60 years of NASA: how can you help your research?

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NASA

What do you need to be a space explorer? Perfect health? Bachelor's degree in physics? Years of training?

In fact, you can help solve some of the many mysteries of the Universe without even leaving the comfort of your home.

You do not need special education or equipment. You do not have to give up your job either.

All you need is a little free time and access to a computer or smart phone.

• What do the incredible ice dunes discovered on Pluto reveal?

Citizen Science

NASA, which is responsible for the US civilian space program and aerospace research, will turn 60 on July 29.

The agency employs more than 18 . 000 people but only 39 of them are active astronauts. For the rest, most work in laboratories and research centers.

Professional scientists now rely heavily on what they call "civilian scientists": volunteers from around the world who help them collect and analyze huge amounts of data.

There are many projects to participate. Here we show you some of the most exciting and how to be part of them.

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NASA

1. The mystery of "planet 9"

Astronomers and physicists are convinced that a mysterious and distant world is somewhere on the periphery of our solar system, which is referenced familiarly as the planet to 9 .

It has not yet been detected, but its theoretical existence is strongly supported by mathematical models. Based on this, the mysterious object is much more than a mere dwarf planet: scientists consider it considerably larger and heavier than the Earth.

NASA tries to locate the planet Nine by examining the images taken by the WISE infrared spacecraft telescope

It is very possible that the planet has already been photographed, but not yet seen.

• The photo that forever changed the way we see the Earth

But WISE has taken hundreds of thousands of photos that can not be analyzed by automated algorithms because some features of the mysterious planet can not to be identified only by the human eye.

And it turns out that this eye could be yours: you can help astronomers reject virgin images that deserve to be looked at more closely.

A brief but detailed online training session explains exactly to the aspiring planet hunter what to do. to be researched, and how to highlight the features of interest.

And if you dare, it could turn out and end up naming it in your honor.

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NASA

2. Cartography of Mars, Mercury or the Moon

We know a great deal about celestial objects near the Earth.

NASA even managed to land on the moon six times, and a mission is expected to Mars is launched in a few months.

However, despite the thousands of photographs that have been taken over the years, a detailed map of the moon has not yet been made, much less

The Compilation such maps require processing a large number of high-resolution images, one by one, and mapping multiple entities on the surface. It is only while they can assemble the giant puzzle

• The fascinating discovery of the first liquid water lake on Mars

• They photograph the birth of a planet for the first time (it's cloudy, hot and bigger than Jupiter)

that NASA launched CosmoQuest, where everyone can help.

You can, for example, choose to map the craters of the moon to help astronauts locate the perfect place to land on their spaceship.

if you feel like a challenge, try with Mars, which has a much more diverse surface, with sand dunes and volcanoes.

The Rocky Face Mercury was marked by "wrinkles" and was hit by high speed asteroid collisions and comets: collisions so violent that they throw debris on the surface and create their own craters.

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3. I'm looking for Steve

It's hard to believe, but it's only in 2017 that scientists have discovered a new atmospheric phenomenon, a ribbon of bright light in the sky, purple and green.

The band measures up to 32 kilometers wide, stretches for nearly 1,000 kilometers, but the phenomenon only lasts about 20 to 40 minutes

As one does not can see that in the polar regions, it was confused with the aurora borealis. ] Steve, the mysterious purple aurora discovered by amateur scientists

But now that scientists have learned more about purple and green, they claim that it is a very different phenomenon : The glossy ribbon is made of extremely hot high speed gas.

Citizen scientists who discovered it called it joke "Steve", in reference to the film of "Neighbors Invader" animation

This spectacular celestial spectacle was seen from the United Kingdom, Canada, Alaska and other states of the northern United States and the New Zealand

.

• What a strange column of light bursts into Canada's sky

It seems to be a seasonal phenomenon: Steve always takes a break between October and February, which is most of the time. Winter

It usually appears next to the northern lights, although scientists are still not convinced about this because they think it was seen further south than a Northern Lights can reach

. Steve in depth, physicists and astronomers need as many images as possible, so NASA introduced Aurorosaurus

Anyone who sees aurora borealis or something of similar, can send a photo. or a video to be analyzed by NASA experts thus contributing to its general database on the phenomenon.

So, if you live in the northernmost parts of the world or travel there, you can download this application

This will even warn you of the likelihood of seeing the aurora where you are. Maybe you meet Steve.

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EPA

4. Fighting Climate Change

Even if you do not live in the north, NASA may still be interested in your photos. With goals a little closer, yes: the clouds.

Clouds play a crucial role in the makeup of our climate and NASA's satellites follow in detail how they travel on our planet.

The problem is that the only satellites see the sky from above

For perspective from below, they need earthlings [19659014] that is to say us.

Combining the two points of view, scientists can get a more accurate picture of what is happening in our atmosphere and perform a more detailed analysis.

• What are the strange, bright and nocturnal clouds that are becoming more and more visible

NASA launched the GLOBE project as a way for citizen scientists to contribute to science and the fight against climate change .

The photographs sent through this application will be analyzed by NASA experts, who will share them. Aran with satellite data. If you are lucky, you will receive a message with the result of your analysis.

So, if you want to search for Steve, capture a close-up of a cluster or map the moon, there are many ways to help NASA. Go ahead and celebrate your birthday.