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.
Intro to Spectroscopy Course adds BARO Observatory Observations in August
After a successful prototype last summer, our spectroscopy course is back—now enhanced with new tools and observational opportunities. We’ve added spectroscopy capabilities at the BARO Observatory, allowing participants to gather real spectra and analyze them as...
BEAR + Binary Speckle: An Integrated Learning Experience Starts Soon
The BEAR program integrates with the Binary Speckle course into a two-day, on-site experience at Mount Wilson Observatory. Students apply their remote training in this historic setting, working in real-time observation sessions of very close binaries. Daytime...
Binary Speckle Course Starts May 28
Our Binary Speckle Interferometry course begins May 28. It uses the BARO remote observatory and will meet weekly through the summer. Participants will observe binary stars to refine orbital ephemerides and possibly suggest new orbital models. These stars are too...
BEAR Program Featured in Mount Wilson Newsletter – On Their Website Too!
Read the article about our experience on page 3 of the MWO Reflections magazine.Our BEAR program (Boyce-Astro Experience in Astronomy Research experience) was recently featured in the Mount Wilson Institute newsletter. It’s one of only three astronomy courses...
Boyce-Astro 2025 Seminar Calendar Now Live
Our annual class and seminar calendar is now available on the Boyce-Astro website. Courses span a wide range of topics in observational astronomy, including binary stars, photometry, and spectroscopy. Start dates are subject to change, so we recommend joining the...
IntroSTARS™ Continues to Roll On – Free and Self-paced
IntroSTARS™ continues to be the Boyce-Astro prerequisite course for all our seminars and classes. Hundreds of students have taken the self-paced introduction to some basic astrophysics. Students need to pass IntroSTARS™ Final Quiz before taking his or her first...
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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.