Bowler: AmAteur Astronomy

2.10� A&G�•�April�2009�•�Vol.�50

Bowler: AmAteur Astronomy

Amateur is a fluid word in science. Its cur-rent meaning of “non-professional” is all too easily interpreted as “unprofes-

sional”, but amateur astronomers have long had a valued role in research areas such as novae, supernovae and variable stars. Yet modern astronomy is a professional research field, driven by targeted observing, research outcomes, and pressure to publish – can amateurs still fit in?

In many astronomical fields, as in much of modern science, the answer is that they can’t. But there is scope: the study of variable stars, for example, started as a field dominated by ama-teur observers, whose observations combine to give a picture of a star’s behaviour, invaluable when the pattern changes or a star undergoes an outburst. This is just the sort of extensive, long-term data collection that is out of the realm of professional astronomy, yet is very valuable.

The spread of technologyDigital data rules in the professional world, and what has brought the two realms closer together over the past decade is the arrival on the ama-teur scene of the same digital revolution that has transformed professional astronomy. Arne Henden, Director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers, sees this change as key to present and future collaborations: “If the amateurs had to make their own equipment and write their own software, we’d still be in the ‘dark’ ages. It takes a special person with enough optical, electronic and programming ability to build a CCD camera and computer-controlled tele-scope. Now we have com-puter-controlled GOTO telescopes that you can buy at a department store, inex-pensive CCD cameras that rival the best that professionals use, and software that is extremely easy to learn.”

For Jeremy Shears, an amateur observer based in Cheshire, it’s a matter of getting the right tools for the job. “Technological developments over the past few years have made good equip-ment affordable and available to amateurs. Companies are making CCD cameras tailored to astronomical needs,” he says, and stresses the value of the automation that comes with software-based telescope control. “If you have a target, the telescope can be pointed at it and you can be taking images within minutes.”

This technological capability has opened up a lot more avenues of collaboration, according to Boris Gänsicke of the University of Warwick, who works on variable stars. “Amateur observers can provide light curves, which I use to deduce the physical properties of, for example, binary stars, getting the orbital properties from data

on how bright the star becomes, how quickly it brightens and how long it takes to fade.”

There are fruitful collaborations focusing on variable stars, cataclysmic variables and even transiting exoplanets. “With exoplanet transits,” says Gänsicke, “you’re detecting changes as low as a few percent of the stellar light, and some amateur observers can achieve this.” Henden agrees: “Tonny Vanmunster in Belgium and Cindy Foote in Utah are achieving photometric precisions of 0.2% or so. The top amateurs are the equal of any professional observer.”

Wired worldAnd there are a lot of amateurs, worldwide, sharing information. “The simple, rapid transfer of information, through email and websites, has changed what I can do,” says Shears. “There’s an on-line community of observers. I can log in every day and see what’s happening, and follow it up. Maybe some researchers will announce a particular target – a star that’s gone into out-burst – and I can monitor it. But continuous coverage is the best, and you can’t do that from one location. With our community, there’s the maximum chance that someone, somewhere, will be watching. As night falls round the world, people in the UK, then in Florida, west across the States and then in Japan will watch a par-ticular target – that’s not something you can do

with a professional telescope.”That same ease of collecting and

sharing data for observers also means that the data collected by an individual observer is much more useful, pro-fessionally. “We can ask amateur observers for the light curves of specific

stars, which we can then integrate with other data,

such as spectroscopic data from big telescopes,” says Gän-

sicke. This collaboration also works the other way round. The larger pool of data is the equivalent of more telescope time for Gän-sicke. “Amateurs will be the first to know when an object becomes brighter or fainter. They can send out an alert and trigger observations with bigger telescopes or instruments in space.”

So amateur observers are effectively a free sky-survey instrument for the professionals? Well, no. “Some professionals regard amateur observ-ers as free help, but this is not a free or unlim-ited resource at all,” says Gänsicke. “People give their time and provide their own equipment. We have to give something back.”

He emphasizes the importance of making a valid contribution to science. “It is easy to set up a collaboration, because there are a large number of interested people out there, but a successful collaboration needs feedback and continuity. Any work of this type should be

something where there is a decent probability of getting worthwhile data. Or it could be a project with a high risk of finding nothing, but the chance of observing something out of the ordinary, provided the chances are clear from the start. It’s a two-way relationship.”

Shears, too, is adamant that for amateur observers, information from professionals in their fields of interest is vital. “Feedback is very, very important,” says Shears. “I can choose what to observe, but I want it to be rewarding.”

Shears works with Gänsicke and particularly values input on likely targets. “A steer from professionals in terms of the type of object to observe and the sort of data that are valuable is important and motivating. During one particu-lar event, Boris gave us almost daily feedback on what seemed to be happening and what it could mean, how the analysis was going and, importantly, when there was enough data and we should stop and go on to observe something else. It was real teamwork.”

Building a team seems to be the key to success. Arne Henden’s role at the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) supports such collaborative work. “There are three essen-tial ingredients: a researcher who has a project and needs help; amateur astronomers who have telescope time and want to do something valuable; and the facilitator that puts these two groups together. We act as that go-between.”

In the UK, most people get involved through national organizations such as the British Astro-nomical Association (BAA). “Talks at local astronomy groups stimulate interest in the audi-ence, then people follow up their interest through

Is am ateur astrono my, well,

amate urish?Professional astronomy operates in a world of big-budget, complex

instruments, competition for obser ving time, and publishing deadlines. Sue Bowler asks how amateur astr onomers fit into this world – if at all.

opi nion

The AmATeur

“With technical guidance and

software to reduce the observations, amateurs

can do the statistics – we can do science.”

Bowler: AmAteur Astronomy Bowler: AmAteur Astronomy

A&G�•�April�2009�•�Vol.�50�� 2.11

on-line groups hosted by Yahoo or Google, for example, read bulletins about particular stars, and find out what’s happening,” says Shears. “I spoke to people in the Variable Star Section in the BAA and got lots of help in the form of men-toring and advice about software and how best to enter the data, for example. I was able to ask if my results were any good, and get support.”

Digging deeper Technological advances have made observ-ing more straightforward – which in turn has freed some observers to take their interest in astronomy further. “With technical guidance and software to reduce the observations, ama-teurs can do the statistics, if we want to”, says Shears. “We can do science.”

“Some observers have learnt so much that they are publishing observation-based papers in sci-entific journals,” says Gänsicke. “Just last year amateur observers were among the authors of a letter in Nature, on the long-awaited – and, crucially, long-predicted – outburst of a qua-sar. Amateur observations in the couple of years waiting for the outburst were crucial.”

Henden has no doubt of the value of ama-teur observations in variable-star studies. “For professionals, pro-am collaborations have two main benefits: they get quality data without ever having to request telescope time at a national facility (their own private ‘robotic observatory’); and they learn respect for these enthusiastic amateurs, often resulting in a lifetime associa-tion. For the amateurs, they gain experience and mentoring, get involved in some cutting-edge scientific projects, and often financial benefits,

whether in equipment, travel or publication.” The AAVSO acts as a clearing house for

amateur observations, but also offers support and advice. “We try to advertise the value of amateurs at professional meetings, and pro-am collaborations at amateur meetings, as well as training the amateurs to take higher qual-ity data and training the professionals to view amateurs as a valued resource.”

As in any multi-instrument collaboration, the quality of the data from different sources has to be considered. “We spend a lot of time on quality control at the AAVSO, from inspecting the observations submitted to our international database, to holding workshops and providing tutorial material to improve the data collection procedure,” says Henden. “Part of the problem is the sheer volume and diversity of the collected data.” Gänsicke sees the amateur approach as a benefit overall: “Some people just send the raw data for the software without thought, some send data with obvious errors, but some observ-ers pay more attention to their data than some of my professional colleagues. Amateur observ-ers can have more time for the task in hand, and a passion for the detail.”

Technological change has not been limited to individuals’ equipment: the jump in amount of stored and searchable data offers different routes for amateur astronomers to become involved in professional research, especially if virtual observatory data are freely available. “The amount of information available over the internet is staggering,” says Henden, “and it often takes expertise to sift through and find the valuable nug-gets.” Robotic telescopes offer another way into the field. Amateurs and the general public can access on-line telescopes, either for free or on a pay-per-view basis. The AAVSO has its own network of robotic telescopes called AAVSOnet, and the BAA has bought time on robotic telescopes for members. As equipment and software become more reliable and the internet more extensive, amateurs worldwide will be able to observe without needing their own telescopes.

But there are other pressures at work that might shape amateur involvement in professional astronomy in the future. Research money is tight and professional telescope time, in consequence, limited. The increasingly scientifically literate and specialized amateur community could have a role to play in future collaborations. This may be a community working effectively as a “robotic telescope”, able to follow up objects identified from automated sky surveys and high-lighted as of research interest. But it is clear that

such a community works best when all involved acknowledge that it is not robotic at all – that this is a part of the community drawn together by a common fascination with the skies.

Looking to the futureGänsicke sees a bright future for amateur observers, notwithstanding the next genera-tion of sky-survey instruments. “I see lots of potential for collaborations because profes-sional observers are moving into the field of time-domain astrophysics. There are some very large projects being built to monitor the sky for variability, such as PanSTARRS, and they will discover new events. There’s a role for amateurs there, monitoring these new objects.”

Shears is equally enthusiastic: “Rather than taking over the monitoring role, these new sur-veys will be finding all sorts of new objects to follow up.”

Henden is also looking further afield. “Ama-teurs have day jobs and they come from all walks of life. This diversity also means a diversity of talents and I don’t think we’ve made good use of their training. Chemists know more chemis-try than astronomers; web designers can help

disseminate data to the community; statisticians can devise new algo-

rithms for investigating data-sets; lawyers can help write

municipal lighting ordi-nances. I’m hoping that the future collaborations extend beyond just ama-teur astronomer – profes-sional astronomer.”It is clear from a survey

of this very active field that pro-am collaboration is thriv-

ing. Teamwork between amateurs and professionals can benefit both par-

ties, and benefit astronomy as a whole, offering a wider understanding of astronomy in general and astronomical research in particular, as well as a bigger pool of observers able to tackle spe-cific research targets that would otherwise not be funded.

Perhaps this is the time to remember the first meaning of the word amateur. In Henden’s words: “My goal is to get other professionals to look beyond that ‘amateur’ label and realize that it really has its original meaning: a common love of astronomy.” ●

Is am ateur astrono my, well,

amate urish?Professional astronomy operates in a world of big-budget, complex

instruments, competition for obser ving time, and publishing deadlines. Sue Bowler asks how amateur astr onomers fit into this world – if at all.

opi nion

The ProfeSSionAL

“They get quality data without ever having to request

telescope time at a national facility – their

own private robotic observatory.”

Do you agree or disagree with the opinions expressed here? Do you have any related comments or experiences to share with A&G readers? if so, please email the editor at s.bowler@leeds.ac.uk. And if there’s a topic you would like to express an opinion about in these pages, please get in touch. We want to hear from you.

what’s your opinion?