You can be a space scientist!
Take photos of the upcoming solar eclipse, help map the surface of the moon, document seal populations from satellite images, and more! Here are out-of-this-world citizen science projects we think you'll love. Find more projects and events on SciStarter, to do now or bookmark for later.
Cheers!
The SciStarter Team
Eclipse Megamovie
On August 2 ...read more
On Jupiter's moon Io, a huge lava-filled basin is home to dual tidal waves that regularly sweep across its surface.
The Loki Patera is a lake of molten rock some 8,300 square miles in size with a large island in the center, first imaged by the Voyager spacecraft that flew by Jupiter in 1979. Periodic swings in brightness, imaged both by spacecraft and Earth-based telescopes indicated that something was disturbing the surface on a semi-uniform basis.
Pulled In Different Directions
Io i ...read more
Though genetically modified crops may steal the spotlight, similarly reprogrammed insects may have just as big an effect on the agricultural industry.
Biotechnology company Oxitec is moving forward with plans to develop genetically engineered diamondback moths in an attempt to reduce populations of the invasive crop pest. Their plan is to release males that will pass on a gene preventing female offspring from reaching maturity and reproducing, eventually eradicating the moths in North Ame ...read more
Readers of this blog know that I'm a big fan of Quora, because it lets non-experts raise the kinds of speculative questions that don't normally come up in formal scientific discussions. One frequent theme that comes up is the issue of what we would do if we found intelligent life on a planet around another star. A recent posting in particular caught my eye: "What would we do if we found an Earthlike planet with intelligent life that is 500 years behind us in technology and advancements?" ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine