Scrape wikipedia-science: 781 new, 929 updated, 1757 total (kb-cron)

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Asteroids_(citizen_science_project)-0.md

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+---
+title: "Active Asteroids (citizen science project)"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Asteroids_(citizen_science_project)"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:04.959539+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+Active Asteroids is a NASA partner citizen science project that successfully discovered active asteroids, including main-belt comets, quasi-Hilda objects, and Jupiter family comets. The project is hosted on the Zooniverse platform and is funded by a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program. It uses images from the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) to search for tails around asteroids and other minor planets. The research team is led by Colin Orion Chandler. As of April 2024 about 8300 volunteers carried out 6.7 million classifications of 430 thousand images. At the time only 60 active asteroids were known and 16 new active objects were discovered by this project, significantly increasing the sample of known objects.
+The success of the project did result in the development of Rubin Comet Catchers, a citizen science project using data by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and a similar approach as the Active Asteroids project.
+
+
+== Pre-launch preparation ==
+Before the team launched the project, the team gained experience with DECam and published three papers. These include detection of activity around previously known active asteroid (62412) 2000 SY178, revealing 6 years of activity on 6478 Gault and activity discovered on the centaur 2014 OG392.
+
+
+== Discoveries ==
+
+The project uses a pipeline called HARVEST, which compares metadata from astronomical image archives with the data from the Minor Planet Center and produces images at positions of minor planets. It also excludes images with no detection or images that cannot detect asteroids. Since February 2024 the team also used a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), called TailNet, to filter out bad images before they are shown to volunteers and to identify high-likely candidates. This CNN uses classification-labels made by the volunteers and is constantly improved with new classifications. One of the first discovery was made in September 2022, when the team published a paper describing that 282P/(323137) 2003 BM80 showed sustained activity over 15 months in 2021–2022. Activity was previously reported in 2012–2013 and the team analysed the orbit, finding that it is an outbursting quasi-Hilda object. The object 2010 LH15 was discovered to have cometary activity from DECam images by the Active Asteroids project. A follow-up study did find activity in images of the Zwicky Transient Facility and showed that the object had a radius of 1.11±0.02 km. The study also showed that the activity was likely due to sublimation. The activity did onset at 1.86 astronomical units (AU), which is closer than other main-belt comets. The researchers find that sublimating volatiles must be buried deeper than on other active asteroids showing sublimation.
+
+
+=== List of discoveries ===
+
+
+== See also ==
+other citizen science projects researching minor planets:
+
+The Daily Minor Planet Active
+Asteroid Zoo inactive
+Stardust@home
+Catalina Outer Solar System Survey inactive
+other citizen science projects
+
+Zooniverse citizen science platform
+BOINC volunteer computing platform
+Planet Hunters: exoplanet discovery project
+Backyard Worlds: brown dwarf discovery project
+
+
+== References ==

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahi_Pepe_MothNet-0.md

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+---
+title: "Ahi Pepe MothNet"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahi_Pepe_MothNet"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:06.115869+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+Ahi Pepe MothNet (styled Ahi Pepe | MothNet) is a citizen science initiative based in Otago, New Zealand that aims to raise the awareness of moths among teachers and students.
+
+
+== Name ==
+Ahi Pepe (Māori for moth fire) refers to a traditional proverb (whakataukī) of Te Whiti o Rongomai about firelight attracting moths (pepe) instead of muttonbirds (tītī).
+
+
+== Activities ==
+Ahi Pepe began in 2015 as a project with four Otago schools, and continued with funding from Participatory Science Platform, Unlocking Curious Minds, and the Biological Heritage National Science Challenge. Collaborators include Otago Museum, Orokonui Ecosanctuary, the University of Otago, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Landcare Research and schools across the South Island.
+In October 2016, Ahi Pepe worked with Orokonui Ecosanctuary to install moth traps inside and outside the predator-proof fence, and school children worked alongside entomologists to identify the moths caught. The project has produced educational resources for schools in both English and Te Reo Māori. The South Island guide is the first educational resource to be written in the Kāi Tahu dialect.
+In 2017, public donations enabled a delegation of Otago schoolchildren to give a presentation on Ahi Pepe at the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education in Toronto.
+
+
+== Publications ==
+2015 – Beginner’s Guide to the Otago Macro Moths
+2016 –  Puka Whakamārama o Te Pepe Nui - Beginners' Guide to the Macro Moths (South Island): eight booklets each covering a bioregion either in Kāi Tahu or English. 
+2017 –  Puka Whakamārama o Te Pepe Nui - Beginners' Guide to the Macro Moths Archived 2018-02-15 at the Wayback Machine (North Island): eight booklets each covering a bioregion either in standard Te Reo Māori or English. 
+All publications are produced in English and Te Reo Māori editions.
+
+
+== External links ==
+Ahi Pepe | Mothnet website Archived 2018-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
+Ahi Pepe Facebook page
+
+
+== References ==

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_astronomy-0.md

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+---
+title: "Amateur astronomy"
+chunk: 1/4
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_astronomy"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:07.303431+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing, studying, or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, telescopes, and other gadgets. Although scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers contribute to citizen science by monitoring variable stars, double stars, sunspots, and occultations of stars by the Moon or asteroids, as well as by discovering transient astronomical events, such as comets, galactic novae or supernovae in other galaxies.
+Amateur astronomers do not use the field of astronomy as their primary source of income or support, as well as typically having no professional degree in astrophysics or advanced academic training in the subject.  Most amateur astronomers are hobbyists, while others have a high degree of experience in astronomy and may often assist and work alongside professional astronomers. Many astronomers have studied the sky throughout history in an amateur framework; however, since the beginning of the twentieth century, professional astronomy has become a clearly distinguished activity from amateur astronomy and associated activities.
+Amateur astronomers typically view the sky at night, when most celestial objects and astronomical events are visible, but others observe during the daytime by viewing the Sun and solar eclipses.  Some observe the sky using nothing more than their eyes or binoculars, while more dedicated amateurs often use portable telescopes or telescopes situated in their private or club observatories. However, light pollution has made amateur astronomy increasingly difficult to observe celestial objects, as sky glow washes out darkness and minimizes visibility. Amateurs commonly join amateur astronomical societies, which can advise, educate, or guide individuals towards ways of finding and observing celestial objects. Astronomical societies also promote the science of astronomy among the general public. 
+
+== Objectives ==
+
+Collectively, amateur astronomers observe a variety of celestial objects and phenomena.  Common targets of amateur astronomers include the Sun, the Moon, planets, stars, comets, meteor showers, and a variety of deep sky objects such as star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae.  Amateur astronomers purse their work in order to educate the public, make contributions to the scientific world, and express their passion. Many amateurs like to specialize in observing particular objects, types of objects, or types of events which interest them.
+One branch of amateur astronomy, amateur astrophotography, involves the taking of photos of the night sky.  Astrophotography has become more popular with the introduction of far easier to use equipment including digital cameras, DSLR cameras and relatively sophisticated purpose built high quality CCD cameras and CMOS cameras.
+Most amateur astronomers work at visible wavelengths, but a small minority experiment with wavelengths outside the visible spectrum. An early pioneer of radio astronomy was Grote Reber, an  amateur astronomer who constructed the first purpose-built radio telescope in the late 1930s to follow up on the discovery of radio wavelength emissions from space by Karl Jansky. Non-visual amateur astronomy includes the use of infrared filters on conventional telescopes, and also the use of radio telescopes.  Some amateur astronomers use home-made radio telescopes, while others use radio telescopes that were originally built for astronomical research but have since been made available for use by amateurs. The One-Mile Telescope is one such example.
+Sidewalk astronomy — the practice of setting up telescopes for public viewing — aims at educating and engaging the public with astronomy. In addition to increasing interest in astronomy and science in general, sidewalk astronomy raises awareness of light pollution issues.
+
+== History ==
+The history of amateur astronomy dates back to early civilizations where the practice of observing celestial objects became a device that assisted in predicting atmospheric patterns to help enable proactive decisions on developing agriculture. Civilizations like the Babylonians, Chaldeans, and ancient Egyptians created calendars, predicted eclipse dates, and separated day and night through ancient amateur astronomers using simple tools and the naked eye to track celestial bodies. Popularizing in the mid-nineteenth century, amateur astronomy gained millions of participants evolving from wealthy "Grand Amateurs" and the more accessible equipment after World War II. 
+
+== Common tools ==
+
+Amateur astronomers use a range of instruments to study the sky, depending on a combination of their interests and resources.  Methods include simply looking at the night sky with the naked eye, using binoculars, and using a variety of optical telescopes of varying power and quality, as well as additional sophisticated equipment, such as cameras, to study light from the sky in both the visual and non-visual parts of the spectrum. To further improve studying the visual and non-visual part of the spectrum, amateur astronomers go to rural areas to get away from light pollution. Commercial telescopes are available, new and used, but it is also common for amateur astronomers to build (or commission the building of) their own custom telescopes.  Some people even focus on amateur telescope making as their primary interest within the hobby of amateur astronomy. More advanced methods of locating objects in the sky include telescope mounts with setting circles, which allow pointing to targets in the sky using celestial coordinates, and GOTO telescopes, which are fully automated telescopes that are capable of locating objects on demand (having first been calibrated).
+
+=== Simple equipment ===
+Although specialized and experienced amateur astronomers tend to acquire more specialized and powerful equipment over time, relatively simple equipment is often preferred for certain tasks. Binoculars, for instance, although generally of lower power than the majority of telescopes, also tend to provide a wider field of view and are more portable, which is preferable for looking at some objects in the night sky. Recent smartphone models have a "night mode" option when taking pictures that allows users to increase exposure, which refers to the period of time the picture is being taken. This optimizes focus on light in the frame which is why it is used primarily at night.

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+---
+title: "Amateur astronomy"
+chunk: 2/4
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_astronomy"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:07.303431+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+=== Beginner telescopes ===
+Beginner telescopes, commonly used by amateur astronomers to observe celestial objects in more detail, are a more powerful tool compared to other amateur equipment such as binoculars. Amateur astronomers often use four main types of optical telescopes: reflectors, refractors, hybrid, and Dobsonian telescopes. Reflector telescopes utilize mirrors while refractors use lenses, these combine to create the hybrid telescope, which uses a combination of both mirrors and lenses. The Dobsonian is a type of reflector with the addition of a base or mount.  
+GOTO telescopes have become more popular since the 1980s as technology has improved and prices have been reduced.  With these computer-driven telescopes, the user typically enters the name of the item of interest and the mechanics of the telescope point the telescope towards that item automatically.  They have several notable advantages for amateur astronomers intent on research.  For example, GOTO telescopes tend to be faster for locating items of interest than star hopping, allowing more time for studying of the object.  GOTO also allows manufacturers to add equatorial tracking to mechanically simpler alt-azimuth telescope mounts, allowing them to produce an overall less expensive product. GOTO telescopes usually have to be calibrated using alignment stars to provide accurate tracking and positioning. Several telescope manufacturers have recently developed telescope systems that are calibrated with the use of built-in GPS, decreasing the time it takes to set up a telescope at the start of an observing session.
+
+=== Remote-controlled telescopes ===
+With the development of fast internet in the last part of the 20th century along with advances in computer controlled telescope mounts and CCD cameras, "remote telescope" astronomy is now a viable means for amateur astronomers not aligned with major telescope facilities to partake in research and deep sky imaging. This enables anyone to control a telescope a great distance away in a dark location. The observer can image through the telescope using CCD cameras. The digital data collected by the telescope is then transmitted and displayed to the user by means of the Internet. An example of a digital remote telescope operation for public use via the Internet is the Bareket Observatory, and there are telescope farms in New Mexico, Australia and Atacama in Chile.
+
+=== Star charts ===
+Amateur astronomers also use star charts that, depending on experience and intentions, may range from simple planispheres through to star atlases with detailed charts of the entire night sky. A range of astronomy software is also available and used by amateur astronomers, including software that generates maps of the sky, software to assist with astrophotography, observation scheduling software, and software to perform various calculations pertaining to astronomical phenomena.
+
+=== Setting circles ===
+
+Setting circles are angular measurement scales that can be placed on the two main rotation axes of some telescopes.  Since the widespread adoption of digital setting circles, any classical engraved setting circle is now specifically identified as an "analog setting circle" (ASC).  By knowing the coordinates of an object (usually given in equatorial coordinates), the telescope user can use the setting circle to align (i.e., point) the telescope in the appropriate direction before looking through its eyepiece.  A computerized setting circle is called a "digital setting circle" (DSC).  Although digital setting circles can be used to display a telescope's RA and Dec coordinates, they are not simply a digital read-out of what can be seen on the telescope's analog setting circles.  As with go-to telescopes, digital setting circle computers (commercial names include Argo Navis, Sky Commander, and NGC Max) contain databases of tens of thousands of celestial objects and projections of planet positions.
+To find a celestial object in a telescope equipped with a DSC computer, one does not need to look up the specific RA and Dec coordinates in a book or other resource, and then adjust the telescope to those numerical readings. Rather, the object is chosen from the electronic database, which causes distance values and arrow markers to appear in the display that indicate the distance and direction to move the telescope. The telescope is moved until the two angular distance values reach zero, indicating that the telescope is properly aligned. When both the RA and Dec axes are thus "zeroed out", the object should be in the eyepiece. Many DSCs, like go-to systems, can also work in conjunction with laptop sky programs.
+Computerized systems provide the further advantage of computing coordinate precession. Traditional printed sources are subtitled by the epoch year, which refers to the positions of celestial objects at a given time to the nearest year (e.g., J2005, J2007).  Most such printed sources have been updated for intervals of only about every fifty years (e.g., J1900, J1950, J2000).  Computerized sources, on the other hand, are able to calculate the right ascension and declination of the "epoch of date" to the exact instant of observation.
+
+=== Observing logs ===
+Amateur astronomers often like to keep records of their observations, which usually takes the form of an observing log.  Observing logs typically record details about which objects were observed and when, as well as describing the details that were seen.  Sketching is sometimes used within logs, and photographic records of observations have also been used in recent times. The information gathered is used to help studies and interactions between amateur astronomers in yearly gatherings. Although not professional information or credible, it is a way for the hobby lovers to share their new sightings and experiences.

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+---
+title: "Amateur astronomy"
+chunk: 3/4
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_astronomy"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:07.303431+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+=== Mobile apps ===
+The advent of mobile applications for use in smartphones has led to the creation of many dedicated apps. These apps allow any user to easily locate celestial objects of interest by simply pointing the smartphone device in that direction in the sky. These apps make use of the inbuilt hardware in the phone, such as GPS location and gyroscope. Useful information about the pointed object like celestial coordinates, the name of the object, its constellation, etc. are provided for a quick reference. Some paid versions give more information. These apps are gradually getting into regular use during observing, for the alignment process of telescopes.
+
+=== The internet ===
+The popularity of imaging among amateurs has led to large numbers of web sites being written by individuals about their images and equipment. Much of the social interaction of amateur astronomy occurs on mailing lists or discussion groups. Discussion group servers host numerous astronomy lists. A great deal of the commerce of amateur astronomy, the buying and selling of equipment, occurs online. Many amateurs use online tools to plan their nightly observing sessions, using tools such as the Clear Sky Chart.
+
+== Common techniques ==
+While a number of interesting celestial objects are readily identified by the naked eye, sometimes with the aid of a star chart, many others are so faint or inconspicuous that technical means are necessary to locate them. Although many methods are used in amateur astronomy, most are techniques that are adaptations of core practices.
+
+=== Star hopping ===
+
+Star hopping is a method often used by amateur astronomers with low-tech equipment such as binoculars or a manually driven telescope.  It involves the use of maps (or memory) to locate known landmark stars, and "hopping" between them, often with the aid of a finderscope.  Because of its simplicity, star hopping is a very common method for finding objects that are close to naked-eye stars.
+
+== Imaging techniques ==
+
+Amateur astronomers engage in many imaging techniques including film, DSLR, LRGB, and CCD astrophotography. DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) cameras, such as the Canon EOS 60D camera, provide a cost-effective, consumer-grade alternative to CCDs, capable of achieving ideal outcomes for MAD (median absolute deviation). LRGB produce high-quality, cleaner images, allowing amateur astronomers to acquire fine color detail by combining a RGB color images and greyscale images. CCD cameras are widely used due to their fast exposures, sensitivity, dynamic range, less hardware, and linear response, allowing amateur astronomers to capture vague celestial objects. Because CCD imagers are linear, image processing may be used to subtract away the effects of light pollution, which has increased the popularity of astrophotography in urban areas. Narrowband filters may also be used to minimize light pollution.
+
+== Light pollution ==
+
+In recent times, increasing light pollution, radio interference, and satellite activity have had a negative effect on the outcomes of amateur astronomers' observations and work, limiting their potential contributions or findings of scientific discoveries. Urban lighting has had particularly detrimental effects on amateur astronomers by light trespass compromising their observatories and ruining the correct lighting conditions for photographic observations.
+
+== Scientific research ==
+Although not the main goal of amateur astronomers, scientific research is possible, and many amateurs successfully contribute to the knowledge base of astronomy.  Astronomy is sometimes promoted as one of the few remaining sciences for which amateurs can still contribute useful data.  To recognize this, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific annually gives Amateur Achievement Awards for significant contributions to astronomy by amateurs.
+The majority of scientific contributions by amateur astronomers are in the area of data collection. In particular, this applies where large numbers of amateur astronomers with small telescopes are more effective than the relatively small number of large telescopes that are available to professional astronomers.  Several organizations, such as the American Association of Variable Star Observers and the British Astronomical Association, exist to help coordinate these contributions.
+Amateur astronomers often contribute toward activities such as monitoring the changes in brightness of variable stars and supernovae, helping to track asteroids, and observing occultations to determine both the shape of asteroids and the shape of the terrain on the apparent edge of the Moon as seen from Earth. With more advanced equipment, but still cheap in comparison to professional setups, amateur astronomers can measure the light spectrum emitted from astronomical objects, which can yield high-quality scientific data if the measurements are performed with due care.  A relatively recent role for amateur astronomers is searching for overlooked phenomena (e.g., Kreutz Sungrazers) in the vast libraries of digital images and other data captured by Earth and space based observatories, much of which is available over the Internet.
+In the past and present, amateur astronomers have played a major role in discovering new comets.  The introduction of projects such as the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research and Near Earth Asteroid Tracking projects has meant that most comets are now discovered by automated systems long before it is possible for amateurs to see them.
+
+== Societies ==
+
+There are a large number of amateur astronomical societies around the world, that serve as a meeting point for those interested in amateur astronomy. Members range from active observers with their own equipment to "armchair astronomers" who are simply interested in the topic. Societies range widely in their goals and activities, which may depend on a variety of factors such as geographic spread, local circumstances, size, and membership. For example, a small local society located in dark countryside may focus on practical observing and star parties, whereas a large one based in a major city might have numerous members but be limited by light pollution and thus hold regular indoor meetings with guest speakers instead. Major national or international societies generally publish their own academic journal or newsletter, and some hold large multi-day meetings akin to a scientific conference or convention. They may also have sections devoted to particular topics, such as lunar observation or amateur telescope making.
+
+== Notable contributions by amateur astronomers ==

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+---
+title: "Amateur astronomy"
+chunk: 4/4
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_astronomy"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:07.303431+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+There have been many significant scientific, technological, and cultural contributions made by amateur astronomers:
+
+George Alcock, one of the most successful visual discoverers of comets and novae.
+John E. Bortle,  authored '"Comet Digest" in Sky and Telescope magazine and the monthly AAVSO circular for the American Association of Variable Star Observers.  Created the Bortle scale to quantify the darkness of the night sky.
+Robert Burnham Jr. (1931–1993), author of the Celestial Handbook.
+Andrew Ainslie Common (1841–1903), built his own very large reflecting telescopes and demonstrated that photography could record astronomical features invisible to the human eye.
+Robert E. Cox (1917–1989) who conducted the "Gleanings for ATMs" column in Sky & Telescope magazine for 21 years.
+John Dobson (1915–2014), promoter of astronomy whose name is associated with the Dobsonian telescope.
+Robert Owen Evans (1937–2022) was an amateur astronomer who currently holds the all-time record for visual discoveries of supernovae.
+Giuseppe Donatiello, discovered twelve nearby dwarf galaxies in the Local Volume including the first galaxy to be named after its non-professional discoverer and three ultrafaint dwarf galaxies in the Local Group (Pisces VII, Pegasus V/Andromeda XXXIV and Andromeda XXXVI).
+Will Hay, comedian and actor, who discovered a white spot on Saturn.
+Walter Scott Houston (1912–1993) who wrote the "Deep-Sky Wonders" column in Sky & Telescope magazine for almost 50 years.
+Albert G. Ingalls (1888–1958), editor of Amateur Telescope Making, Vols. 1–3 and "The Amateur Scientist".
+David H. Levy discovered or co-discovered 22 comets including Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, the most for any individual.
+Sir Patrick Moore (1923–2012), presenter of the BBC's long-running The Sky at Night and author of many books on astronomy.
+Jack Newton (1942-2025), Canadian developer of cold camera astrophotography; founder of the dark sky Arizona Sky Village.
+Russell W. Porter (1871–1949) founded Stellafane and has been referred to as a "founder" of amateur telescope making.
+Grote Reber (1911–2002), pioneer of radio astronomy constructing the first purpose-built radio telescope and conducted the first sky survey in the radio frequency.
+
+=== Citizen science projects ===
+Amateur astronomers and other non-professionals make contributions through ongoing citizen science projects:
+
+XO Project, an international team of amateur and professional astronomers tasked with identifying extrasolar planets.
+Many amateur astronomers contribute to scientific discoveries as part of the citizen science Zooniverse project.
+
+== Prizes recognizing amateur astronomers ==
+Amateur Achievement Award of Astronomical Society of the Pacific
+Chambliss Amateur Achievement Award
+
+== See also ==
+
+== References ==
+
+== Further reading ==
+Timothy Ferris (2002). Seeing in the Dark: How Backyard Stargazers Are Probing Deep Space and Guarding Earth from Interplanetary Peril. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-86579-9.
+P. Clay Sherrod; Thomas L. Koed (2003). A Complete Manual of Amateur Astronomy: Tools and Techniques for Astronomical Observations. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-42820-8.
+Mousis, O.; et al. (November 2014). "Instrumental methods for professional and amateur collaborations in planetary astronomy". Experimental Astronomy. 38 (1–2): 91–191. arXiv:1305.3647. Bibcode:2014ExA....38...91M. doi:10.1007/s10686-014-9379-0.
+
+== External links ==
+
+Amateur Astronomy Magazine

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anecdata.org-0.md

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+---
+title: "Anecdata.org"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anecdata.org"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:09.781826+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+Anecdata.org  (often shortened to Anecdata) is a citizen science web portal developed by the Community Environmental Health Lab at the MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. Anecdata.org supports projects in the collection of observational data, primarily in environmental science, biology, and public health. Anecdata was founded in 2014 to provide a data management system for the citizen science projects run by the Community Environmental Health Lab and has since expanded to include more than 200 projects, where more than 8,000 registered users have contributed over 30,000 images and more than 50,000 observations. In addition to the desktop site, there is a corresponding mobile app that can be used to submit observations to existing projects. Anecdata.org also acts as a data repository where data can be stored, discovered, and shared to other users. 
+
+
+== Notable projects ==
+
+
+=== Litter-Free Digital Journal ===
+The Litter-Free Digital Journal is a project from the South Carolina Aquarium hosted on Anecdata.org with a custom app, that encourages participants to track and remove plastics and other litter from both land and water. Users Since the start of the project in 2016, data from more than 7,000 litter cleanups have been entered into the project by more than 1,500 citizen scientists.  In 2017, a total of 9,746 pieces of trash were logged and 2,333 total litter pieces in 2018. However, in 2019 the number of litter pieces recorded grew to 32,600 and in 2020, more than doubled, with 74,977 pieces of trash collected and logged. The data from this project has inspired participant activism and has been used to influence public policy in South Carolina, including plastic bag bans.
+
+
+=== The Great Green Crab Hunt ===
+The Great Green Crab Hunt project is a citizen science project led by the University of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Sea Grant and hosted on Anecdata.org. The project aims to support scientists and policymakers in finding solutions to the problems caused by the invasive species, European green crabs. The project uses a mobile app and participants document the number, shell hardness, sex, and size of crabs seen during one hour. Since the project's inception in 2019, more than 100 observations documenting more than 400 crabs have been added to the project.
+
+
+== References ==

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArduSat-0.md

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+---
+title: "ArduSat"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArduSat"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:10.972802+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+ArduSat is an Arduino based nanosatellite, based on the CubeSat standard. It contains a set of Arduino boards and sensors. The general public will be allowed to use these Arduinos and sensors for their own creative purposes while they are in space.
+ArduSat is created by NanoSatisfi LLC, an aerospace company which in the words of Phil Plait has "the goal to democratize access to space" and was founded by 4 graduate students from the International Space University in 2012.
+ArduSat is the first satellite which will provide such open access to the general public to space. It is one of several crowdfunded satellites launched during the 2010s. Currently the project evolved to the company Because Learning.
+
+
+== Timeline of the project ==
+
+
+== Technical features ==
+
+
+=== ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-X ===
+The ArduSat project currently consists in two identical satellites: ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-X.
+
+
+== See also ==
+
+2013 in spaceflight
+
+
+== References ==
+
+
+== External links ==

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_for_Advancing_Participatory_Sciences-0.md

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+---
+title: "Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_for_Advancing_Participatory_Sciences"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:12.275919+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+The Citizen Science Association (CSA) (now renamed as the Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences) is a United States member-based professional organization for practitioners and researchers of citizen science, where scientific research is conducted, in whole or in part, by amateur or nonprofessional scientists. The Association aims to expand the reach, relevance, and impact of science and research in the United States and internationally. The CSA was founded in 2013  in the United States and was recognized as a charitable organization with a 501c3 designated status in June 2017.
+
+
+== History ==
+The concept for the Citizen Science Association originated at the Public Participation for Scientific Research Conference in 2012 held in conjunction with the Ecological Society of America conference in Portland, Oregon. Through a series of NSF grants (DRL-0610363, DRL-1020909, and DRL-0813135) the network of citizen science projects and professionals was further developed and the Citizen Science Association formation as an official organization developed along with a website. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology hosted the beginning of the Association web content and the Schoodic Institute helped launch the organization and is a continuing fiscal sponsor the CSA.
+The CSA was renamed as the Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences in April 2024.
+
+
+== Conference for Advancing the Participatory Sciences ==
+The association holds an annual professional conference called the Conference for Advancing the Participatory Sciences. The conference brings together practitioners and researchers to discuss best practices in citizen science.
+
+
+== Imternational collaboration ==
+The association has a memorandum of understanding for collaboration and coordination with peer organizations in other countries. These include the European Citizen Science Association, the Australian Citizen Science Association, and the developing communities and associations in Asia (CitizenScience.Asia) and Africa. The United Nations officially recognised the Citizen Science Association and is working with the Citizen Science Global Partnership on how citizen science can best be applied to help tackle the Sustainable Development Goals.
+
+
+== Citizen Science: Theory and Practice journal ==
+The association has an online, open-access, peer-reviewed journal called Citizen Science: Theory and Practice published by Ubiquity Press. The journal provides a venue for researchers and practitioners to share best practices in conceiving, developing, implementing, evaluating, and sustaining projects that facilitate public participation in scientific endeavors in any discipline. The journal publishes research reports, reviews and synthesis, case studies, essays, methods, and meeting reports.
+
+
+== Working groups ==
+The association’s working groups focus on priority areas of the science and practice of citizen science. As of February 2020 the following nine working groups have formed.
+
+Citizen Science Month
+Data and Metadata
+Education
+Ethics
+Environmental Justice Practitioners
+Integrity, Diversity, and Equity
+Law and Policy
+Professional Development
+Research and Evaluation
+
+
+== See also ==
+List of citizen science projects
+
+
+== References ==
+
+
+== External links ==
+Citizen Science Association Website
+Citizen Science: Theory and Practice
+Schoodic Institute and the Citizen Science Association
+Citizen Science Global Partnership
+Citizen Science Association Working Groups

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_Zoo-0.md

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+---
+title: "Asteroid Zoo"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_Zoo"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:13.475903+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+Asteroid Zoo was a citizen science project run by the Zooniverse and Planetary Resources, to use volunteer classifications to find unknown asteroids using old Catalina Sky Survey data. The main goals of the project were to search for undiscovered asteroids in order to protect the planet by locating potentially harmful near-Earth asteroids, locate targets for future asteroid mining, study the Solar System, and study the potential uses and advantages of crowdsourcing of astronomical data analysis.  The project was created along with the ARKYD project through Kickstarter in 2014 and was funded with around 1.5 million dollars raised.
+In 2016, the Asteroid Zoo community exhausted the publicly available data, and the experiment was indefinitely paused. Asteroid Zoo produced several scientific publications during its run.
+
+
+== See also ==
+ Astronomy portal
+Zooniverse projects:
+
+
+== References ==

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Hillforts_of_Britain_and_Ireland-0.md

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+---
+title: "Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_of_Hillforts_of_Britain_and_Ireland"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:14.642757+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+The Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland was an online database of hillforts―fortified settlements built in the Bronze Age and Iron Age―in the British Isles. It was compiled by researchers from the University of Edinburgh, the University of Oxford and University College Cork, led by Ian Ralston and Gary Lock. On its launch in 2017 the atlas had 4,147 entries, which the researchers believe to be all of the extant hillforts in Britain and Ireland. A printed atlas is also planned.
+The data was collated from existing catalogues of archaeological sites such as the National Monuments Records and county historic environment records. Around 100 volunteers, described as "citizen scientists", also visited sites and contributed information and photographs to the atlas. The researchers noted that despite the conventional name "hillforts", under their definition, many are "not on hills and are not really forts". They included sites that are now only visible through cropmarks.
+The online atlas was hosted by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, which funded the project, and makes use of Esri's ArcGIS web map application platform. The project also collaborated with Wikimedia UK to make the information in the atlas available to Wikipedia.
+
+
+== See also ==
+List of hillforts
+Hillforts in Britain
+Hillforts in Scotland
+
+
+== References ==
+
+
+== External links ==
+Atlas of Hillforts

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_citizen_science_projects-0.md

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 source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_citizen_science_projects"
 category: "reference"
 tags: "science, encyclopedia"
-date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:28:14.711151+00:00"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:03.690689+00:00"
 instance: "kb-cron"
 ---
 

data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amateur_Scientist-0.md

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+---
+title: "The Amateur Scientist"
+chunk: 1/1
+source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amateur_Scientist"
+category: "reference"
+tags: "science, encyclopedia"
+date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:13:08.524697+00:00"
+instance: "kb-cron"
+---
+
+"The Amateur Scientist" was a column in the Scientific American, and was the definitive "how-to" resource for citizen-scientists for over 72 years (1928–2001), making it the longest running column in Scientific American's history.  The column was regarded for revealing the brass-tacks secrets of research and showing home-based experimenters how to make original discoveries using only inexpensive materials. Since its début in 1928, "The Amateur Scientist" was a primary resource for science fair projects.  It also inspired amateur experimenters, launched careers in science, and enjoyed a place of honor in classrooms and school libraries all over the world.
+Although always accessible to an amateur's budget, projects from "The Amateur Scientist" were often elegant and sophisticated. Some designs were so innovative that they set new standards in a field. Indeed, professionals continue to borrow from "The Amateur Scientist" to find low-cost solutions to real-world research problems.
+
+
+== Albert Ingalls ==
+"The Amateur Scientist" traces its pedigree to May 1928, when Albert G. Ingalls began the column as "The Back Yard Astronomer." Ingalls told amateurs how they could get personally involved in astronomy by building professional-quality instruments and carrying out cutting-edge observations. The first sentence in the new column stated: "Here we amateur telescope makers are, more than 3000 of us, gathered together in our own back yard at last."  The name of the column changed several times, to "The Amateur Astronomer", "The Amateur Telescope Maker", and "Telescoptics." Much of the information from these articles was eventually published by Ingalls and Scientific American in the books Amateur Telescope Making. The articles and the books are credited with helping to expand the hobby of amateur telescope making. In April 1952, Ingalls chose to broaden the column's scope to include "how-to's" from all fields of science. When he did, he also changed the department's name to "The Amateur Scientist."
+
+
+== C. L. Stong ==
+Ingalls wrote his column for almost 30 years, until his retirement in May 1955. In that year the publisher selected Clair L. Stong to continue the feature. Stong was an electrical engineer from 1926 to 1962 for Westinghouse.  He extended the column, frequently peppering it with extremely sophisticated projects including home-built lasers and atom smashers.  Many working professional scientists say that they first got hooked on science through Stong's amazing columns. One of the activities Stong promoted during the International Geophysical Year was a program for amateur astronomers called Operation Moonwatch. It involved the tracking of artificial satellites by amateurs.
+In 1960 Stong compiled a book titled The Amateur Scientist, (Simon and Schuster) the only collection of articles that has ever been published from this column prior to Carlson and Greaves' complete CD-collection (see below). However, limited to paper and ink, Stong could only fit in 57 projects.  Stong's book was reviewed in New Scientist as "most fascinating" and sold well.  It went out of print in 1972 and is much sought-after today by amateur scientists and collectors.
+
+
+== Jearl Walker ==
+Stong ran the department for over 20 years until he died in 1977.  In 1978, Scientific American hired Jearl Walker, Ph.D. to take over.  Walker had caught the publisher's attention thanks to The Flying Circus of Physics, Answers, a book Walker wrote which highlighted the fascinating physics of the everyday world.  Under Walker's stewardship "The Amateur Scientist" presented fewer how-to projects, and instead focused on the physics of common phenomena.
+Walker resigned from Scientific American in 1990 after 12 years. Collectively, Ingalls, Stong and Walker account for 90 percent of all articles.
+
+
+== Forrest Mims ==
+After Walker left, Scientific American decided to rededicate the column to hands-on projects and so they offered the column to Forrest Mims III, a renowned writer of books for Radio Shack and an amateur scientist. However, during a conversation between Mims and the publisher, it came up that Mims was an evangelical Christian and creationist who rejected the science of evolution. Not wanting to be perceived as supporting Creationism, Scientific American rescinded their offer. Mims charged religious discrimination without success.  Ultimately, the magazine published just three of Mims' articles, along with several letters to the editor concerning his firing.
+Although the incident did not diminish Scientific American's commitment to the column, it did make the editors reluctant to offer the column to another amateur scientist. The magazine invited a number of potential columnists to submit articles, some of which it published. But Scientific American was unable to find anyone with both professional credentials and the breadth of scientific interests necessary to recapture the popularity the column enjoyed under Stong and Ingalls. Without a regular columnist, the department languished, appearing only sporadically between 1990 and 1995.
+
+
+== Shawn Carlson ==
+In 1995 Scientific American discovered the Society for Amateur Scientists. Its executive director, Shawn Carlson, Ph.D., was a physicist and established science writer who had left academe a year earlier to devote his career to advancing amateur science. Dr. Carlson took over the column in November of that year and immediately returned its focus to cutting-edge science projects that amateurs can do inexpensively at home. Over one million Scientific American readers turned to "The Amateur Scientist" every month. In 1999, Carlson won a MacArthur Fellowship for science education in part for the innovative projects he developed for "The Amateur Scientist".
+In 2001, Scientific American came under new management. As part of a redesign of the magazine, all of the long-running columns were retired, including "The Amateur Scientist". March 2001 was the last time the column ran in Scientific American.  Archived versions of the column remained available to Scientific American paid subscribers via their website.
+Carlson, along with co-editor Sheldon Greaves, Ph.D., created The Amateur Scientist-The Complete Collection, a CD-ROM containing all the articles in a fully text-searchable HTML format.
+
+
+== Online back-issues and CD-ROM ==
+Sometime after 2007 the Scientific American removed the subscriber-only requirement for certain years of the magazine, making "The Amateur Scientist" column for 1999-2001 available online.
+
+
+== References ==
+
+
+== External links ==
+Online columns via sciam.com and others, 1996-2001
+Review of CD-ROM and book at Cool Tools