Citizen Science Stories

Set of eight different vortices, spinning storms, found by Jovian Vortex Hunters with instrument from NASA’s Juno mission

Jovian Vortex Hunters Spun Up Over New Paper

2 min read

Jumping Jupiter! The results are in, storm chasers! Thanks to your help over the last two years the Jovian Vortex Hunter project has published a catalog of 7222 vortices, which you can download here. Each vortex is an enormous swirling…

Article4 days ago

Scientists Share Early Results from NASA’s Solar Eclipse Experiments 

5 min read

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse swept across North America, from the western shores of Mexico, through the United States, and into northeastern Canada. For the eclipse, NASA helped fund numerous research projects and called upon citizen scientists…

Article2 weeks ago
A group of eleven individuals smiling and posing together in a brightly lit room, with colorful abstract artwork displayed on the wall behind them. One person in the front holds a red plaque or award.

Fresh Eyes on Ice Project Wins Award

1 min read

Congratulations to the Fresh Eyes on Ice project, which received a C. Peter Magrath exemplary project award from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities! The award recognizes programs that demonstrate how colleges and universities have redesigned their learning, discovery,…

Article2 weeks ago
A group of smiling people in cold-weather gear and life jackets pose on a boat surrounded by icy waters. They are holding scientific equipment, including a plankton net and collection bottles, with yellow bins and an orange traffic cone visible in the foreground.

This Thanksgiving, We’re Grateful for NASA’s Volunteer Scientists!

2 min read

This year, we’re giving thanks to you for Doing NASA Science! You and the millions of other volunteers have enabled an incredible banquet of discoveries—by taking data, analyzing data, writing code, writing papers, and even inventing your own science projects.…

Article4 weeks ago
A collage of space-themed citizen science project logos, including 'Milky Way Project,' 'Exoplanet Explorers,' 'Cool Neighbors,' 'Disk Detective,' and 'Backyard Worlds: Planet 9.

NASA’s NEOWISE Spacecraft Re-Enters Atmosphere, But More Discoveries Await!

2 min read

NASA’s NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) spacecraft re-entered and burned up in Earth’s atmosphere on Friday night, as expected. Launched in 2009 as the WISE mission, the spacecraft has been mapping the entire sky at infrared wavelengths over…

Article2 months ago
A young woman with curly blonde hair wearing a cozy sweater smiles at the camera, standing in a modern hallway with plants in the background.

Sadie Coffin Named Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences/NASA Citizen Science Leaders Series Fellow

2 min read

In August, the Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences (AAPS) announced a fellowship opportunity in partnership with the NASA Citizen Science Leaders Series. Fifty-five people applied! The applications came from graduate students and early career professionals in diverse disciplines, including astronomy,…

Article2 months ago
A computer generated image of Mars with approximately 80% showing the surface of Mars in bands of gray while the other 20% is a checkboard image inferring this part of the surface has not yet be rendered.

New Project Invites You To Do Martian Cloud Science with NASA

2 min read

Like staring at the clouds? Love the planet Mars? How about staring at the clouds…on Mars?  Now you can join Cloudspotting on Mars: Shapes, a new NASA citizen science project, and help identify beautiful cloud formations on the Red Planet. …

Article2 months ago

Watch How Students Help NASA Grow Plants in Space: Growing Beyond Earth

2 min read

Since 2015, students from across the USA have been partnering with scientists at NASA to advance research on growing plants in space, ultimately to feed astronauts on long-distance space missions, as part of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s Growing Beyond Earth…

Article2 months ago

Eclipse Megamovie Coding Competition

3 min read

Making the most of a solar eclipse demands attention to detail. Do you have what it takes? NASA’s Eclipse Megamovie project launched a new coding competition, and they need your help to organize images from the April 8, 2024 total…

Article2 months ago
An illustration showing the orbits of four newly named asteroids.

Four Asteroids Named After NASA Volunteers

3 min read

Four amateur astronomers working on NASA’s citizen science project, The Daily Minor Planet, were honored for their contributions to astronomy and planetary science by having asteroids in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter named after them. These volunteers reviewed…

Article2 months ago