Outreach and Scientific Results with the Largest Network of Backyard Astronomers

ABSTRACT

The Unistellar network is today made of more 5,000 digital telescopes—the eVscope, the eQuinox, and the recently released eVscope 2. These powerful, easy-to-use, smart devices allow backyard astronomers to enjoy the dark sky while also contributing to scientific projects in partnership with the SETI Institute. We believe that science can reap an immense harvest from continuous observations of the night sky using these eVscopes while we also give laypeople, students, and teachers the opportunity to experience the thrill of the next frontier, space exploration. Here we present outreach activities organized by our network, including on-line events made necessary by COVID-19 restrictions in 2020. This paper includes a discussion of our education programs, which aim to connect to our network’s teachers with students from underrepresented groups in the US who are enrolled in community colleges. Finally, we will describe several scientific results generated by our network related to the study of exoplanets, asteroids, and comets. Copyright © 2021 by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). All rights reserved.