Community Based Astronomy

[A project in the brainstorming phase of development. Please contact us (info AT scienceintegration.org) if you have ideas or would like to be involved in the project!]

Searching for Artificial Transits to Connect to a Cosmic Perspective:

A Community-Based Astronomy Project

I often argue that the greatest benefit of astronomy is its ability to transform our frame of mind into a big picture, cosmic perspective (see e.g. http://www.metanexus.net/blog/value-cosmic-perspective). This transformation is most effective when we are actively engaged in the process of asking questions about the universe and exploring potential answers through direct observations. It also works best when we can experience the universe within the context of our everyday lives. Not just as beautiful images sent back from the Hubble Space Telescope, or something we must carve out time from our busy schedules to escape to – a remote dark sky location, a science museum or planetarium or mountaintop observatory, or even an occasional Mt. Hood star party. These can be wonderful experiences. But to truly weave a cosmic perspective into our daily lives, we need to bring the stars to the people as advocated by the late John Dobson and the Sidewalk Astronomers.

That’s why I’d like to organize a “Community Based Astronomy” project to expand on existing efforts to bring the cosmos to the public. Into our everyday lives. Into our downtown public squares and parks and parking lots and sidewalks, where it can remind us in a concrete and tangible way of the cosmic context behind our daily activities.

An important element of the project as I envision it is to focus our efforts around a scientific research project that anyone with an interest can participate in as an active researcher. The possibility of searching for signs of extraterrestrial civilizations by looking for artificial transits provides an ideal opportunity to engage citizens in just such a project.

The idea itself is straightforward. In the last few years, the number of known planets around other stars (extra-solar planets or “exoplanets”) has grown into the thousands (to the point where we’ve realized it’s quite likely that most stars have planets!). One discovery method is the slight decrease in starlight we receive when a planet orbiting a star passes between us and the star (an event called a “transit”). Many of these have been spotted by large projects like the space-based Kepler mission (http://kepler.nasa.gov/). But once identified, some can be observed by amateurs with relatively small telescopes, and some transiting exoplanets are even discovered by amateurs in this way (http://kepler.nasa.gov/education/amateurAstronomersResourceKits/).

Making matters even more interesting, Luc Arnold has pointed out that advanced civilizations might generate artificial transits as a sort of lighthouse beacon to signal other civilizations (http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0503580). More generally, we can look for variations in starlight that might be caused by engineering artifacts of any kind, whether intentional or not (along the lines proposed by Freeman Dyson, inspired by the suggestion in Olaf Stapledon’s book “Starmaker”). Although most likely any such “technosignatures” will be found with telescopes and sensitive light detectors, some light variations in bright stars can be seen with just your eyes and a reference map, even under skies polluted by city lights. (Here are some examples and a tutorial to get you started - http://www.aavso.org/10-star-training.) Most are presumably not signals from aliens, but we don’t know for sure so it’s worth monitoring them and allowing the search to carry our thoughts outside of ourselves and into a space of wondering about who else might be out there, and what role life and consciousness play within the context of the universe.

This generalized artificial transit SETI search is an ideal starting point for our community based astronomy effort for several reasons. First, nothing sparks imagination and curiosity about the universe like the search for aliens! :o) It’s also something that can be done even in urban areas where the skies are not very dark (although hopefully as people get involved in the project it will raise their awareness of the need to better preserve our dark skies). It’s very modular, easily started without funding or fancy equipment, and can be scaled up as interest and resources grow. And it provides a rich framework and source of inspiration for involvement from people with a wide spectrum of interests: science projects for students from grade school to college; artists, poets, architects and landscape designers to make the community astronomy sites connect more deeply to our sense of mystery; engineers to develop simple systems for measuring brightness of stars that anyone can use; data analysts and web designers to develop software to support data collection and access…

The proposed blending of a research component with visible “sidewalk astronomy” in public spaces is important because it offers everyone something active they can do, right now, to get involved and continue and solidify the excitement and inspiration they feel from the night sky. So it becomes a part of them and connects them to research they hear about from Hubble or Kepler or other large observatories. It feels different when you’re not just hearing about what astronomers do on some remote site that might some day affect you, or even receiving data to analyze by participating in one of the great citizen science projects such as Planethunters (http://www.planethunters.org) or Seti Live (http://www.setilive.org). The direct experience of interacting with the night sky to investigate questions draws you in, and raises new questions more connected to a tangible reality that you are part of.

This brings up a very important point about the intention of the project. Of course it would be wonderful if we actually discover an artificial transit signature of an intelligent civilization beyond our solar system. But it’s extremely unlikely that we will, and this goal is not the main point of the project. It matters that this outcome be a real, living possibility, however remote. But the key point is that engagement with the search actively draws you outside of yourself and keeps the big picture at the forefront of your awareness. This changes how we approach day-to-day life, and thus the process of actively searching has intrinsic value. It’s also worth remembering that to any intelligent civilizations that may actually be out there, WE are the exotic and wonder-inspiring aliens! So finding them probably won’t solve our problems, any more than finding us would solve theirs. (!?!) But if more people spent more time fully aware of the deep mystery of existence, generating their own questions and brushing up against awareness of questions we don’t even know how to ask yet…. well that just might help solve some of our problems! What if once a week or so, more people spent just 10 minutes out under the starry sky in a community space with a few neighbors or fellow students, looking through binoculars and recording the brightness of one of those distant stars? And what if every now and then a child wandered by and asked what you were doing, and you could reply with complete honesty, “We’re searching for life beyond Earth. Would you like to help?” and hand them a finder chart to immediately begin observing the stars for themselves? Think of the curiosity and questions and perspective that might be opened up, and where it might lead.

To get things started, let’s scout out locations within our communities that could be designated as places people can gather for starwatching and reflection/discussion on our place within the cosmos. (Along the lines of the star parks advocated by the Starlight initiative - http://www.starlight2007.net/) It wouldn’t take much – a sign indicating the location and the intention, perhaps inviting community contributed artwork and informational displays, occasional observing opportunities with telescopes provided by volunteers from local astronomy clubs. Each site can grow organically in its own way, as soon as there is a designated spot where people know they can conveniently go to view and ponder the sky and engage in conversation with kindred spirits. Some cities might end up with grass roots community observatories and permanent displays to teach passers-by about the stars and invite them to engage with the research project looking for artificial transits. Others might remain just a few friends going to that site to observe and discuss on a regular basis, and welcoming anyone who comes along and expresses an interest to get involved.

I’ll get a prototype site going here in the Portland area, and then put together a portable setup (telescope, CCD camera and display monitor for public viewing and data collection, tutorials on how to make observations, etc.) to take on the road and help other communities get their own sites set up. Let me know if you’d like to be included on the tour :o)

I’ll also maintain a web site (probably at www.scienceintegration.org) with suggested stars to observe for different levels of expertise and equipment, links to tutorials on observing, and a space for discussion related to the project. Another benefit of the project is that observations of the brightness of stars over time have scientific value for many other reasons besides searching for alien life, so the site will encourage participants to join the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO - http://www.aavso.org/) and submit data to their site.

Let’s see if we can’t change the world a little bit, by helping more people experience a cosmic perspective!

~ Todd Duncan