Solar Stormwatch

Winner of the Museums and the Web: Best of the Web – Innovation/Experimental Award in 2010.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich (ROG), in partnership with the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) and Zooniverse recently launched Solar Stormwatch, a new web project where anyone can help spot and track solar storms and be involved in the latest solar research.

Visit Solar Stormwatch
  • Dr. Chris Davis, Project Scientist, STEREO Heliospheric Imagers: “The more people looking at our data, the more discoveries we will make. Together with the Royal Observatory Greenwich, we have developed www.solarstormwatch.com where we encourage everyone to track these spectacular storms through space. These storms are a potential radiation hazard for spacecraft and astronauts alike and together we hope to provide advanced warning of their arrival at Earth.”
  • Dr. Marek Kukula, Public Astronomer, Royal Observatory, Greenwich: “The Royal Observatory has a long history of observing the Sun and trying to understand its effects on the Earth so it’s fitting that the Solar Stormwatch project will put Greenwich back at the forefront of solar research. And as a national museum it’s great to be part of a project which involves the public in cutting edge science. I’m really looking forward to seeing the first results.”

Six to Start was brought in by ROG to consult on the ways game design mechanics could be used to derive the best possible engagement from its citizen science project. From a study of the motivations of nearly 12,000 Galaxy Zoo contributors, the ROG had identified two areas for improvement. 80% of Galaxy Zoo’s collaborators were male and only 0.02% claimed to participate for social reasons. Six to Start was invited to help shape a more playful, sociable experience of citizen science.

We ran a workshop for Royal Observatory Greenwich early in the design process where we provided creative input into the design of a new, mass participation, citizen science project involving the creators of Galaxy Zoo and data from the STEREO mission. The aspiration was to ultimately provide a real-time space weather forecast with data capable of being used in peer-reviewed papers. Our workshop introduced participants to the general principles of game design and playful design and produced recommendations for the user experience of what would become Solar Stormwatch. We also provided feedback on the full design and functional specification.

What People Said

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“Our early work with Six to Start established an ambitious standard for the design, where every task would have both a science outcome and a playful pay-off for the contributor – from instant feedback to achievements and sharable favourites. This has been appreciated by the established Galaxy Zoo community and new contributors alike.”

Fiona Romeo, Head of Digital Media at the Royal Observatory Greenwich

“The Solar Stormwatch website has a game-like feel without losing any of the science. I can click away identifying features and watch solar storms head towards Earth on the video clips and learn about solar science at the same time. It’s fun, it’s addictive, it’s educational and you get to contribute to real astronomy research without being an expert in astrophysics.”

Julia Wilkinson, Solar Stormwatch Volunteer

Comments from Twitter

  • “It’s just as addicting as Galaxy Zoo”
  • “Tired of WOW? This beautiful scientific site is perfect for a coffee-break”
  • “Satisfying way to make a small contribution to science”
  • “One storm detected within the last hour – moving fast!”
  • “Absolutely made my day. And I’ve had a decent day”
  • “Lots of fun”
  • “I’ve spotted two or three CMEs – how are you doing?”
  • “Oh cool – particle strike!”
  • “The best thing is, the site tells me I’m the first to see the data”
  • “The coolest new citizen science project is also the HOTTEST”

Credits

  • Producer: Natasha Waterson (ROG)
  • Lead Scientist: Chris Davis (RAL)
  • Scientists: Steve Crothers, Jackie Davies, Richard Harrison, Chris Eyles (RAL), Neel Savani (Imperial College London)
  • Technical Architect: Arfon Smith (University of Oxford)
  • Game Design Consultants: Dan Hon, Marc McGinley (Six to Start)
  • Lead Designer: Adrian MacTaggart (ROG)
  • Web Developers: Jim O’Donnell (ROG), Matt Patterson
  • Flash Developers: Ben Raithby (ROG), Leslie Quarcoopome, Tom Bandy
  • Film-maker: Mike Paterson
  • Illustrator: Alex Jarvis
  • Content Researcher: Olivia Sharp (ROG)
  • Copywriters: Harvey Edser (ROG), Holly Cave
  • Executive Producers: Fiona Romeo (ROG), Chris Lintott (University of Oxford)