How Amateurs Can Contribute to Astronomy
Amateur Astronomers Still Make Important Discoveries in Science
Aug 21, 2009
Generations ago scientific discoveries were often made by amateur scientists. They did science for love rather than money and had another source of income. It seems like the ability of amateurs to contribute to science is long gone in these days when experiments, such as the Large Hadron Collider or NASA space missions, can involve teams of hundreds of scientists and cost billions of dollars.
Anthony Wesley's Observations of Jupiter
On July 19, 2009, Australian amateur astronomer, Anthony Wesley, working with a 14.5" telescope, discovered a spot on Jupiter. Subsequent observations with large research telescopes showed that this spot resulted from a comet or asteroid collision with Jupiter.
Wesley's discovery nicely illustrates that astronomy is one of the few areas of science in which amateurs can still make valued contributions.
Why Amateur Astronomers can Contribute
One reason that amateur astronomers can contribute is the quality of equipment available. Astronomical CCD cameras are so sensitive that even relatively small telescopes now have the light gathering ability that very large telescopes had before the advent of CCD cameras. Modern astronomical CCD cameras have dropped in price to the point where middle class amateur astronomers can afford to buy them. Good quality telescopes, CCD cameras, and computers are now affordable for ordinary people.
The second reason that amateur astronomers can make important contributions is the lack of time available on large research telescopes. There is only one Hubble Space Telescope. There are not enough large ground based telescopes to monitor the entire sky. Because there are so few large research telescopes, it is extremely competitive for professional astronomers to get telescope time for their research projects, and telescope time is scheduled up to a year in advance. Hence professional astronomers can not spend time monitoring the sky in hopes of discovering something.
Amateur astronomers, such as Wesley, collectively monitor Jupiter and other bright objects nearly constantly. When they find something interesting or unusual, research telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, can get more detailed data.
How Amateurs Can Contribute
Amateur astronomers can make the most valuable contributions with projects that do not require a large telescope but require large amounts of time observing through the telescope. The two most common ways amateur astronomers contribute are discovering transient objects and monitoring variable stars.
Discovering Comets and Supernovae
Searching for transient objects such as comets and supernovae does not require a large telescope. Rather it requires spending a large amount of time searching the sky for these transients. Because there are many more amateur astronomers with small telescopes amateurs collectively have the advantage searching for these transients. Comets, supernovae, and other transient objects are often discovered by amateur astronomers who then report them to the International Astronomical Union's Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. Amateurs get credit for the discovery, and professional astronomers have new celestial objects to study.
Observing Variable Stars
Amateurs can make important contributions to astronomy by studying variable stars, which are stars that change in brightness. Many variable stars are bright enough to easily be observed with small telescopes, and there are far too many variable stars for professional astronomers to observe them all. Amateur astronomers regularly measure the brightness of variable stars with small CCD equipped telescopes or even estimate the brightness with their eyes.
The American Association of Variable Star Observers, AAVSO, coordinates amateur observations of variable stars. They provide information on stars to observe and observing techniques, in addition to collecting data and distributing them to professional astronomers for analysis. Check their section for new observers.
Most amateur astronomers are very happy to casually observe the night sky. Those thirsting for more can, however, make important contributions to the science of astronomy.
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