Boyce-Astro
Sharing Astronomy through Education and Research via remote technologies.
Boyce-Astro — an extension of B.R.I.E.F
Boyce-Astro is the astronomy arm of B.R.I.E.F. with addressing education, community development, and national and international research and education programs in astronomy.
Boyce-Astro Exoplorer and Telescope Operator training begin in January 2023
The Exoplorer seminar in photometry of exoplanet transits starts in mid-January of 2023. Students must complete the IntroSTARS
BRIEF announces its 2023 offerings
BRIEF will continue its three-part online student research seminar program in 2023. The three online seminars in astrometry, photometry, and python are the core of the BRIEF program which began with DoubleSTARS in 2015.
BRIEF’s Executive Director elected to the AAVSO Board
In November 2022 Pat Boyce was elected to a three-year term on the Board of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). He founded BRIEF, a non-profit, in 2013 to introduce students to the scientific community through research in astronomy. He and his students have been active participants in the AAVSO and its programs.
BRIEF to support SDSU on new NSF grant
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a three-year grant to the San Diego State University (SDSU) Astronomy Department in September 2022. The grant, “Comprehensive Analysis of Period Changes in Eclipsing Binaries as a Probe of Stellar Astrophysics” will use changes in the orbital periods of eclipsing binary stars to measure their interior structure.
A new student research tradition
In June 2022 BRIEF joined InStAR to conduct a two-day student research experience at Mt. Wilson Observatory (MWO). Twenty Boyce-Astro students performed speckle interferometry observations of binary stars using MWO’s 60” telescope, the world’s largest just over a century ago.
BRIEF receives new observatory from the Downing Family Operating Foundation.
The Downing Family Operating Foundation generously donated a PlaneWave CDK17 research grade telescope to BRIEF in May 2022. Located at Sierra Remote Observatory (SRO), the telescope, mounted on a PlaneWave L-500 mount and equipped with a QHY600 camera, will serve as a platform to advance robotic speckle interferometry and astrometry as well as extend the Boyce-Astro exoplanet observation program.
Seminar Sign Up
Stay in Touch
If you would like to receive notices of upcoming seminars or occasional newsletter, please sign up here to provide your email address.
IntroStars™ – Signup
IntroSTARS is our free self-paced online course to introduce you to astronomy and astrophysics. It’s our prerequisite for our other seminars.
Alumni Roster
Alumni Papers
To view your paper please go to Student Publications
Advanced Research Programs
Tutorials
AAVSO Areas of Interest
The American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) serves as a dedicated research and outreach organization that allows both professionals and amateurs contribute to the vast and dynamic field of variable star research in countless unique ways.
Understanding the 6th Orbital Catalog
The 6th orbital catalog serves as a hub for proposed orbital solutions, while the published Sixth Catalog contains only orbits of the highest grade.
How to Format Data from the USNO
This video goes over key points to the email from the USNO, saving the attachments, the historical data raw file, and editing and formatting in Word.
Provide Education & Opportunities in Science
The Boyce Research Initiatives and Education Foundation (BRIEF) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation that was founded in 2013 with this stated mission:
“The specific public, charitable, scientific and educational purposes of this corporation are to provide scientific and technical research opportunities to enhance the educational experience of students and to introduce them to the scientific and technical communities.”
BRIEF conducts seminars, research programs, workshops and conferences to accomplish its mission. BRIEF provides robotic observatories, information systems, and instructional support materials to instructors and students to enable the education through research experience. Our students who range from 7th grade to 70 are encouraged to become scientists through publication of their own research.
Your donations solely support our student scholarships and student STEM research programs. BRIEF (aka Boyce-Astro) is organized and operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes as a 501 (c) (3) corporation.
All donations are welcome.