Citizen Scientist / Technical enterprise Analyst / skilled Photographer

schooling institution of Calgary

certificates in built-in Digital Media (in development)

​What encouraged you to volunteer as a NASA citizen scientist? How did you learn about NASA citizen science?

i used to be fortunate adequate to be contacted through Dr. Stephen Mende from UC Berkeley, an esteemed space physicist who found a weblog submit of mine about subauroral arcs, or strong Thermal Emission pace Enhancement (STEVE), that i used to be photographing. He and i had a couple of chats over the cell, and he ended up loaning me a distinct spectra lens that once flew on some of the house shuttles to image these arcs. He can, in turn, use the photographs I trap to make interpretations, and many others.

What do you do in case you're now not doing science with NASA? inform us about your job and your movements.

although i'm at present employed in IT within the energy sector, i am a very passionate astrophotographer and expert portrait/marriage ceremony and landscape photographer, and i'm working in opposition t finishing a certificate in built-in Digital Media.

images absolutely dominates my very own time, and i spend many late nights under the celebrities observing meteor showers and aurora borealis displays in Alberta, the Yukon, and Iceland.

In 2018 i used to be invited to photograph a biodynamic wine harvest whereas residing on an 18th-century estate in Bordeaux, France, and in 2022 i am hoping to picture a wedding on a video game reserve in South Africa. i will even be touring to Greenland (my seventy fifth nation!) on a photographic expedition to seize auroras with icebergs in 2022. trip reigns strongly in my lifestyles in the pre- and put up-COVID world.

… the satisfaction I believe in having my photographs play an element in advancing house physics research is without difficulty huge.

- Christy Turner What have you discovered about the procedure of science out of your time on NASA citizen science tasks?

I had no theory when I all started photographing the northern lights that scientists would be drawn to my photos, a great deal much less use them in a scientific journal as soon as I started capturing subauroral arcs. After my pictures were used to make a contribution to research papers, the method took on an entire new that means for me. It changed into past imagination that something I basically loved doing pretty much on an obsessive degree become also assisting boost the science on subauroral arcs! I took even more care in my planning of vicinity, attempting to have the funds for the most excellent visibility and shot chances for my contributions.

I now are attempting now not to go away domestic *ever* without bringing the machine crucial, and it has fueled a fondness in me with the scientific facet of issues. i love the alternatives I get in consequence to speak to children at science fairs, display our documentary, etc., as I suppose it begins a fireplace of activity within the young to realize that these alternatives exist and that they, too, can play a component! despite the fact my pictures had been used in magazines, brochures, and different media around the globe, the scientific utilization of my pictures is via a long way and away probably the most big and significant!

Which peer-reviewed research publications have you contributed to through your citizen science work? What turned into your position within the analysis and writing process?

I have contributed to 2 publications:

For each and every publication, I contributed photographs and i answered questions on vicinity - precisely the place i used to be standing and in what path i used to be facing - in addition to timing. We had a few discussions on the cell as Dr. Mende defined how most reliable to use the lens and what kinds of photographs he changed into most drawn to.

We're aware that now not every person has equal entry to quick computer systems and web indicators. changed into this a problem for you? And if it became, how did you overcome it?

As a photographer, I actually have made do with the desktop I at present have, but i'm in the system of getting a "supercomputer" constructed with the aid of an expert colleague within the U.S., catering to my selected requirements so as to support with my photograph editing and imaging work greatly.

What are your favourite NASA citizen science tasks to work on, and why?

I continue to be involved with STEVE science, as well as anything asked of me with admire to photos of the northern lights. i might happily take on more of those styles of projects in the future. i am additionally very drawn to following the Parker solar Probe to the solar.

What have you ever found or discovered as a NASA citizen scientist?

despite the fact STEVE is not a brand new phenomenon, it's newly receiving consideration from the scientific neighborhood, because of a collaboration and comparison of data and photographs by way of scientists at each UC Berkeley and university of Calgary working with several professional and beginner photographers. i used to be later part of a documentary that celebrated this collaboration of science and art, entitled "Chasing Steve," and that i in fact love the opportunities I get with scientists to communicate about our mixed adventure and effect regarding this phenomenon, chiefly to babies.

What counsel would you provide to others who could need to volunteer with NASA citizen science?

by way of all skill, start at the possibility to get worried with citizen science! The captivating people I have met, the marvelous experiences I have had and the satisfaction I consider in having my photos play a component in advancing house physics analysis is effortlessly giant. by a long way and away, it is the most crucial booklet and usage of my pictures to date! I appear ahead to continued collaboration with science and my photos, and anyone available who's attracted to getting worried in science fully may still no longer hesitate!

Who have you met all the way through your NASA citizen science work who evokes you?

i'm especially impressed through Dr. Mende and Dr. Eric Donovan, each of whom work carefully with these of us who are citizen scientists of the Alberta photographic community.

Eric and that i had been each a part of the same Canadian documentary entitled "Chasing Steve," and he is a superb pal (and pleasant competitor for publishing papers!) of the scientist I work with, Dr. Mende. apart from his magnificent scientific profession, Eric has a deep understanding of the artistic facet of photography, and as a gifted photographer himself, he has an insider's realizing of how artwork and science can collide and work together. Like Dr. Mende, Eric has devoted his lifestyles to the analyze of this phenomenon. Eric labored with local photographers, evaluating their pictures of STEVE to his costly imaging digital camera pictures, which in flip resulted in the "discovery" of subauroral arcs. The STEVE/Aurorasaurus research group, together with Eric and the photographers he worked with, later acquired the Robert H. Goddard Honor Award for splendid achievement for Science Award from NASA's Goddard area Flight center for "impressive discovery and characterization of STEVE, a brand new type of auroral phenomena, as a floor-breaking instance of citizen science."

Dr. Mende is the lead investigator of the Wideband Imaging digital camera (WIC) onboard the photograph satellite (Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora international Exploration). His profession has spanned over fifty seven years up to now!

briefly, i believed i used to be passionate about the northern lights unless I got here to know these two inspiring gentlemen!

How a good deal time do you spend on NASA citizen science tasks?

I belong to a 24/7/365 on-line chat community that expressly discusses auroral information and talents sightings with different hardcore aurora enthusiasts, so i am out at evening anytime there's a very good opportunity of seeing the northern lights. This in flip has led to a considerable number of speakme engagements, a documentary and native volunteer opportunities to showcase the collaboration of citizen scientists and the contributions we continue to make to furthering this analysis. i was an invited speaker on the foreign Aurora Summit in Wisconsin in 2019. It has been a truly wonderful and gratifying adventure!

discuss with the complete assortment of NASA citizen science projects and begin contributing nowadays!