Citizen science online is catching on these days. Not just for your screensaver anymore, these projects let you get your hands dirty, metaphorically speaking. You can classify galaxies or fold proteins.

I am really happy to share this project which is now in beta and building a community for astronomical research: CosmoQuest.

The first project, Moon Mappers, is underway, where you can classify surface features from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s images of the Moon. Get started with crater classifications, or pit your visual recognition software (aka your brain) against a computer.

CosmoQuest is more than just a place in which to play with data, though that is pretty cool. It’s a blog, a community forum, and a place to learn and share. And, it’s growing, so join in now! Coming soon are projects mapping the surface of asteroid Vesta and the planet Mercury.

Also, I am very happy to say that I will be working for CosmoQuest as a post-doc in a few months. That’s right; #WillAstronomForNoms was a success, and I’m going to be Pamela Gay‘s clone! Or something like that… we haven’t worked out the genetics yet.

So, I’m pretty excited, and I’m also trying to finish my thesis so I can get there! Lots. Of. Words. Wheee! Target defense date is sometime in the first week of May. So when I lose my mind between now and then, you know why.

It’s Friday, not Monday, which means I’m going to load up part 1 of the “stuff that interests me” from the past few weeks. Since I… I missed a couple of Mondays there.

Obviously, big news in the tech world… Steve Jobs has died. Amanda Bauer’s blog brought his 2005 Stanford speech to my attention, and it’s worth a good read, if you haven’t seen it already.

The Carnival of Space is a rotating round-up of the week’s astronomy and science blogging. Shamefully, I’ve neglected linking to it in recent months, so here are episodes 217 and 218 for your perusal.

I showed you this astronomical eye-candy last week…

…and I’m going to mention it again as my favorite astronomy story of the past few weeks. This is the release of the very first images from ALMA, a radio telescope array under construction in Chile. Listen to super-awesome astronomer Alison Peck describe ALMA’s capability on NPR. Meanwhile, Sarah Scoles rounds up much of the exciting outreach material put out by the NRAO in conjunction with the image release.

Of course there is still plenty going on here on THIS planet, not the least of which is “Occupy Wall Street.” Don’t get OWS? I didn’t either at first. But it’s not hard to find out, despite the reticence of many in the media.

If you are a young person hit hard by these financial times, LifeHacker came up with a great list of things you can do to live on less, without becoming a hobo. I thought I might pick up some good tips, but it turns out that I’m already doing many of these. Being a grad student is like being in a permanent economic downturn.

I got this great link on how to overcome writer’s block from Jennifer Ouellette, whose science writing I absolutely love. It’s technically about fiction writing, but I think it’s pretty useful for non-fiction as well. Speaking of science writing, here is why writing about science is so fulfilling.

Live somewhere around Chicago? Like stars? Like camping? Want to become famous for finally discovering Bigfoot? Then you want to come join Women Thinking Free and me for Skeptics Under the Stars, also tentatively known as “Occupy the ‘Verse.” Get all the details from Elyse over at Skepchick. I am really, really excited. So excited, I included it in my semester-ly progress report for graduate school, including the Bigfoot part. (It’s truly amazing they haven’t kicked me out yet…)

As for where I’ve been and where I’m going on a more metaphorical level…

Between insomnia, having some weird flu-like bug, and preparing for and then having a nice long chat with my thesis committee about my present and future, it has been a hectic couple of weeks. The insomnia, as it turns out, is a side effect of the medicine I take to combat anxiety. The lack of sleep then causes more anxiety. Fun, right? At least the treatment for the insomnia has some benefit in terms of the amusement of others, as Tim discovered when he called me several minutes after I had taken Ambien for the night. Though I have no recollection of this, he related the conversation to me the next morning, some of which is chronicled on my Tumblr. I hope you get a chuckle out of this as well. And, YES, I now realize that turtles are reptiles and NOT amphibians.

As for the nice long chat with the thesis committee, I’m gearing up to finish my thesis project with PAPER which actually has a new website. (It’s sparse, but give us time.) As I’m finishing that, I’m gearing up for the next phase of my career. I am on the job hunt for a position that will let me do what I love best, and that is to share science with as many people as possible. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy as the 14+ hours a day I spent developing my version of the “Life Beyond Earth” course at UVa, or trying to come up with new activities for our eager elementary school students through Dark Skies, Bright Kids. I would jump at the chance to encourage an impressionable young undergrad to give radio astronomy a try, showing them the ropes of data analysis. Oh, and I like blogging about science, if you haven’t noticed. Along those lines, I’ve started some job applications that would let me exercise my educator muscles, though I’m far from pressing “send” on any of them. I’ve even come up with a Twitter hashtag to chronicle my journey, #WillAstronomForNoms, so follow along or give me encouragement or send me cookies or something like that.

That’s all for now. Captain Dreadlocks says, “ARRRR… see you soon!”

… says Derek Colanduno, director of the massive sci-fi/fantasy/geek convention’s Skeptic Track.

“It’s other people’s Halloween,” quips biologist and evolution defender Eugenie Scott.

Frankly, it’s a little bit of both. Not enough candy, mind you, unless you really enjoy Tuaca (which tastes like Christmas in your mouth). But there are costumes… costumes galore! From Storm Troopers and Star Trek officers to Cookie Monster and “Macho Man” Randy Savage, thousands fly their geek/freak flag for one massive party in Atlanta.

"Oooooooh yeeeeeeeeeaah!" Photo by Tim LeGower

As it is, I’ve recovered from the epic weekend, gotten nearly enough sleep, and seem to have avoided the dreaded “con crud.” Dragon*Con is not just excellent because I get to geek out over my favorite sci-fi shows and books, though that helps. (Geeking out over James Marsters geeking out over Apollo 11 was pretty cool.) D*C is also a great place to reconnect with some of the smartest, funniest, most creative people I know: astronomers, authors, musicians, designers, bloggers, and real-life superheroes. The Skeptic, Science, Space, and Podcasting tracks were full of them. George Hrab sang, Scott Sigler read, Phil Plait proposed a way to save the Earth, and Sara Mayhew entertained through her art. Superheroes like Maria Walters and Jamie Bernstein raised thousands of dollars for cancer research and treatment while vaccinating over 200 people against harmful diseases. I even got to bring a little bit of the universe down to Earth with model meteors and comets. And those are just the tip of the iceberg!

Discussing world-ending catastrophes with Scott Sigler, Pamela Gay, and John Cmar

So, what is it that I’m trying to say? Well, if you missed out, come next year! Tim and I have already secured a room in the Hilton, home of the “reality” tracks, for Labor Day 2012. I’ll be there once again to help spread the love of science, have a great time with some of my favorite people, and, oh yeah, be a fangirl.

It's like this. Every night. (By Bruce Press. With 3 bald skeptics, a physics teacher, two Skepchicks, and tiny double trouble.)

Hello, dear astronomy enthusiasts and friends and followers and encirclers…

This month has been heavy on GET STUFF DONE, but I’m taking a much needed break this weekend for Dragon*Con in Atlanta. This is the East Coast’s biggest sci-fi, fantasy, geek, nerd, etc. convention. I hope you are coming as well!

My only official event this year is the pre-Dragon*Con Star Party, put on by the Atlanta Skeptics in honor of Jeff Medkeff, a brilliant and active astronomer who succumbed to cancer a few years ago. So, we’ll be celebrating the night sky, the universe, and raising money to kick cancer’s butt. (Metaphorically speaking.) If you have a ticket, then I look forward to seeing you there! Unless you cannot come, in which case, get in touch with the organizers so that someone on the very long wait list can make it. There will be telescopes, green lasers, a singing Geo, astronomers, and some special activities that I have planned. You’ll just have to wait and see!

For the rest of the Con, I get to play geeky nerd fangirl. I’ll probably be spending time around the Skeptic, Science, Space, and Podcasting tracks, as well as exploring some of my favorite sci-fi goodness with Tim. I can say that we’ll be at the live showing of Doctor Who on Saturday night dressed as different incarnations of the Doctor. I’m also hoping to finish an astronomy-pun-themed Tron costume, so look out for that as well.

I’ll be updating Twitter and Google+ as I go along, in case you want to find me there or live vicariously through my tweets if you cannot make it. (I feel your pain. I had to sit out last year!)

The Cassini mission to Saturn. Nine Inch Nails. And a video composition by Chris Abbas.

This. Is. Art.

CASSINI MISSION from cabbas on Vimeo.

Love it so much.

(via Discovery News)

We have more University of Virginia Astronomy tweeters! A few I’ve had to pester, most came here on their own. They all have such lovely stories to tell, and I’d recommend following them to anyone! They are all listed at UVa-Astro.

We have my officemate, @demessieres, a sweet, lovely geek who is just about at the finish line for her thesis and currently looking for a job relating to science communication. (Hint: She’s brilliant at it.) I used to share an office with @privong, who is always tweeting from his exciting travels, and @astroknots, a kick-ass radio astronomer who also knits like a fiend. Then there is the unstoppable @rareflwr41. If you are involved in astronomy or science education and haven’t heard of her already, you will. My dear friend @astrogailis is crazy busy making a brand new research instrument called APOGEE work, which you’ll hear more about soon. @mickeyj26 isn’t technically at UVa anymore, now a post-doc in Boulder, CO, but he’s still part of the family. And our newest to join is @astro_sailor, who has been watching twitter from the sidelines (aka twit-stalking) for a while, until I bugged the crap out of him to make a damn account already.

Much science and silliness is sure to ensue. Because we don’t have enough to distract us, right?

Thanks for letting me brag about my awesome friends!

Brief paper-writing break to showcase my two favorite videos this week. First, Tim Minchin’s STORM has been animated and is finally available on YouTube! Seriously, let the whole thing upload, then watch high-def full screen. It is so awesome. I am floored by the talent of the illustrators and their ability to convey the message, and the fun, of Minchin’s infamous 9-minute beat poem.

(Note of awesomeness, Tim and I got tickets to see him live in Boston on June 4th!)

Second up is a video of my favorite bald, be-spectacled skeptical men doing a LIVE performance of “Death From the Skies”, based on the awesome book and on this awesome album, in New York this weekend.

Sadly, I could not make NECSS, but that is mostly because I am a) working and b) saving up to attend TAM9 From Outer Space! in July. I already have my registration in, thanks to the lovely, fantastic donors to the TAM Forum Grant (please donate so even more students can attend!), and my airfare booked.

So excited! So… think we can get Phil and George to do a live performance at TAM???? (Pretty please??)

This made my afternoon yesterday, when I was running around like crazy…

This made me sooo happy! And I told Steve, of Tree Lobsters fame, that it made my day. (See how he did it at Mad Art Lab!)

Later that evening, I was totally pooped from my busy day and about to curl up in a ball and sulk, and I get this in a tweet from Steve…

I think the SQUEEEEE could be heard for miles around. That REALLY made my day! I just wish I had taken that picture with a better camera back in 2004. I’m wondering if this could become a Dark Skies, Bright Kids product line, featuring all our lovely volunteers, and with activities like “Make Your Own Constellation” on the back. Hrmm….

Steve also made a card for my mom for Father’s Day a while back which I loved. Mom liked it, too, though she couldn’t figure out why I gave her a card with a lobster and leaves until I explained it…

Science + art = win. Check out all the fantastic artists at Mad Art Lab, where art meets science and skepticism, AND possibly my new favorite artist Glendon Mellow of Flying Trilobite, who I had the privilege of meeting at SciO11! I think I need to have this for my wall, or this, or this…

So, I’ve begun to make some forays into Astronomy Education Review, a journal about science education specifically as it relates to, of course, astronomy. It has been recommended to me by several people, and I’ve browsed it a bit as I begin to understand the wide-world of assessment.

As a kid, I thought tests were just something you had to get right to move on to the next level. It was a whole lot of rote memory, and much of high school was devoted to teaching to state tests. It is a system that many complain about but few know how to change. After all, as teacher, we really want to know the answer to the immortal question, “Is our children learning?” (Yes, yes, cheap shot.)

So, how do we make learning fun, student-centered, and still get an accurate assessment of learning?

I’m getting the impression that this is not very easy. However, Dark Skies, Bright Kids has embraced this difficult challenge and is experimenting with new ways to make assessment fun for our after school astronomy club, while still being accurate. AER is a great resource, and so have been many people in the astronomy education and outreach fields.

Recently, I found a paper in AER that describes using a planetarium as a way of measuring student-learning about celestial motions. It is not a terribly long paper, and it focuses on using kinesthetic learning techniques as well as the advantages of watching things move inside a dome at a far greater speed than they move in real life. With the acquisition of our new Digital StarLab, this is sure to spark great new ideas on how to use this tool, and how to understand how effective we are at communicating scientific principles to our kids.

At the end of the day, one thing we do know is that we are getting kids excited about science and astronomy. Without formal measures, we have pictures and video and comments from parents that tell us just how much these kids like coming to the club, and looking at the night sky, and building rockets, and hugging the mascot, and… and…

It’s a good feeling for us as well.

(Don’t go try and vote for us as the video description says, we’ve been out of the running for that for a while. However, book progress is being made, and we will find someone to publish it, gosh-darnit!)

Update 1/13: Would help if I use the proper hashtag in the title. Fixed!

With one trip done, I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s road trip to Science Online 2011 in North Carolina. This is my first time at the “open conference” or “unconference” about communicating science on the internet. There will be museum tours, workshops, and book discussions on Friday, followed by panel discussions on Saturday and Sunday. I’m starting to put together my weekend schedule now, drawn to things like “How to produce a high-quality short video” and “Alternative Careers for Scientists: from grad school to writing for Main Stream Media.”

If you couldn’t make the registration before it closed, you can still be a part of the conference by watching the livestream here.

I look forward to meeting a lot of people there who I’ve only heard of or talked to online, as well as seeing distant friends. If you are reading this and are going, please say hello! I’m, uh, the really short one.