the role of amatuers

[hes not well again]

Just finished reading Telescopic Work for Starlight Evenings by Denning 1891. A thing that struck me is that every planet had it's own chapter which had a subsection entitled 'Work for Amatuers' in which he outlined the areas that needed further observation. For instance on the chapter on Saturn he says that people who could observe the planet, making sketches of it markings over a period of time could materially add to the sum of knowledge of astronomy. They didn't know it was a gas giant at that time. It seems to me that over the years the place for amatuers has gone and we seem to be left to ourselves in terms of actually doing science. As far as I can see on the net the last time an amatuer actually found a new supernova was some years ago now that the skies are scanned automatically by systems in goverment control. Am I missing something and there are still things that we could usefully be doing? I hope so.

[Hypernova]

I believe I read that amateurs still play an important role when it comes to astronomical observations. Timing of occultations, variable star observing and supernovae discovery. Many events occur that are sometimes missed entirely by the professional observatories that may be focusing on a particular object or region of the sky whilst thousands or millions of amateurs have their eyes looking everywhere.

[Mr Q]

If you have a moderate sized scope (8"+), you can search for "Lost" NGC objects in the NGC catalogue, with the site's list of many objects that need confirmation of actual existance. To access the SAC database and download lists, go to:SAC Downloads

[hes not well again]

Thank you for that, its good to know we may still have a part to play. anyone know of any more things to do? It just so happens that my scope is an 8" newt. Another thing that I 've just remembered that Denning said that in his opinion, anything bigger than 15" was a waste of time in britain because of the poor seeing, and this was 100 years ago when lp was not a real problem. He pointed out that Lord Rosse's monster 6' scope did not result in the discoveries that was hoped for it. The astronomer in charge of it said that he had only once been able to use the magnification it was capable of because of the poor seeing in Ireland. I suppose thats why all the huge scopes are elswhere in the world.

[Spica]

Hi. Like what's said already, there are lots of things to assist the science with. Me too, find this a compelling part of our hobby! Hunt for asteroids & comets is one branch, although the chance of finding one is getting smaller and smaller due to the programs ran by NASA etc. Some people even think that amatuers soon have found their last comet.

Variable stars are probably the largest field where we can contribute, been at that for a while after having discarded it as "boring" it for the longest time! It's actually fun, believe it or not, escpecially when reporting them.

Occulations is a neat and interesting side of the hobby. I tried to sign up with IOTA/ES a while ago, they don't even reply on mails. Signed up with the IOTA-Yahoo group, but never really felt welcome there. They all seem so blumming contrary in their discussions as well, so for the time being occultations is a no go. Sin, as you can assist in determining topography of the moon, finding unknown doubles, determining asteroidal shape, fine tune their orbit ephemeris (predictions may be a little off at times) and even discovering asteroidal unknown little "moons".

Supernovae hunt as mentioned I am sure it's a very thrilling part, but never tried it.

You may also sign up for projects within the solar system such as Venus Vulcano Watch, looking for duststorms on Mars etc.

On cloudy evenings you can sign up on www.zooniverse.com and participate in all kinds of projects like hunting for spacecraft scrap on the moon, confirm craters, hunt for exo-planets, classify galaxies etc etc. That dutch girl who got famous when discovering Hanny's Voorwerp found this whatever it is (nebulae) through Zooniverse. Hanny's Voorwerp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There's a vast ocean of opportunities!

Mr Q's "Lost" NGC-objects was new to me, will check that. Sounds cool.

Good Luck!

[Gra]

Hi, if i have been informed correctly, 'The Sky at Night' are showing in March the work done by the supernova search team from the Liverpool Astronomical Society. All performed by amateurs.

Should be interesting to watch.

Graham.

[Grunthos]

I prefer the term "self funded astronomer" to the word amateur. (Having said that amateurs do not have to be amateur-ish).

As previously alluded to there are still opportunities to contribute to serious research. Astronomy is one of the few scientific fields where a non-professional (i.e. those who don't get paid to do it) can make a difference.

...now that the skies are scanned automatically by systems in goverment control...

You sure about that? (cue Twilight Zone music )

[Grunthos]

Come to think of it I attended a national Astronomy Meeting and EAS Symposia a few years ago where there was a detailed Pro-Am interface and discussion session.

Abstract for session was:

Pro-Am Session

Organisers: J. Stone, N. Szymanek

Astronomy is almost unique in being a discipline in which amateurs can make a significant contribution. Indeed their involvement is eagerly sought by the professionals, creating a highly beneficial partnership. The millions of amateur astronomers across the world are an enormous resource, and are even involved in the search for extrasolar planets.

Technology has put what used to be professional equipment within the reach of amateurs, and massive budgets are no longer required in order to obtain such items as computer-controlled telescopes, high-quality CCD cameras, and hydrogen-alpha telescopes.

In 2009 the IYA intends to increase awareness of astronomy and encourage others to take part in the exploration of the universe. Exactly what is the role played by amateur astronomers, and how are they providing support for the professionals? In addition, what is taking place in professional astronomy to help the amateur community?

Abstracts of up to 200 words are invited for presentations of 10-15 minutes and for posters.

[Grunthos]

Tuesday

11:00am

Amateur Contributions to the Study of the

Atmospheric Dynamics of Jupiter and Saturn

D. Arditti (BAA Jupiter & Saturn Sections), John Rogers, Mike Foulkes

The last two decades have witnessed a revolution in the possibilities for the imaging of the

bright planets using small telescopes (<0.5m aperture) coupled to fast frame-rate CCD

cameras, using fast PCs and image processing-software. Amateurs have developed these

techniques to a level where they are capable of providing much information on the

development of the atmospheric features of Jupiter and Saturn that is complementary to the

information gathered by probes and large professional telescopes. The particular value of the

amateur contribution lies in the long-term and complete nature of the coverage, with

observers stationed all over the globe. Organisations such as the British Astronomical

Association (BAA) can collate the results from these observers to create a record of the

longer-term large-scale developments of these atmospheres which is not available from any

other source.

This presentation explains briefly the methods commonly used by amateurs working in this

field and assesses the resolution obtainable, the reliability of the results and influence of

personal factors in the way the images are processed. The work of the BAA Jupiter and

Saturn sections and the international JUPOS (Database for Object Positions on Jupiter)

project on analysing the feature drift-rates on Jupiter and Saturn is outlined, demonstrating

the form in which the data is produced, and mentioning some recent results from published

and unpublished work on Jupiter and Saturn.

[Grunthos]

Tuesday

11:20am

Pro-am Collaboration in CCD Photometry of

Cataclysmic Variable Stars

D. Boyd (British Astronomical Association)

Observing cataclysmic variable (CV) stars is one area where amateurs can complement and

assist the work of professional astronomers. Detecting and observing outbursts and

superoutbursts using CCD photometry enables important CV parameters to be measured

and the GCVS classification of variables to be confirmed, or in some cases determined for

the first time. During the past 4 years, 19 refereed papers on CVs have been published in the

Journal of the British Astronomical Association describing and analysing observations carried

out by amateurs. Examples of these will be given in the talk.

Through their greater numbers and wider geographical distribution, amateurs astronomers

have the potential to achieve more intensive coverage than is possible with professional

telescopes. This enables them, by collaborating with professional astronomers, to address

open research issues. A good example is the recent 4-week observing campaign on the

eclipsing dwarf nova DW Ursa Majoris. Many interacting binaries containing accretion disks

exhibit superhumps in their light curves suggesting that their accretion disks are elliptical and

precessing on time scales of a few days due to tidal interactions with the companion star. The

changing geometry may cause the depth of eclipses to be modulated on the accretion disk

precession period.

The aim of the campaign was to provide for the first time sufficient continuous photometric

coverage of an eclipsing superhumper to test this hypothesis. The target, DW UMa, belongs

to the group of SW Sextantis stars, novalike variables exhibiting permanent superhumps. The

talk will present preliminary results of the campaign including unambiguous confirmation that

the superhump signal is the beat between the orbital and precession periods and evidence

that the timing, width and depth of the eclipses are all modulated on the disk precession

period. These results should provide insight into the nature of accretion disks in SW Sex

stars.

[Grunthos]

Tuesday

11:35am

Precision Timing of Occultations, Eclipses, and

Transits by Dedicated Amateur Astronomers

A. Elliott (BAA Asteroids and Remote Planets Section (ARPS))

Accurate timing and photometry of occultations of stars by solar system bodies, mutual

occultations and eclipses of planetary satellites, and eclipses and transits, can yield

scientifically valid data. This can be used to determine or refine the size, shape, and orbital

parameters of the bodies, the characteristics of planetary and satellite atmospheres, the

detection and orbital characterisation of close double stars, and the sizes of stars. The ready

availability of large telescopes, extremely sensitive video cameras, precision timing

technology, prediction and reduction software, and internet coordination, mean that the world

body of amateur astronomers is well placed to make a significant contribution to science in

these areas. Large groups of dedicated amateurs in most continents have been contributing

for over two decades. This Paper briefly illustrates the state-of-the-art methods and

contributions of amateurs.

[Grunthos]

Tuesday

11:50am

Increased Pro-Am Cooperation in Spectroscopy

Delivers Results

R. Leadbeater (British Astronomical Association)

Despite spectroscopy being a vital tool for the professional, amateur spectroscopists are

relatively uncommon. Their numbers are increasing however, due in part to the work of a

couple of amateur groups in Europe. They have, under the guidance of professional

astronomers, developed the techniques and instrumentation needed for amateurs to

undertake useful work in this field. This includes the development of a spectrograph capable

of resolutions up to 17000, significantly higher than previously available to the amateur

commercially.

Some examples of current amateur spectroscopic work in support of professional projects

are discussed, including: Long term monitoring of Be Star activity and H alpha line profiles,

which led to the creation of a Pro-Am database of Be Star Spectra (BeSS). Daily

spectroscopic measurements of the WR140 colliding wind binary system over 3 months

covering periastron 2008/9.

[Grunthos]

Tuesday

12:05pm

The BAA VSS and Pro-Am Collaboration

R. Pickard (British Aastronomical Association)

Examples will be given of existing collaboration between professional and amateur variable

star observers.

[Grunthos]

Hope these inspire a few people....