Join a Team

There are two ways to join a Citizen Sky team. First, you can form your own team. We recommend using the forums to find individuals with whom you'd like to work. Secondly, you can contact us. We'll keep a database of participants looking for a team and we will recommend teams for you.

The most successful teams will have the following attributes:

Good chemistry: Past experience suggests that some of the friendships formed within a citizen science team may last a lifetime. We recommend finding team members who you may be acquainted with, but whom you do not yet know well. This gives the team a baseline to start with but allows room for growth and new friendships to build.

Complementary skill sets: Science requires lots of diverse skill sets. Homogenous teams where everyone is good at observing, math, programming, etc. may have trouble in other areas.

A common goal: This may seem obvious, but youd be surprised at how many teams are formed by people who "just want to work together". While that is noble, you may find out that everyone has a different project in mind. Make sure the final goal and product (a paper, web page, video, etc.) is agreed upon ahead of time.

A leader: There are many different ways to lead and many different types of leader. The one thing in common is that every group needs one - including our teams. Pick a leader at the very beginning and define their role. It could be a simple or a complex role - your choice. But make it clear in the beginning.

A professional liason: We are planning to assign an astronomer to each team. This astronomer will be there to answer questions and provide advice. They will not be there to hold your hand or tell you what to do. The team needs to figure that out - remember, this is real science here. This isn't a classroom.

Obviously much more goes into a good team. The most important attribute is reliability of the team members. This means you. :)

Side note: We are also considering forming special types of teams that consist of a parent and a child, with specially designed projects for them. Contact us if interested.