in areas with a partial eclipse or outside the path of totality are encouraged to participate alongside those within the path of totality. ”
Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Rich Melnick
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Citizen scientists are a valued but often hidden partner in scientific research. If you are interested in more citizen science projects, visit Zooniverse, an online platform that matches volunteers to academic research across many fields.
Says the Zooniverse website:
“The Zooniverse is the world’s largest and most popular platform for people-powered research. This research is made possible by volunteers—hundreds of thousands of people around the world who come together to assist professional researchers. Our goal is to enable research that would not be possible, or practical, otherwise. “
altogether interesting 