Astronomical Research Mission:

Our goal at the Astronomical Research Institute is to encourage students to think like scientists as they explore the universe.   We work with students and instructors throughout the United States in astronomy, providing hands on research projects that can lead to actual discoveries.     Teachers and students use specialized software to study star images and reduce these pictures into usable data.  It is our aim to extend this opportunity to as many schools and students as possible.

Our second goal is to inspire students to work smarter than they ever thought possible. Since the late 1970's interest in astronomy among people under the age of 30 has decreased dramatically.  According to the Astronomical League, in 1979, over 34% of all subscribers to Sky and Telescope magazine were individuals under the age of 30.  Today less than 4% of subscribers come from this same age group.  High school students now comprise less than 0.005% the total subscriptions to this publication!  

After judging the 2005 Illinois State Science Fair, it was noted that of the 1,700 science projects on display, only 7 involved astronomy.    We believe that by offering teachers the opportunity to conduct real scientific research in their classrooms, we will be able to motivate students to seek out opportunities in science and education, ultimately changing these statistics.

Mission in Research:

The goal of Astronomical Research is to help teachers and students become more actively involved in astronomy.  By placing the proper research grade tools in the hands of students, we can show them how to take current up-to-date images and turn it into data that makes a real contribution to the files of astronomy.  Helping teachers and students with projects like these, will result in positive results that will motivate students to continue on into higher education.  

We also believe that by providing students with exciting research projects, they will become better students with exceptional study skills with an emphasis on detail.  These types of learning skills will allow students to become better role models preparing them to become leaders among their peers.

Students and teachers who are involved in this research project will be searching recent galaxy images (just hours old) by downloading them from an FTP site to their computer.  This project may be undertaken as an individual student or as a team of students.  One of the fascinating aspects of this project is the opportunity to view the unique structure and beauty of different galaxies.  We will provide the images you need to search for these elusive dying stars.  Another advantage of this type of research is students will receive recognition for each new supernova discovery.

This table represents observations made in the ARI NEO Follow-up Project.  It contains the 2007-2008 school year entries of Near Earth Objects that have been measured by students and instructors and data sent to the Minor Planet Center.  All participating schools and students will be recognized for providing their astrometric  measurements to the MPC.  

2006-2007 Discoveries Page

Courtesy of the Astronomical Research Institute