SkyandTelescope.com July 2014 37entrepreneurship is prominent in the public sphere due to
websites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, which enable
inventors and creative professionals to get their ideas off
the ground without the traditional system of loans and
venture capital. Crowdsourced research fi nds its expres-
sion in campaigns such as Galaxy Zoo, SETI@home, and
PlanetHunters.org (March issue, p. 18).
Crowdsourcing, however, is nothing new to amateur
astronomy. ALPO (the Association of Lunar and Plan-
etary Observers) has been crowdsourcing scientifi c data
gathering to the amateur community since shortly after
World War II, and the AAVSO has been doing the same
for more than a century! This tradition of crowdsourced
citizen science has continued through a variety of ama-
teur research projects devoted to photometric light curve
analysis of asteroids and comets, a pursuit that may even
have the long-term potential to help save our species from
catastrophic impacts.
The most important trait for successfully contributing
to citizen research is discipline and well-developed organi-
zational and observing skills. Learning to structure your
observing pursuits is critical to gathering good, usable
data, and participating in the Astronomical League’s
observing award programs is a great way to learn this.
Citizen research is perhaps the most rewarding pur-
suit in all of amateur astronomy; it gives an intoxicating
sense of pride and accomplishment. Contributing to real,
ongoing scientifi c data gathering allows you to blur the
line between “amateur” and “astronomer,” giving you a
footing one step closer to legendary observers such as
William Herschel, Edward Emerson Barnard, and Clyde
Tombaugh, all of whom started simply as deeply devoted
enthusiasts. Citizen science is proof that fanatical ama-
teurs pooling their research and resources are collectively
capable of greatness.
Do I still sometimes go out without a plan, opening
my atlas at random and letting the chips fall where they
may? Of course I do! But I have found that my forays into
structured observing have enhanced even my freeform
sessions enormously. I take things at a slower pace,
taking more time to soak up the view. I also fi nd myself
returning to familiar celestial haunts far less often,
instead choosing to seek out unexplored territory. All told,
dipping my toe into a more clinical, scientifi c approach
to the hobby has enriched every aspect of my observing
experience. I strongly encourage all of my fellow freeform
observers to give it a try. It may change the way you look
at the sky forever. ✦
Tristan J. Schwartz is a current member of the Colorado
Springs Astronomical Society and was a guest lecturer at the
2013 Rocky Mountain Star Stare. Tristan is one of the chief
designers of “Origins,” a space-science exhibit at the Arizona
Museum of Natural History in Mesa, where he formerly con-
ducted a number of astronomy outreach programs.
Timing occulta-
tions is one of
the simplest and
most eff ective
ways to contribute
to astronomi-
cal science. The
shapes of these
asteroids (one
of them double)
were determined
by multiple
observers with
video cameras or
stopwatches.S&T:LEAH TISCIONE / SOURCE: IOTA (3)90 Antiope704 Interamnia234 Barbara234 Barbara