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Pedestal
Post Laureate
Reged: 03/11/06
Posts: 3165
Loc: Smoggy Bottom, Baytown,Texas
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Note to moderator: If this is the wrong forum, feel free to move.
Question is, is there a place in astronomy today for the "serious" amateur. And I'll define amateur as a person willing to take on a well defined project-and stay with it for a number of years if necessary.
I'll also arbitrailly limit equipment to ready available "stuff". No 20" RCO scopes, no $20K SBIG CCD's, just your average 6" to 11" scope, and web cam or film camera.
What say you folks?
Hubert
Edited by matt (08/09/06 04:27 AM)
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llanitedave
Humble Megalomaniac
Reged: 09/26/05
Posts: 10918
Loc: Amargosa Valley, NV, USA
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I think your imposed limitations remove the "serious" amateur from your lineup.
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"S.O.E." (Sauron's Other Eye) 16" Royce conical mirror: A permanent work in progress.
10" Homebuilt dob, old Coulter mirror
Next Project: The "Eye of Sauron" Observatory!
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matt
Vendor (Scopemania)
Reged: 07/28/03
Posts: 10037
Loc: Chaville, France
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small scope users can still work on
- variable star observing (there is a forum on this here)
- occultation timing (either lunar or asteroid)
these are scientific projects - where, however little, you are making a contribution. Then you have personal projects, like runnning the Messier and Hershel lists, which are discussed on the Deep-Sky observing forum.
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Matt
CI700 mount with various scopes on top.
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Pedestal
Post Laureate
Reged: 03/11/06
Posts: 3165
Loc: Smoggy Bottom, Baytown,Texas
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Well, Dave, perhaps I have. But that probably covers 90 percnt of the equipment available. The question im my mind, if the amatuer had the will-would it do him any good.
Hubert
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www.smoggybottom.org
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Pedestal
Post Laureate
Reged: 03/11/06
Posts: 3165
Loc: Smoggy Bottom, Baytown,Texas
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Personal pojects,like running the Messier, while they might be emmensly satisfing to the individual, don't count. Only original research-probably in conjuction with a proffesional astronmer/observatory.
(BTW: I'm not trying to make any kind of political statement here, I'm truly interested in what folks think)
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www.smoggybottom.org
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Jarad
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/28/03
Posts: 3940
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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Quote:
small scope users can still work on
- variable star observing (there is a forum on this here)
- occultation timing (either lunar or asteroid)
Some other scientific projects amateurs can still work on are finding and getting orbital parameters for small asteroids and comets, and finding supernovas. Both can be done with almost any size scope and a CCD camera.
Note that these used to be major areas for amateurs, but are becoming less so as more and more large automated surveys are being started by the professionals.
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Pedestal
Post Laureate
Reged: 03/11/06
Posts: 3165
Loc: Smoggy Bottom, Baytown,Texas
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Well, I must say I'm a bit disappointed. I would have thought there would be more areas of interest. Particularly the "planitoid" type work.
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www.smoggybottom.org
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llanitedave
Humble Megalomaniac
Reged: 09/26/05
Posts: 10918
Loc: Amargosa Valley, NV, USA
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The problem isn't so much the size of the telescope, but other items that might be necessary. For asteroid occultations, for instance, to get the most useful results you'll need a GPS and a time recorder that's as accurate as possible. That's a lot cheaper than it used to be, but it's still more involved than simply peering through the eyepiece.
What science depends on more than anything else is accurate measurements when testing theories. For most purposes, unmodified equipment just isn't going to support that kind of precision.
Perhaps I was a bit harsh. What triggered my response was your insistence on "available stuff". Most amateurs who make real contributions tend to modify their equipment to support their studies, and a lot of those modifications are custom made, not "off the shelf." It doesn't necessarily require huge amounts of money, but it does require some ingenuity.
Arguably the most useful work you can do with off-the-shelf equipment involves variable star observing and scanning -- not only for comets but for nova and possibly the odd supernova. There are automated surveys already taking place searching for supernova in other galaxies, but it's pretty much left to the amateur to do long-term monitoring of the galactic neighborhood.
It was an amateur who discovered the reddening of the Jovian storm that became known as "Red Spot Junior." His equipment was not "stock" by any means, but perhaps he could have made the discovery with more "average" equipment.
The point is, if you want to focus on some particular study, the odds of making a real contribution to that field with unmodified equipment are slim. Those amateurs who do "real science" are going to somehow obtain the specialized equipment they need to support those studies, whether it's purchased at great expense or homemade on a shoestring.
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"S.O.E." (Sauron's Other Eye) 16" Royce conical mirror: A permanent work in progress.
10" Homebuilt dob, old Coulter mirror
Next Project: The "Eye of Sauron" Observatory!
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LivingNDixie
Lord of Ferrets
Reged: 04/23/03
Posts: 15918
Loc: Hoover, AL
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There was article about this in the Sept issue of S&T. That issue should be on newstands soon. It described two amateurs using 14in SCTs to measure the wobble of stars that have planets.
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Preston
Celestron 11" Nexstar GPS XLT
Tak FS 78
Lunt LS60T/Ha 60mm f/8.33 (on order)
Vixen Porta Mount
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microbes
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 12/12/04
Posts: 1193
Loc: Romulus, Sector 12
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Quote:
For asteroid occultations, for instance, to get the most useful results you'll need a GPS and a time recorder that's as accurate as possible. That's a lot cheaper than it used to be, but it's still more involved than simply peering through the eyepiece.
I have a friend that does this. He does use a GPS and records the occulations on video tape with a shortwave radio playing in the background tuned into a station that gives official GMT time tones. The University he turns his tapes over to seem to be able to work with his data.
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Dirt Cheap Astronomy
Voyager 114X900 Newt EQ2 * Sky Chief 60X700 EQ1 * Cometron 62X300 EQ1
Sears Ultra Wide 7X50 Binos * Vintage 16X50 Binos EQ1
Books, Barlows, Eyepieces, Camera Adaptors & Other Esoteric Junk.
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Pedestal
Post Laureate
Reged: 03/11/06
Posts: 3165
Loc: Smoggy Bottom, Baytown,Texas
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Quote:
. For most purposes, unmodified equipment just isn't going to support that kind of precision.
.
A very valid point-that I had not put a lot of thought into. But that was the real point of the original question, the "whys", moreso than the "hows".
Hubert
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www.smoggybottom.org
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