Entry 176, on 2005-05-27 at 15:37:10 (Rating 1, Science)
Recently, two New Zealand amateur astronomers helped discover the most distant planet so far found. This wasn't a planet orbiting the Sun, like the familiar planets: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, etc, we all know. As well as the nine planets of our Solar System, astronomers have discovered about 250 planets orbiting other stars. We assume that planets are actually a common occurrence in the Universe - there are probably hundreds of trillions of them!
How can amateur astronomers afford the equipment required to make this sort of discovery? One of the attractions of astronomy for the amateur is the fact that it is one of the few sciences where amateurs can still make a useful contribution to real research. One of the amateurs who discovered the planet used a 20 cm scope - ridiculously small when you consider the biggest telescopes on Earth have a 10 meter mirror (with thousands of times the light gathering ability).
The fact is that there are so many potential targets for observing in the Universe that the professionals can't keep up. That's where amateurs can make a useful contribution. Modern electronics can allow simple telescopes to make precise measurements of dim objects and because there are many more amateurs doing this sort of work, they make most of the discoveries.
Anything that requires endless hours of tedious work is ideal for the amateur! For example, every year they discover many comets, supernovae, and now new planets as well. By using sensitive light measuring equipment they look for gravitational lensing of distant stars by closer ones and by analysing the light they can infer the existence of a planet - the planet is never seen directly because it is too small, too distant, and too close to its much brighter and bigger star to be easily seen.
So, if you are interested in making a contribution to science but can't afford a linear accelerator, gene sequencer, or high power laser, try astronomy instead. Contact your local astronomical society and see if they have a scientific program you can participate in. Maybe you'll be famous when you discover the next supernova!
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