Newton STFC-NARIT: Exoplanet Citizen Science with the Thai Robotic Telescope Network

The need for innovation in Thailand's science literacy strategy at upper secondary level is underscored by disappointing placements in recent international surveys of science literacy, including the recent PISA 2018 survey that places Thailand 53/78 countries tested. We aim to use an existing UK-Thai exoplanet research network to inspire students and help improve science literacy at upper secondary level. The study of exoplanets, planets around stars beyond our Sun, is a relatively new field that is a high priority STFC research area and is known to fire the imagination of the school students and indeed the general public.

The Spectroscopy and Photometry of Exoplanet Atmospheres Research Network (Spearnet) is a UK-Thai collaboration that is using Thailand's global optical telescope network to systematically study the atmospheres of exoplanets. Many of the key principles that lie behind the detection and characterisation of exoplanets are introduced to students at upper secondary level, such as mass moments, the Doppler effect, spectroscopy and the nature of light.

We will use our active UK-Thai SPEARNET programme as a science literacy catalyst to develop a Citizen Science Exoplanet Hub that we will use to train advanced school students across Thailand in data processing and analysis techniques used for exoplanet research. The principles and techniques will have high knowledge transfer across all Science and Technology sectors that require analysis and modelling of large and complex datasets. The Exoplanet Hub will be available in both Thai and English languages and will

- showcase how we find and characterise exoplanets;
- include explainers behind the underlying principles and technologies used;
- enable students to select their own exoplanet targets for observation with the Thai Robotic Telescope network;
- guide students interactively through all stages of the science process, including image acquisition, data processing, and theoretical modelling and interpretation.

Students across Thailand will be able to use versions of the tools that we use to obtain and reduce scientific data that will tell us about the characteristics of exoplanet atmospheres. They will gain knowledge in how modern science is developing sophisticated automated tools to deal with ever larger data sets within the era of Big Data.

See our Pathways to Impact statement.