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Amateur or
professional ?
If
each of us can define what are his/her activities as amateur astronomer, what
qualify an astronomer as "professional" ? Take
an example. In the radioastronomy world, many "observers" are in
fact electronics technician or engineer and are paid to maintain and operate
radiotelescopes. Many astronomers specialized in the solar study are
physicists in disciplines other than plain astronomy, etc. In
other words, we usually qualify as professional people working in the large
field of astronomy but who are engineer or physicists by trade. But does
being paid for climbing on radiotelescopes or operating in a dark room make
them professional astronomers ? Surely not. Or not really. Take
another example. An amateur operating several nights each year at Pic-du-Midi
monitoring the sun activity or even
being paid to observe Jupiter using major observatory equipment does not
qualify him/her as a professional astronomer; he/she is qualify as an amateur doing
professional work. That
occurs each time a researcher gets some money to do his/her experiments. (S)He
has then to find observers to do the so-called boring job. In some case
amateurs have the opportunity to do the tedious job of looking the sky all
night long from a far exotic site, compare pictures or measure data plots.
In fact there are a few happy amateurs whose astronomy pictures are hard to
distinguish of that taken by the HST (without getting closer). But do not
dream, these opportunities are not numerous but occasionally it happens.
Equipment : small
or large scope ? We
often read here and there or heard in meetings that large amateurs scopes
are useless to conduct a research program. Strange opinion, doesn't it...
Indeed, this assertion is not true. For
those who like to do a rigorous science, large instruments will always be
appreciated. This
idea finds however a logical explanation. An
amateur trying to get good results in astrophotography or applied sciences
is soon or late interested in buying an instrument as large as possible, up
to 1 meter of aperture for the largest. And one day he/she enters into
the "realm of professionals". Usually this people is
"lost" for the amateur community. The others, ourselves, remain
and have to satisfy with smaller instruments, largely commercialized which
present occasionally an exceptional quality. But what we lost there we gain
it here by another appreciated advantage : amateurs are not constraint by a
fixed observatory, we have a greater mobility than professionals and may
count on a large number of observers. So
the remaining question is not to know if such or such people is an amateur
or a professional but rather does he/she wants to make scientific observations ?
If the answer is largely "yes", this people should move into the
professional community. The other solution is participating in professional
projects by subscribing first in international amateur networks like ALPO,
AAVSO, NOAO, IMS, ISN, etc which data are analyzed by worldwide experts.
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R.Poole's
640mm |
J.Salmi's
300mm |
Nye's
400mm |
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There are many examples of
advanced amateurs
conducting monitoring programs with large scopes. -
The 16" SCT
maintained by NOAO is involved in an amateur astrophotography program -
In Australia Gordon Garradd's 17.7" is dedicated to the asteroids study -
Georges Viscardy's 20" was used in France to study
planetaries
atmospheres. -
Tim Pucket's 24" conducts a supernovae monitoring program -
A 29" Obsession is used to do visual magnitude estimations of
bright quasars -
The small of Pic-du-Midi is dedicated to amateurs a few nights each year -
The 3.50m at Lowell Observatory opens his door to amateurs according a strict
schedule too, etc. Except
their price, what could be the reason of deny the utility of large scopes,
able to capture 5 or 10 times more light and to reach inaccessible
magnitudes to small scopes ?
On the contrary be proud and happy if one day you can look through such huge
scopes. This is a too rare opportunity to refuse it and to do the pictures you
always dream of. For
small budgets on the other side, discoveries may occasionally happen and
professional results can be achieved. -
Hans Vehrenberg used a 14" SCT with a Schmidt camera to produce his
marvelous photographic Atlases
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Akira Fujii produces his best results using a reflex camera, 12" scope
and an astrograph.
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Mark Armstrong discovered several supernovae using a 12" LX200 with CCD
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The Optical SETI at Columbus uses a 10" SCT
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Kazuyuki Tanaka got spectra of quasar 3C273 using a 8" SCT
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Osawa discovered the spikes in Saturn's ring using a homemade 8" scope.
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New asteroids and supernovae are discovered nearly each month by amateurs using 8" instruments and CCD.
Celebrity
or incognito ?
Amateur
astronomy is a hobby first, that brings you enjoyable moments of relaxing
while your mind is directed towards the sky and its mysteries. The purpose
of this hobby depends of your resources, both in time and financial
participation and of course of the weather conditions if you want to be on
site. This is to you to decide what you want to spend in this
activity. According your decision you will buy a more or less large scope
and more or less accessories. You are free to work alone or sharing your
knowledge with the members of your club. If you like applied sciences you can
conduct some scientific observations otherwise nobody will hurt you if you
simply look at the sky for the pure pleasure, what most of amateurs do. For
an amateur Science must be consider as a bonus rather than a basic
requirement. Of course for a minority of us it will be always gratifying to
know the why and the how of things. I
am always amazed by the the fact many of my friends amateur astronomers are
doing astronomy but with no desire to join in a club or to be known. They do
their observations and go throughout life nearly incognito. Many of them use
medium scopes (8-12") but complete them with expensive accessories
transforming their observatory in a mini-Palomar and do a rigorous
scientific job. Sometimes they temporary acquire some celebrity in
publishing a report in an international magazine or are visited by the local
television. But quickly this attitude slows down. These
amateurs are known in some regional circles but very few really know how these
amateurs work once back under their dome or in their garden. Some
of these famous unknown discover a few supernovae each year. Others record
light variations of some 60 variables stars each night using robotic telescopes, while
others discover asteroids using CCD or Sun grazer comets by analysing SOHO
pictures. All these activities are fascinating
and erect these amateurs on places envy by professionals ! But the celebrity
does not interest them. The
most amazing is that these days there are amateurs who are not intimated by
NASA near daily discoveries and the differentiation between their both
investments in rigorous science, the first sparing his few bucks each year
to buy his expensive accessories, the second searching for billionaires
sponsors. But
the first, the clever amateur, own something more than NASA, le Feu-sacré,
the feeling to be the first, the one "suited" for that activity as nobody
else, because this is all his live, his small but useful participation in
the big Science. These
amateurs, fierty of our community have to be preserved by maintaining the
amateur status. Because if we had to work as NASA, blasting our instruments
in pieces for economical reasons, then there would not have had place for
people like Hershel, lord Rosse and their peers. Hopefully we have preserved some
vocations, the one of explorers able to be fascinated by a variable star,
the slow move of an asteroid or the blast... of a supernova. Clic
here to get a list of Research
activities
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