Astronomical observations in the Internet age are beginning to play an important role in amateur astronomers

ByEuropean Southern Observatory

On March 17, 2016, two amateur astronomers occurred on the surface of JupiterSuccessful observation of flashing phenomenonDid. Although the astronomy that collided at this time is thought to be an asteroid about 5 m to 20 m in diameter, as the Internet era has arrived, observations by such amateur astronomers will leave great results even at the site of astronomical observation It is becoming.

Backyard telescopes and amateur eyes see where "pro" astronomers can not | Ars Technica
http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/08/amateur-astronomy/

Two people who succeeded in observing this flashing phenomenon were Gerrit Kernbauer of Austria and John McKeon of Ireland. First of all it was Kernbauer who opened the picture, when I confirmed the image 10 days after filming, I noticed that the flashing phenomenon was contained. Kernbauer photographed Jupiter with a 20 cm class telescope, and after uploading the video on YouTube, it attracted attention and has reached 4.5 million times actually at the time of article creation.

Asteroid impact on Jupiter? - YouTube


McKeon who knew Kernbauer's video and realized that it was shooting at the same timing released the following video on YouTube in 2 days and created thread with Reddit too. Mr. McKeon said that he was shooting with a 28 cm class telescope, which shows a slightly brighter picture than Kernbauer's picture.

Jupiter Impact March 17th 2016 - YouTube


Both are images capturing valuable moments, but that both were photographed by amateur astronomers is a good indication of modern astronomy 's way of doing things.

For astronomers, the planet in the external solar system, which is farther from the sun than the earth, is fascinating, so that both a professional and amateur astronomy directs the telescope to the night sky to compete in a very limited observable time We are observing asteroids and nebulae and star clusters floating further in the universe. Also, in September 2014Siding Spring CometIt is thought that many telescopes were aimed at Mars in the event of a close collision with Mars closely approaching.

It is a heavenly show which attracts many people's eyes when such a special event occurs, but still because the number of observers is limited and the observable time is limited to nighttime, Even when gathering lovers of inside, there are limits to that observation naturally. Especially, because the large telescope at the laboratory level has various research subjects, and since multiple research teams share usage time, it is very difficult to continuously observe a certain star continuously thing. Therefore, activities such as amateur astronomers have come to have a big role in such continuous observation.

In 1994,Shoe maker · Levy No. 9 cometIs due to Jupiter's gravityTidal powerThe event of the celestial event which crushed into nine in 9, colliding with the atmospheric layer of Jupiter surface one after another was spread. At this time NASA and other research institutions got noticed, as well as a number of amateur astronomers to compete for the telescope. The following photographs were taken by NASA, but in 2016 when more than 20 years passed since then, the performance of astronomical equipment has improved significantly, so observation with higher quality than before has become possible.


Today, astronomer experts also have great confidence in observations by amateur astronomers. As mentioned above, since the ultra-high performance telescope including the Hubble Space Telescope always needs to observe every part of the universe, the existence of an amateur who performs so-called "fixed point observation" is indispensable That's it. In Jupiter, five heavenly body collisions occurred in the past few years, but it was the result of activities by amateur astronomers that observed these. In the collision of the 1994 shoe maker · Levi No. 9 Mercury, it was said that, "We are the first and last astronomical show while we are alive", but in fact it was once in 2009, 2010 It was observed twice a year, once in 2012 and 2016, and in fact it turned out that many celestial collisions were occurring on Jupiter and it was actually included in the camera.

NASA'sJet Propulsion LaboratoryGlenn Orton, an astronomical scientist, is one who places his trust in the power of such an amateur. Mr. Orton is known to face the amateur astronomer's online community in search of useful data in the event of a large celestial event and furthermore it is the observation community of JupiterJunoCamWe are doing activities spreading widely the activities of. Observation by many telescopes all over the world makes it possible to continue the observation of the planet without interruption, which has come to realize the observation posture unique to the Internet age, which had never before been possible.

BySteve Hill

Experts say that the level of the equipment has improved, and the observation level of amateurs has also improved so far that it could not be thought of in the past. Now that we have observation equipment with performance of "scoring" of tens of thousands of yen level, anyone can easily jump into the world of astronomical observation. However, the world from the other side is the same as any other hobby, so even if the same amateur comes to the top level, there are people who will leave the result of professional negation.

British Damien Peach, the forerunner of astrophotography, said that a person who intends to step into the world of astronomical observation should first belong to a local astronomical club, for example, that ArsTechnica I talk in an interview. By participating in the community, you can get the know-how necessary for astronomical observation and photography, and also have the opportunity to touch the latest equipment. Peach says that many people in the community are open people and are active in sharing various information.

Until now, the world of amateur astronomical observation that was said to have a strong hue of mere "hobbies", thanks to the spread of the Internet and the role of the community, the ability to contribute to scientific progress has become possible by anyone. Even if there is no concrete return, it seems quite interesting that you can participate in one page of science.

ByIra 152