Welcome to the Pan African Citizen Science e-Lab (PACS e-Lab) platform, the leading platform in Africa for engaging the public in citizen science research projects related to astronomy. Our activities promote hands-on space science and astronomy awareness in Africa to enhance Africans’ knowledge and skills in this field. We are a very inclusive and diverse community with a network throughout Africa and beyond. We provide opportunities for African teachers, students, and astronomy enthusiasts to engage in cutting-edge research. We pay special attention to underrepresented communities in Africa without activities in space science and astronomy.

We use robotic web telescopes in most of our research and we have access to a number of them, such as the Micro Observatory, the Las Cumbres Observatory, and sometimes the Slooh telescopes. Our projects are carried out in groups, and we provide live training in different areas, such as data acquisition through web telescopes, data analysis with various astronomy software, image processing, and research writing. The different research activities are:

Asteroid Research

Description: This project is run by the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) and PACS e-Lab is their biggest partner in Africa. The project is also a prerequisite for all projects. In this area, individuals forming a group are trained on how to use the Astrometrica program to search for asteroids with practice datasets. They learn how to analyze these datasets, prepare a Minor Planet Center Report, and submit it back to IASC. PACS e-Lab then proceeds to register these groups on IASC’s Pan African Asteroid Search Campaign group to receive fresh data to analyze. The campaign is monthly, and each team receives a certificate of participation from IASC. A week later, their reports are evaluated by IASC for true or false asteroid reports. If they are true, they become preliminary discoveries. These will be further evaluated for six months to one year to determine if they are real asteroids. If they are, they become provisional discoveries and will be given provisional numbers and cataloged. After some years, the team will be able to name their discoveries.

Additionally, the asteroid research citizen science project is part of NASA’s planetary defense program, which aims to monitor asteroids that can potentially hit Earth in the future. Further details about this project are highlighted in the paper titled “Pan-African Asteroid Search Campaign: Africans’ Contribution to Planetary Defense”.

Training methodology: Recorded videos and online training sessions.

Impact: Since the inception of PACS e-Lab on December 4th, 2020, over 30 provisional asteroids have been discovered by the participants.  

Exoplanet & Photometry 

Description: This project is conducted by NASA Exoplanet Watch, and PACS e-Lab is contributing by involving African citizen scientists. The initiative serves as a follow-up study to previously identified planets by the TESS and Kepler missions. Its primary objective is to contribute to the detection of exoplanets and refine the Mid Transit Time for these celestial bodies. This refinement is crucial for upcoming missions involving the James Webb Space Telescope and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Participants receive training on observing and capturing images of stars using the Micro Observatory (MOBS) web telescopes, focusing on stars with potential exoplanets. Additionally, they learn to conduct photometry using the EXOTIC programs to generate a light curve. The acquired skills also include submitting observation reports to the American Association of Variable Star Observers. Importantly, this activity is not time-limited and can be undertaken whenever the team has available free time. 

Training methodology: Recorded videos but with plans for online training sessions and workshops.

Astronomy Research Writing

Description: This project is meant to expose African citizen astronomers to astronomy research that would lead to an actual peer-review publication. PACS e-Lab has been able to curate a few soft astronomy research topics that participants can study which do not require a professional level of astronomy knowledge.  One such topic is in double star research, which involves the observation of double stars to update their position angle and separation in the Washington double star catalog.  Citizen researchers use the Las Cumbres Observatory for data acquisition and AstroimageJ to take measurements.

Training methodology: Recorded videos and online interaction with the research supervisor.

Impact: At the time of composing this literature, 10 manuscripts have been submitted with a few published in the Journal of Double Star Observation. Check our publication page. 

Astrophoto Visual Development (APVD)

Description: Unlike the other research-based projects, this is not a research activity, but an important skill for amateur astronomers to process deep space images to produce beautiful visuals. The participants are trained on how to retrieve archival datasets from the Hubble Space Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, and Las Cumbres Observatory. They learn how to acquire these datasets and process them with software like Photoshop, Fits Liberator, Siril, Gimp, etc. to produce colorful visuals. Further details about this project will be highlighted in another paper

Training methodology: Recorded videos but with plans for online training sessions and workshops.

ARISS-Event

This is PACS e-Lab’s latest project that will allow African teachers, students, and space enthusiasts the opportunity to interact with astronauts aboard the international space station with amateur radio just like students from developed countries. PACS e-Lab’s application was recently accepted and plans are being made for this event which is set to be between January – June 2025. However, PACS e-Lab is forging ahead to make it a recurring activity on the African continent.  

Conclusion

The English language is our main mode of communication; however, we have worked with many individuals who have reproduced our materials in French, Arabic, or other local languages that are spoken in Africa and they would like to connect with you.

We offer live training sessions, but in cases where the internet connection is poor or costly, or you do not prefer live training, we will recommend our recorded tutorials to you. 

The ability to learn from recorded tutorials is an added advantage to you.

The amount of data subscription you will exhaust, by participating in our program, is less than the amount you would spend on social media. So, working with us will help you reduce the amount of time and resources you spend on social media and make you useful to science.

All our projects are computer-based and Windows OS is preferred. We have no restrictions on age, gender, sexual orientation, or religion.

We regularly add new projects. We hope that you succeed in the ones we have for you. good luck