Components of Successful Pro-Am Observing Campaigns: A PACA Project Perspective
Affiliation(s): Padma A. Yanamandra-Fisher: Creator and Director of The PACA Project & Christopher Wyatt: Co-Administrator of PACA FB Groups; UNENTAS
Session details: Friday, 2016-03-25 02:30:00, SEM117
Abstract
As amateur astronomers become sophisticated observers and adapt to the latest in observing techniques, technology and equipment, the next step is the collaboration of the amateur community with professional community. The Pro-Am Collaborative Astronomy (PACA) Project provides a forum and bridge between the two communities, identifying observing campaigns, sharing of resources, standardizing of data acquisition and analysis, leading to collection and archival of the data. Some successful recent observing campaigns include Comet ISON (2013), Comet Siding Spring (2014) and the current support for ESA/Rosetta mission and its target Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (CG).
We present the various components and techniques utilized in these campaigns via a virtual interactive panel consisting of amateur observers, modellers, and professional observers, with hands-on activities for local NACAA attendees to familiarize the amateur community with necessary tools to make pro-am collaborations useful to both communities. We shall also highlight some of the upcoming observing programs that amateur astronomers can support and provide key contributions. Some of the Virtual Panel participants include Anthony “Bird” Wesley, Roger Groom, Christina Rivera, Jakub Cherney. Other panelists will be added as time permits.
Materials for hands-on activities and light refreshments will be provided in the workshop to attendees. Several lucky attendees will receive door prizes. Please plan to register and attend the workshop. Registration is required for attendance.
Biography
Dr. Padma A. Yanamandra-Fisher is a Senior Research Scientist at the Space Science Institute (SSI), and works remotely from Rancho Cucamonga, California, U.S.A.; having worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), also in California. Her research interests include the physics of light scattering in various media, primarily on solar system objects. She is a planetary science observer, with emphasis on near- and mid-infrared observations of the atmospheres of the outer planets and their ring systems; comets and their interactions with other solar system bodies; numerical modeling and retrieval of atmospheric states; polarization of the solar system and exoplanets; and outreach with emphasis on all aspects of Citizen Science, including partnerships of professional astronomers/observers with the amateur astronomer community to enhance the science return. Her current work focusses on the observations and modeling of comets C/2012 S1 (ISON), C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) and 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (C-G) and coordinating the amateur astronomer networks around the world, using social media like Facebook, Pinterest, Flickr, etc., for their inclusion in the supporting observations.