Dr. Elizabeth MacDonald on How Citizen Science is an Asset to Heliophysics.

Dr. Elizabeth MacDonald Publishes on How Citizen Science is an Asset to Heliophysics.

Dr. Elizabeth MacDonald and colleagues recently published a paper titled, Agile collaboration: Citizen science as a transdisciplinary approach to heliophysics, in Frontiers Journal.

Dr. MacDonald, along with other colleagues from the New Mexico Consortium Aurorasaurus project, and 17 other institutions, have put out this paper on how citizen science is an asset to the field of heliophysics.

Citizen science is a rapidly growing field where the pubic engages contributes to scientific discovery. It is quite effective because many people volunteering small amounts of their time can contribute to a larger scientific goal.

When contributing to the field of Heliophysics, citizen scientists are especially affective due to their agility in collaboration. This agility means they are able to work efficiently, pivot, and adapt to adversity.

In this paper, Dr. MacDonald and colleagues investigate agile collaboration they have observed with aurora chasers, a group of citizen scientists actively engaged in projects and independent data gathering which they have contributed towards the Aurorasaurus Project.

The insights found in this publication scale across other domains and projects as well. Citizen science is an emerging yet proven way of enhancing the current research landscape. To tackle the next-generation’s biggest research problems, agile collaboration with citizen scientists will be an effective and necessary tool.

To read the entire paper see: Agile collaboration: Citizen science as a transdisciplinary approach to heliophysics

Top photo by Rosem Morton