The American Astronomical Society (AAS) met in New Orleans this week, attended by thousands of astronomers and reporters, and NASA volunteers were in the spotlight.

• Austin Rothermich began his journey as a NASA volunteer when he was an undergraduate at the University of Central Florida. He spoke at an AAS press conference about 89 brown dwarfs discovered via the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9  citizen science project. These brown dwarfs—Jupiter-sized balls of gas that never turned into stars—are special because they are ultracool, and because they appear to be orbiting stars and other objects, which makes it possible to learn much more about them.

• At the same conference, Dr. Jackie Faherty from the American Museum of Natural History announced another breakthrough discovery from NASA’s Backyard Worlds team: a brown dwarf that appears to have aurorae! This remarkable object was discovered by NASA volunteer Dan Caselden.

• Then, later in the week, Caselden himself was awarded the Chambliss amateur achievement award from the AAS for his work as a NASA volunteer. This is Caselden’s second major prize  in the last four months!

• Zooniverse ,  a key NASA’s partner, made a big announcement  at the meeting. The Zooniverse citizen science platform has now surpassed 2.5 million participants, 750 million classifications, 400 publications, and 20 NASA-funded projects. Dr. Laura Trouille highlighted NASA’s Daily Minor Planet project  in her presentation.

• As if that weren’t enough, this same conference saw the launch of NASA’s new Burst Chaser project. This project aims to unveil the largest explosions in the universe! You can join the fun here.

Wow! Big congratulations to everyone involved!

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