Celestial Skies: Public Eyes

A few hundred years ago, most science was done by amateurs. But in this age of professional qualifications and expensive equipment you might think there’s no place for amateur stargazers any more. Well think again.

Rob Simpson runs the Zooniverse, a hugely successful ‘citizen science’ project that recruits people to identify different types of galaxies, study the surface of the moon, and much, much more. Fellow astrophysicist Chris Davis works on Solar Stormwatch, a website where anyone can help spot dangerous solar storms.

So is this a new golden age for amateur astronomy? And what do people get out of taking part in projects such as Galaxy Zoo and Solar Stormwatch? Are scientists happy about getting the public getting involved in their work?

Join us to discover how people power is shaping modern astronomy.

Speakers:

Rob Simpson, Zooniverse and University of Oxford
Chris Davis, Solar Stormwatch project, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Stuart Eves, International Space Innovation Centre, UK Space Agency

Facilitator:

Ali Boyle, curator of astronomy, Science Museum

Event organised by: Science Museum

This event is free

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This event supports the Science Museum’s Cosmos and Culture gallery events programme.