Advancing science goes hand in hand with educating scientists of the future and engaging the public. David Trilling and Mike Gowanlock have hosted two astroinformatics bootcamps introducing students from diverse backgrounds to the data science behind astronomy, including writing and testing algorithms to measure the properties of asteroids. Now they’re building small robotic telescopes that will enable students at NAU, Flagstaff High School and Camp Colton to observe asteroids and learn about modern astronomy. The PANOPTES (Panoptic Astronomical Networked Observatories for a Public Transiting Exoplanets Survey) units are part of a citizen science project designed to make it easy and cost-effective to build using commercial off-the-shelf parts.
Read the full story by Kerry Bennett at The NAU Review.