Free Astronomy Magazine March-April 2020

MARCH-APRIL 2020 T he gathering crowd along the Syracuse, NY Creekwalk for the June 5, 2012 Transit of Venus. B arlow Bob (in yellow NEAF Solar Star Party attire), Calcium K-line and H-alpha Solar Scopes at Darling Hill Observatory in Tully, NY. NASA/ESA/ESO/ALMA browser tabs as I edit the English language version of this magazine produced an entire ocean away from me – all of which is “doing” amateur astronomy, but none of which involve looking through a telescope. Those benefiting from greater con- nectivity appreciate having so much more on their screens, while others may reminisce about a time when enjoying the celestial sights meant being outside. For young as- tronomers, this new technology is a fact of life, and becoming an ama- teur astronomer now need not ever involve a telescope, much less a club affiliation. While this magazine has international coverage, the changes to astronomy and outreach are fa- miliar to those engaged in either, even if some specifics differ by loca- tion. What follows is a perspective on our changing hobby as experi- enced by one person within the CNY amateur astronomy community. Books could be dedicated to the ways that amateur astronomy has changed because of advances in manufacturing and internet access. A small sampling is considered below. An early Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers (ALPO) podcast featured an interview with Dr. Thomas Williams, author of Getting Organized: A history of amateur as- tronomy in the United States. Dr. Williams went into detail about how early amateur astronomy in the U.S. had, like the Royal Astronomical So- ciety, AAVSO, IOTA, and ALPO still today, worked to produce original, publication-quality scientific re- search. Before the mass production of inexpensive scopes lead to the popularization of amateur astron- omy as purely a hobby, the differ- ence between amateur and profes- sional astronomy was, for some, just the paycheck. Today, anyone online can contribute to astronomy research in the form of Old and new amateur astronomy