Shadow the Scientists (StS) was created to connect the public to scientists engaging in authentic scientific experiments, such as astronomy observing experiences with professional astronomers on world-class telescopes.
Due to the COVID pandemic, starting in summer 2020, astronomers have been using telescopes in “pajama mode”: observing from home via Zoom screen sharing and VNC (virtual network computing). Raja GuhaThakurta (Distinguished Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Department Chair, and Astronomer, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California Observatories, University of California Santa Cruz) and his research team used this opportunity to invite several groups of students and educators to eavesdrop via Zoom on their observing nights on the Keck Observatory twin 10-m telescopes, Subaru 8-m telescope, and Lick Observatory/Shane 3-m telescope. This initiative has been dubbed Shadow the Scientists (StS). The StS team has also started to engage potential StS providers whose research is in fields other than astronomy: oceanography, robotics, biology, etc.
In the StS astronomy Zoom sessions, the highest priority is given to time-critical communication among the science team and observatory/telescope staff so that the astronomical observations can be of the highest quality. StS immerses participants in a 100% authentic scientific research experience and the content is not curated in any way. StS sessions have been thrilling for the participating students and educators because of the opportunity for them to: (a) connect with real life scientists and engineers, watch them problem solve, understand what they are passionate about, and hear about their academic and career paths; (b) learn about the underlying science; and (c) learn about the technical aspects of the research equipment (e.g., telescopes, spectrographs, and cameras).
From the outset, StS has had a strong focus on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) students and educators who serve BIPOC students. The first major outreach organization that StS partnered with starting in February 2020 was Native Skywatchers led by Annette Lee (St. Cloud, MN) in collaboration with whom we started the We Are Stardust project and who connected us to Elaine Hardwick (Minneapolis, MN), Tavia LaFolette (Baltimore, MD), Andrea Medina (Santa Barbara, CA), Kate Rosok (Minneapolis, MN), Barbara Sarbin (Volcano, HI), and others. Later that spring, StS started a partnership with ʻOhana Kilo Hōkū in conjunction with Amber Imai-Hong (Honolulu, HI), Heather Kaluna (Hilo, HI), Samuel Wilder King II (Honolulu, HI), Mailani Neal (Albuquerque, NM), and Makana Silva (Columbus, OH). The StS initiative has since established a more extensive set of strong partnerships with large networks of Indigenous and other historically excluded student and educator groups in Hawaiʻi, continental US, Mexico, and several countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe/Middle East, and Latin America (full list of StS outreach partners).
GuhaThakurta and the StS team have partnered with Professor Roy Gal, outreach coordinator at the University of Hawaiʻi Institute for Astronomy (IfA) based in Honolulu, HI, and Dr. Brian Lemaux, staff scientist at Gemini-North Observatory (a program of the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab) based in Hilo, HI, to coordinate StS activities that have a specific focus on the astronomical observatories on the summit of Maunakea on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. Lemaux is working in coordination with the Gemini-N director and head of science operations, as well as dedicated Gemini-N outreach coordinators, to implement StS activities at the observatory. GuhaThakurta, Gal, and Lemaux are also engaged as StS hosts, having run StS on several occasions with their research groups on the Keck and Subaru telescopes on Maunakea and the Lick Observatory Shane telescope on Mount Hamilton, California.
In the summer of 2022, the team received a generous three-year grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation entitled “Lenses and Mirrors” to support the expansion of the StS and We Are Stardust programs.