Astrophotography, a portal for engaging non-STEM majors in science

BACKGROUND: We report the results of an undergraduate course in astrophotography designed to engage non-STEM majors in the natural sciences to train future amateur astronomers and citizen scientists. Over 200,000 students enroll in introductory astronomy elective classes every year in the US alone, which will possibly be their only encounter with a natural science. The course relies on constructivist educational methods to teach data reduction and image processing methods while addressing mathematical anxiety. The goal of the course is to offer a positive experience in the natural sciences which has been linked to the education of potential citizen scientists and amateur astronomers, groups which historically have analyzed a great amount of data and have provided numerous discoveries. RESULTS: Students enrolled in the course reported a higher understanding of data reduction, image processing, telescope and camera use. Most students were eager to take up astrophotography as a hobby, opening the path to become future citizen scientists and amateur astronomers. We found that the methods required to practice astrophotography create a natural constructivist teaching environment. CONCLUSIONS: The course can be reproduced elsewhere to teach non-science major students techniques in data reduction and image processing as positive experiences to introduce them to STEM fields in the future.