03 July 2009

New Format for News

Beginning with this installment of The Citizen Scientist, news stories will be merged into a single page.

General science news is covered by many web sites. If you are aware of news of interest to amateur scientists, please send your reports here.


New Products

Are you aware of new products that might be of interests to amateur scientists? Please send details and web links here.


Shawn Carlson Announces 2010 Citizen Science Conference

Society for Amateur Scientist Executive Director Shawn Carlson has announced that the next Citizen Scientist Conference will be held next summer at the SciTech Hands On Museum in Aurora, Illinois. The conference dates are 19-22 August 2010.

Figure 1. Glass blower Rich Gerhart demonstrated his craft at the 2003 Citizen Scientist Conference on the campus of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. Photograph by Forrest M. Mims III.


Anna Hillier's New Web Page

Anna Hillier is the latest member of the Society for Amateur Scientists to have her own web site, which she calls "Moongate." Anna writes that, "It reflects me more than astronomy. I designed the Moongate because I liked the architecture and story behind Moongates. I wanted it to be simple without going overboard on information.

An article by Anna on making field sketches is here. If you have an interest in the history of space flight, must reading is Anna's article in The Citizen Scientist (October 2007) on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, the first artificial earth satellite: "A Special Moonwatch Feature by One who was There: A Personal View of the Moonwatch Experience in 1957."

Figure 2. Moonwatch team member Anna Hillier with her book The History of Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston during the 2006 annual meeting of the Society for Amateur Scientists in Providence, Rhode Island. Photograph by Forrest M. Mims III.

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The Citizen Scientist (03 July 2009).