Re: New scope with 3.2 giga pixel camera

On Thu, 25 May 2006 23:10:01 -0400, Davoud <star@xxxxxxx> wrote:

Not at all. They can't possibly build enough such telescopes to cover
the amount of sky covered by amateur comet hunters. That 'scope will be
sitting inactive in daylight one day while an amateur on the other side
of the world is discovering a comet with a somewhat more modest
instrument.

Just one of these can cover the entire sky accessible at a given
latitude and time of year, and it can do it multiple times each night.
While it is possible that a lone observer will get lucky and beat it to
a discovery by a few hours, the odds are against it. Already, the vast
majority of comets are discovered by automated instruments like Linear.
That number will just increase as advanced survey instruments like this
come on line (and more than one is planned).


On the plus side if I read
their site info correctly their raw data will be publically available.

Decent of them and all, but /their/ raw data is not /my/ raw data. /My/
raw data comes from /my/ /own/ humble little 'scopes. It may be out of
focus, under/over exposed, poorly guided, what-have-you, but it is my
data and I learn from it and try to do improve.

Of course, collecting and processing one's own data is part of the fun.
And there will always be scientific and aesthetic opportunities for
amateurs. But hunting for comets and asteroids from the backyard
probably isn't going to be one of them for much longer.


I very much hope that it will be quite a few years before I am reduced
to doing astronomy vicariously!

I wouldn't say "reduced". It is just another aspect of astronomy, one
that opens new doors for amateurs. Already, amateurs have discovered
comets using SOHO data. And of course, many fine images have been
produced that relied on collaboratively collected data. Such projects in
no way conflict with entirely personal projects, carried out with your
own data.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
.