{"id":2063,"date":"2024-04-19T16:29:28","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T16:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aurorasaurudev.wpengine.com\/?p=2063"},"modified":"2026-07-06T21:00:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T21:00:24","slug":"helio-big-year-more-ways-to-celebrate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.aurorasaurus.org\/?p=2063","title":{"rendered":"Helio Big Year: More Ways to Celebrate!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note: This blog post contains and links to eclipse imagery.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The April 8, 2024 eclipse was an amazing experience for millions, and <\/span>inspired more than 36,000 people<\/span><\/a> to #DoNASAScience! While the solar eclipse is now over, eclipse participatory science projects are <\/span>going strong<\/span><\/a>. In addition, the <\/span>Heliophysics Big Year<\/span><\/a>\u2014a global celebration of solar science and the Sun\u2019s influence on Earth and the entire solar system\u2014is on through December 2024! There are still <\/span>many ways to be involved<\/span><\/a>, including <\/span>learning about the Sun<\/span><\/a> and taking part in participatory science. This month, which is Citizen Science Month, you can also be part of SciStarter\u2019s <\/span>One Million Acts of Science<\/span><\/a>! In this post, we list some of our fellow <\/span>participatory science projects<\/span><\/a>, active all year round.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Under<\/a>
Astrophotographer and Artemis engineer Rahul V. of NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Flight Center with solar telescopes and a group of eclipse chasers in Lometa, TX, April 8, 2024.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Try out a project on Zooniverse<\/span><\/h2>\n

Zooniverse is an online platform that hosts a huge variety of participatory science projects. It\u2019s quick and easy to try something new!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"Solar<\/a><\/td>\nSolar Jet Hunter<\/span><\/a>: Did you see small-scale features in the corona during the eclipse? Join the hunt for solar jets, which are small and narrow ejections of solar material, to help us address some of the Sun’s mysteries.\u00a0 The goal of this Zooniverse project is to build a database of solar jets. Building this database will provide a jumping-off point for researchers to study the physics of solar ejections. The database will allow researchers to find interesting cases, compare data across other types of solar activity databases, and conduct broad statistical studies of jet properties.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Planet<\/a><\/td>\nPlanet Hunters TESS<\/span><\/a>: The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is providing a huge amount of data that lets us look for planets outside of our own Solar System and you can help! Every two years TESS will be busy surveying two-hundred-thousand bright nearby stars, measuring and recording their brightness every two minutes. Help uncover interesting planetary systems, allowing exploration of the formation and evolution of these worlds. These findings may even bring us one step closer to answering the question that we all seek to answer: Are we alone in the Universe?<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Dig deeper into science<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you want to get more hands-on with heliophysics, these projects offer more involved ways to delve into participatory science.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\"Image<\/a><\/td>\nThe Sungrazer Project<\/span><\/a> is a NASA-funded program that enables the discovery and reporting of previously unknown comets in the ESA\/NASA SOHO and NASA STEREO satellite instrument fields of view. Anyone, anywhere in the world can become a “Comet Hunter”, and begin looking for new comets in the spacecraft data. The Sungrazer Project provides enables the reporting of these comets, and subsequently allows the project team to ultimately turn the comet reports into officially designated comets. <\/span>They recently found their 5,000th comet<\/span><\/a>!<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Exoplanet<\/a><\/td>\nExoplanet Watch<\/span><\/a> is a NASA citizen science project, sponsored by NASA’s Universe of Learning, that lets anyone and everyone (yes, you!) learn about planets that orbit stars beyond our solar system and get involved in observing them. This would be a great project for those who participated in Citizen CATE or the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast Initiative to check out with their telescope equipment.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Eclipse<\/a><\/td>\nThe Eclipse Soundscapes Project<\/span><\/a> funded by NASA Science Activation is studying how eclipses affect life on Earth during the October 14, 2023 annular solar eclipse and the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse. An important way for people to participate in this project now is by helping to analyze all of the soundscape data that is collected. Anyone with an internet connection can learn how to analyze data as an \u201cEclipse Soundscapes Data Analyst\u201d through free online training. After you analyze soundscape data you will earn an Eclipse Soundscapes Data Analyst certificate of completion.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"HamSCI<\/a><\/td>\nHamSCI<\/span><\/a>, the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation aims to::<\/span><\/p>\n