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How to become an astronomy star

Posted on 14 Apr 2009 at 11:58

Amateur astronomy shouldn't be allowed to decline, partly because it remains one of the few areas of scientific interest where the non-professional can still make an impact. In 2006, it was the amateur astronomer, Christopher Go, who found a second red spot on Jupiter. Even though the discovery of comets has increasingly moved to automated surveys, amateurs still make the odd find, and it's novices who still do the bulk of observations on things such as variable stars, or alert the professionals to new supernovae.

As Keith Cooper points out: "You don't even have to look through a telescope any more to make an astronomical discovery." He points to the Galaxy Zoo project, which uses volunteers to classify galaxies imaged in deep-sky surveys. Professionals haven't the time to do the work, and computer analysis isn't as reliable at picking out the shapes and patterns of galaxies as humans. "So you log on to the Galaxy Zoo website, look at different pictures of galaxies, many of which have never been seen by humans before - you're the first! - and you classify them. If you find something unusual, then you're named as the discoverer." Who'd have thought it: your own galaxy, and you don't even need to get up from your chair.

Author: Stuart Andrews