A true mark of a scientist is one who does crazy and insane things for what he or she loves in the name of science. And, this certainly extends to citizen scientists who are dedicated to doing whatever it takes to collect the data ... here, residents from New Hampshire and Massachusetts tread through muddy waters and not-so-pleasant conditions to help measure levels of E. Coli and other worrisome things in the Souhegan and Merrimack rivers.

Read more about how one local writer is impressed by their hard work and dedication...

Mac Cowell, the co-founder of the growing do-it-yourself amateur research biotechnology virtual collective is interviewed by Seed Magazine for an interesting look into his push to bring real scientific experiences out from the halls of academia and into the inquisitive masses.

The program is an online infrastructure called DIYbio.org and is reaching out to anyone who is interested in tinkering with a little biology in their own garage. Be inspired by the exciting opportunities DIYbio can bring to your home wet lab and how you can participate in this new, and exciting open collaboration of biotech enthusiasts and serious amateur scientists.

Recently, one of our brave Endeavour astronauts inadvertently let a tool bag slip through her fingers (it wasn't properly attached initially and so caught her unexpectedly). The bag was assumed to be lost to NASA, but it has been recently sighted by amateur astronomers as a reasonably bright satellite.

Only a pair of binoculars are required to view the tool back, and it is currently being tracked online at Spaceweather.com. Enter your zip code to see when you can spot the tools in space!

Last spring, citizen science activities received a wonderful feature the The Christian Science Monitor. Focusing on some of the largest nation-wide citizen science programs as well as a brief interview with Dr. Carlson of SAS, the article is another positive reflection that amateur research activities are growing and will continue to be encouraged.

"'Citizen scientists' watch for signs of climate change" :: The Christian Science Monitor :: April 10, 2008 :: [ READ ]

In late July, we reminded you to "look up" in early August to enjoy the annual Perseid meteor shower (read). Hopefully, many of you had an enjoyable and awe-inspiring experience (this author went out and saw one flash in the corner of his eye, but had to get back into bed for an upcoming long day). This year, a few amateur astronomers took their 'looking up" a step further beyond Earth's upper atmosphere, and focused their telescopes onto the surface of the Moon. Amazing bright flashes of meteor explosions on the surface of the Moon were seen using typical backyard telescopes!

This specific form of moon-gazing is actually quite important right now, as NASA has a program established to monitor meteor activity on the surface of the Moon. This effort is to better understand the safety requirements for the next generation of astronauts who will hopefully set up camp for a while.

The Lunar Impact Monitoring program at the Marshall Space Flight Center trains its telescopes toward the Moon as frequently as possible, but Moon phases and atmospheric conditions will often limit their coverage. In fact, they were unable to monitor the Moon during the Perseids. So, developing a world-wide team of amateur astronomers will greatly enhance the programs ability to accurately predict and monitor meteor activity, which will lead to better considerations for activity recommendations for lunar landings and extended camps.

DPRI already features this important citizen science project in our collection of Amateur Science Opportunities, and we will plan to write a more thorough review of the program in the near future.

Citizen scientists high up in the Rocky Mountains today were "blitz-ing" for water samples at hundreds of locations through the Rocky Mountain National Park. Researchers are massing together to monitor water conditions all over the park -- at approximately the same instant in time.

This research, which can only be accomplished with the outstanding efforts of many citizen science volunteers, will help guide professionals on understanding the greater habitat, and how and where external nutrients like fertilizers and other pollutants are affecting the environment.

This is an update to a previously-published journal entry here in DPRI AmSci Journal on the exciting discovery of a new galactic "something-er-other" seen for the very first time by none other than a school teacher from the Netherlands.

Hanny van Arkel has been getting quite a bit of attention lately (just check out her Google search!) with her interesting observation while reviewing and classifying images of galaxies on Galaxy Zoo. The Hubble Space Telescope is also scheduled to focus in on the odd object next year.

Read the following feature from CNN, which does a nice job presenting the growing contributions of citizen scientists.

Watch Out World, now, the serious amateur researcher is making some waves!

The citizen science volunteers of the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy of Purcellville, VA recently completed their annual butterfly count. Covering 7 1/2 miles, the program records the number of butterflies found as well as the variety of species.

A few of the more rare species found this year include the Giant Swallowtail, the American Snout, and the Juniper hairstreak. The full results will be submitted to the North American Butterfly Association, which then merges it with other groups' results from across North America to produce broader butterfly species habitat and population trend maps.

Check out the NABA website for a listing of upcoming butterfly counts as well as "Butterflies I've Seen," which is a great online database for submitting your own butterfly observations.

In an upcoming conference of the 93rd annual Ecological Society of America meeting, the USGS will be reporting on recent successes of research programs directly involving citizen scientists.

From bees, dust, and a 40-year historical overview of birding amateur science, the conference will be filled with fine examples of the productivity and effectiveness of citizen science efforts.

So, we have another positive report to the professional scientific community of how useful citizen science can be, and how we all can benefit from the personal enjoyment of amateur science while helping develop new knowledge for the greater scientific community.

An upcoming BioBlitz scheduled on Long Island in the Tanglewood Preserve has the local academia and the local amateur scientists excited... and the event might also have piqued some interest from producers at The Discovery Channel.

The BioBlitz is an interesting movement where community members designate a 24-hour period to canvass their local region and identify and catalog all of the organisms that can be observed. This concept is a perfect idea and opportunity to unite citizen scientists and local professional scientists to help keep track of regional biodiversity, species evolution, and environmental impacts on the local biosphere.

The following report suggests an unofficial interest from The Discovery Channel to document one such event, which would be a wonderful publicity boon to supporting the role of the citizen scientist and will certainly inspire many more to look into opportunities in their local areas.

The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission has successfully recruited citizen scientists in the area to record over 2,500 observations of box turtle activity during an eight-month period last year, and are continuing the efforts this year. The box turtle population is potentially being threatened, and the mass data collection is being used to determine it status.

This collective work of amateurs is yet another example of how citizen science is being taken more seriously ... in particular, because it is proving to be so useful to organizations who simply don't have the people-power to gather large amounts of data.

If you live in the area or would like to preview the preliminary data, visit the Natural Heritage program on line.

Google is making a $50,000 financial connection with Galaxy Zoo to support the continued development of the program, and to extend the reach and usability of GoogleSky. Professor Bob Nichol, a Galaxy Zoo team member and faculty at the University of Portsmouth, is the recipient of the grant.

Google sure is getting into everything these days... sound like a familiar Mr. Gates a few years back? ... fortunately, the technology is pretty great for assisting amateur scientists to great things!

The following email plea was recently sent out by the SETI@HOME program to encourage citizen scientists to contact Congress right away to insist on the continued funding of Arecibo Radio Telescope, which is the source for all data analysized through SETI. Please consider how important this program is to you personally, and consider becoming involved with the data analysis, if you have not yet already done so [ LEARN MORE ]

********************
Arecibo Observatory, the world's largest radio telescope and the source for the SETI@home data that your computer analyzes, faces massive budget cuts that will END its ability to continue the search for life beyond Earth. The decision to ensure full funding currently rests upon votes in Congress on Senate Bill S.2862 and House Resolution H.R. 3737. These bills desperately need more support.

Please take a moment to help us SAVE ARECIBO.

Clicking the link below will direct you to a web page that allows you to print out letters prepared for your Senators and Congressional Representative urging them to support Arecibo. Printing and mailing the letters is really easy, too! You will also have the chance to add a few personal thoughts, if you wish, to let your Senators and Representative know why this funding is important to you! And if you're really feeling passionate about saving Arecibo, please use these letters as the basis for letters you write yourself, urging your congressmen and women to vote to save Arecibo.

Because our representatives in Congress rarely give much attention to all the email they receive, printing out and MAILING these letters via standard U.S. Postal mail remains our best option for contacting them and our best hope for saving Arecibo (The second best option is to call your representatives). Your 42 cent stamps on these letters could help us get the millions of dollars needed to save Arecibo.

Our search cannot continue without the necessary support. Your work, as SETI@home participants, represents an indispensable resource for conducting the search. Now, we need your help to ensure that our other most valuable resource - our eyes and ears to the cosmos - can continue to probe the universe as we seek to answer the question: Is there anybody out there?

[ OPEN ARECIBO LETTER ]

Thank you for your help,

The SETI@home Team
********************

Citizen scientists are making more significant contributions in South Carolina where the Swallow-tailed Kite (more) has become severely geographically restricted, and is now considered endangered.

The current extent of the bird's habitat has been mapped out only because of the reporting of observations from people living in the area. In fact, the ten-year-old national wildlife refuge, Waccamaw, was established based on citizen science observations.

View from the Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Jessica Johnson, The Post and Courier

The South Carolina Swallow-tailed Kites Working Group is heading up critical programs to continue monitoring and mapping the habitat development of the bird. You may join in this project by reporting your own observations and bird sightings by registering with The Center for Birds of Prey, who is managing the on line database.

In August 2006, BBC Radio 4 featured a great 3-week program on citizen science activities in Great Britain. You may listen to the archived programs online, which are now featured in the DPRI Learning/EDU section.

Be inspired by people who love doing amateur research and how they contribute valuable information to the scientific community. [ LISTEN NOW ]

Wildlife monitoring at Glacier National Park in Montana is the daunting responsibility of two biologists, little funding, a whole lot of ground to cover, and hundreds of species to track.

Over the past couple of summers, local volunteers have been trained to travel deep into the backwoods of the park and monitor population levels of animals that are of serious concern. The data collection has been tremedous, and would have otherwise been impossible to organize without the army of amateurs dedicated to supporting the park.

Through the Crown of the Continent Research Learning Center  at the park, additional training sessions will be available in July for those interested in participating. Call 406.888.7986 for more information.

"Citizen Scientists to the Rescue for Glacier Park" :: Flathead Beacon :: June 26, 2008 :: [ READ ]

[ VIEW ] Live Webcams at Glacier National Park

A report on a large Bee-Keeper group could be easily set up by anyone interested in this nature hobby.

East Bay hub for bee hobbyists' hives :: Contra Costa Times June 19, 2008 [read]

This is real amateur science making real discoveries. Galaxy Zoo allows citizen scientists to help identify and classify astronomical objects in a way that is surprisingly much more efficient that a computer program. (This is featured as a DPRI eLab.) Read about this new discovery that has excited astrophysicists from around the world...

Talk on your new iPhone, let the government track your every move, and help support social science research. Maybe Steve Jobs and the US Government can give us a subsidized phones to help with any potential projects .

GPS-Equipped iPhone Could Enable New Citizen Science :: Wired Science June 09, 2008 [read]

Seriously, though, there certainly could be interesting projects to set up with GPS tracking and social movement, clustering, and other measurements of self-organizing masses of people.