Pt.3 - Eclipse Like A Rock Star - Apps
Eclipse Citizen Scientists Apps
Are you more interested in being more of an active participant than a passive observer during the upcoming solar eclipse cosmic event? Well here are my favorite instant citizen scientist and crowdsourcing data collection eclipse apps that you can put to good use on August 21.
1. GLOBE Observer app
NASA
NASA is asking citizens of the Earth to report on cloud coverage and temperature change data before, during and right after the eclipse. All eclipse coverage, not just 100% totality area reporting is requested.
What You will need: > Smartphone > App > Thermometer
Instructions > On August 21, head outside and make observations of the cloud cover every 15-30 minutes for two hours before and after the peak of the eclipse.
> Collect temperature data. Place your thermometer in the shade and take measurements every 10 minutes for two hours before and after the peak of the eclipse, and every five minutes for half an hour before and after the peak of the eclipse.
(source: popsci.com)
2. iNaturalist App iNaturalist app/California Academy of Sciences
This app is created to see what the will plants and animals do when the lights go out? The eclipse will change the light, temperature, and the environment and these changes may or may not have an effect on the life and the wildlife around us. This app allows citizen scientists to collect data, photos, and observations to share with biologists, botanists and zoologists all over the world.
(Editor’s note: how great (and financially rewarding) would it be to have this app and be able to capture how Bigfoot or the South Carolina “Lizard man” react to the eclipse.}
What You will need: > Smartphone > iNaturalist App
Instructions 1. Download the iNaturalist app (Android and iOS) and make an account. 2. Join the “Life Responds” project. 3. Play around with the app and get familiar with it. 4. On the big day, pick the plants and/or animals you’ll be observing. 5. Take photos of your chosen organisms 30 minutes before, during and 30 minutes after the total eclipse. When they say “during,” they mean at least within five minutes of the eclipse—they know you might be too awestruck to take photos, and besides, it’s more important that you experience the moment. 6. You can also take notes describing what you see and hear. Your observations will be geotagged automatically. (source: popsci.com)
eclipsesoundscapes.org
NASA - Heliophysics Education Consortium
This app claims that it allows blind and visually impaired users will be able to experience the upcoming solar eclipse on August 21
The project, from NASA’s Heliophysics Education Consortium, will include audio descriptions of the eclipse in real time, recordings of the changing environmental sounds during the eclipse, and an interactive “rumble map” app that will allow users to visualize the eclipse through touch.
The creators of this app say that the audio will be used for the visually impaired, or others who are unable to see the eclipse with their own eyes, the Eclipse Soundscapes Project delivers a multisensory experience of this exciting celestial event. Plus, they will compile eclipse field recordings in a large database that will be accessible from their website. The database will be free and openly accessible for educational and artistic purposes.
What You will need: > Smartphone - Microphone on the phone is adequate > Eclipse Soundscape App
Instructions: > Set up your equipment in a dry, safe area & away from ambient human noise (crowds, machinery, power-lines, etc.)
> Stay quiet and move as little as possible, even if you aren’t directly next to your equipment.
> Record for at least half an hour before the apex of the eclipse, and half an hour after. This allows enough time to record any gradual changes in the soundscape.
> Submit your recording to Eclipse Soundscapes
(source: smithsonianmag.com)
These are just a few of the cool and glorious smart phone apps that will enhance your 2017 eclipse experience and allows you to collect data for scientists all over the world. Let me know if you have a citizen scientist app that you like. Have a brilliant solar eclipse, be safe and always protect your eyes.
