American Astronomical Society to Recognize Amateurs

[Merlin66]

1 hour ago, mikemarotta said:

the AAS is not restricted to US members

This seems at odds with:

Applicants are required to be a member of an affiliated organization, such as an astronomy club that belongs to the Astronomical League;

[mikemarotta]

From this month's (January 2021) Sky & Telescope: 

Quote

 

An amateur astronomer has recovered four of five “lost” Jovian moons.

In a first, an amateur astronomer has found four of five "lost" Jovian moons using images from a publicly available archive. The feat allows a recalculation of their orbits, leaving only one of Jupiter's 79 known satellites still missing.

The formerly missing moons are among a group of 23 small (1–4 km) Jovian satellites that Scott Sheppard (Carnegie Institution for Science) and colleagues reported in 2003. Many of these were later lost, though some were later recovered; as of late November, five "lost" moons remained. They are so faint that large telescopes can see them for only about a month every year, when Jupiter is closest to Earth. Early observations were limited, leaving their  initial orbits uncertain, too, all of which made them easy to lose.
ON THE HUNT FOR LOST MOONS
The amateur, who gave his name only as Kenneth, found inspiration in two Minor Planet Electronic Circulars from November, which reported recovery of two previously lost Jovian moons (S/2003 J 16 in MPEC 2020 V10 and S/2003 J 9 in MPEC 2020 V19). Those reports were submitted by professional astronomers, who found the moons in images dating from 2010 through 2018.

Full story here:
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/amateur-astronomer-finds-lost-moons-of-jupiter/
 

 

 

[mikemarotta]

2 hours ago, Merlin66 said:

This seems at odds with:

Applicants are required to be a member of an affiliated organization, such as an astronomy club that belongs to the Astronomical League;

First of all, please post the link where you found that because right now (12 Jan 1800 UT) it says: 

Quote

"Amateur Affiliates are those who advance the astronomical sciences through research but do not depend on the field of astronomy as a primary source of income or support. Applicants must be members of an affiliated amateur organization.

And, note that your truncated quote ended in a semi-colon. That older page used to go on to say local club, or other similar organization. Moreover, the Astronomical League also has no restrictions and has international members. The tie-in is that for many local clubs, your membership dues automatically include AL membership. But in any case AL affiliation is not the requirement but one of several ways to meet the requirement.  

[callump]

3 hours ago, Merlin66 said:

5 hours ago, mikemarotta said:

the AAS is not restricted to US members

This seems at odds with:

Applicants are required to be a member of an affiliated organization, such as an astronomy club that belongs to the Astronomical League;

The British Astronomical Association is an affiliated organisation - you can pick it on the sign-up form.

/callump

[Xilman]

2 hours ago, callump said:

The British Astronomical Association is an affiliated organisation - you can pick it on the sign-up form.

/callump

Ditto AAVSO, which has had non-US members for decades.  (Though not I. I would have to use BAA membership.)

[theropod]

Y’all should view my comments above in light of the fact that I’m a grumpy old man suffering from both seasonal depression disorder and nowhere near enough clear nights. It’s foggy and raining right now, and expected to stay that way for another 4 days. I’m sure good intentions are at work here, and a few nights spent with a pro wouldn’t hurt my efforts.

[mikemarotta]

On 10/01/2021 at 09:42, theropod said:

...and when the outcome is reached it isn’t a larger feather in the cap of the pro?  As a retired professional scientist I’ve seen both sides of the door.... All I’m doing is playing devil’s advocate.

Just to follow up. I posted out-takes from your comments here in a strong memorandum to my committee. Twice. The first time, I just sent it out to the leads for review. That was back in January when this thread started. Then, earlier this month, as we are coming down to final proposals for the board, I sent out an edit of my memo - one page; military style - to the entire committee. And I was able include a strong statement from AAS president Paul Szkody that the AAS can permanenty bar from publication anyone in violation of the ethics poilicies. That includes not offering credit to amateurs who collaborate. This is now with a special publications subcommittee.  Our committee on Amateur Affiliates discussed it in detail. Tracking the evidence, I found that the genesis got lost.

What happened was this.

Back in January, at AAS 237, we had a special off-schedule meet-up of amateur affiliates and others. In the Zoom chat box, one of the comments was this, that professionals offer publication credit to amateurs who collaborate, along with many other comments, including discounts on Sky & Tel for AAS members, etc., etc. When the Amateur Affiliate Membership Advisory Task Force was launched, this comment was included early on among about 50 other bullet points for framing our work, including having amateurs invlte professionals to star parties, etc., etc. It was at that point that I shared the concerns voiced by @Theropod here.

There has never been a problem with pro-am publication credit. As far as I know, there is no complaint on record. It is a non-issue. However, with the intended influx of amateurs publishing with AAS professionals now, the AAS wants this to be crystal clear, as they are on gender bias and harassment, respect for Native lands, and other ethical standards.

So, @Theropod, your concerns were heard and addressed. I assure you that I took it very seriously and still do. Whatever the good intentions, as a card-carrying criminologist, I know that 20% of scientists are crooks on the same basis that 20% of bus drivers are crooks. It's just people being people. And we all seek to act against harms and injustices, if only by speaking out. 

Best Regards,

Mike M.

"Twenty per cent of scientists are crooks" on my blog here: https://necessaryfacts.blogspot.com/2012/12/20-of-scientists-are-crooks.html

Edited June 25, 2021 by mikemarotta
grammar and style