Abstract
Over the course of the last century, amateur astronomers have accumulated vast numbers of observational data, often of the highest scientific accuracy, on a wide range of astronomical objects. Amateur techniques have greatly advanced over that period and this paper summarizes some of the changes in various observational fields, and notes some of the significant scientific advances resulting from amateur work.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Akasofu, S.I. 1964, The development of the auroral substorm, Planet. Space Sci. 12, 273.
Alexander, A.F.O’D. 1949, Saturn Section Council Report for 1948–49, J. Brit. astron. Assoc. 59, 216–217.
Anton, R. 2002, Measuring Double Stars with Video, Sky & Telescope 104/July, 117–120.
Antoniadi, E.M. 1909, Mars Section Report, J. Brit. astron. Assoc. 20, 78–81.
Antoniadi, E.M. 1915, Mars in 1909, Mem. Brit. astron. Assoc. 20, pt 2.
Arlot, J.E. 1988, Amateurs, Contribution to the PHEMU85 Campaign Observing Mutual Phenomena of Jupiter’s Satellites, in Stargazers: The Contribution of Amateurs to Astronomy, Eds. S. Dunlop & M. Gerbaldi, Springer-Verlag, 198.
Arlot, J.E. et al. 1997, A catalogue of the observations of the mutual phenomena of the Galilean satellites made in 1991 during the PHEMU91 campaign, Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. 125, 399–405.
Arlot, J.E. et al. 1996, First results of the PHESAT95 campaign of observation of the phenomena of the satellites of Saturn, in Dynamics and astrometry of natural and artificial celestial bodies, Proc. IAU Colloq. 165, Poznan.
Bailey, J. 1975, Rate of decline from dwarf nova outbursts, J. Brit. astron. Assoc. 86, 30 & 74.
Beck, R. et al. 1995, Solar Astronomy Handbook, Willmann-Bell, Richmond Virginia (first published as Handbuch der Sonnenbeobachter, Vereinigung der Sternfreunde, Berlin, Bonn, 1982)
Bergé, P.M. et al. 1988, P/Halley: The Disconnection Event of 1986 April 11, in Stargazers: The Contribution of Amateurs to Astronomy, Eds. S. Dunlop & M. Gerbaldi, Springer-Verlag, 155–157.
Boyer, C. & Camichel, H. 1960, Étude photographique de Vénus en lumière violette et ultra-violette, L’Astronomie 74, 375–381.
Caron, R. et al. 1988, A Study of Disconnection Velocities in the Plasma Tail of P/Halley, in Stargazers: The Contribution of Amateurs to Astronomy, Eds. S. Dunlop & M. Gerbaldi, Springer-Verlag, 158–159.
Chandler, D.L. 2002, Mars Odyssey finds signs of ice at flare site, Sky & Telescope 104/August, 26.
Chapman, A. 1998, The Victorian Amateur Astronomer: Independent Astronomical Research in Britain, 1820–1920, Wiley-Praxis, Chichester.
Couteau, P. 1981, Observing Visual Double Stars, Trans. A. Batten, MIT Press, Cambridge MA, 10–11.
Couteau, P. 1988, The Historical Contribution of Amateurs to the Study of Double Stars, in Stargazers: The Contribution of Amateurs to Astronomy, Eds, S. Dunlop & M. Gerbaldi, Springer-Verlag, 15–19.
Denning, W.F. 1924, Radiant points of shooting stars observed at Bristol chiefly from 1912 to 1922 inclusive, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 84, 43–56.
di Cicco, D. 2002, Big Variable-Star Payoff from Small Scopes, Sky & Telescope 104/October, 18–19.
Dunham, D.W. et al. 1990, The Size and Shape of (2) Pallas from the 1983 Occultation of 1 Vulpeculae, Astron. J. 99(5), 1636.
Dunham, D.W. et al. 2000, Amateur Professional Partnerships in the Observation of Occultations, in Amateur-Professional Partnerships in Astronomy, Eds. J.R. Percy & J.B. Wilson, Astron. Soc. Pacific Conf. Series 200.
Dunlop, S. & Gerbaldi, M. (Eds.) 1988, Stargazers: The Contribution of Amateurs to Astronomy, Proc. IAU Colloq. 98, Springer-Verlag.
Durand, P. 1988, The SAF Double Star Section’s Contribution to the INCAHIPPARCOS Programme, in Stargazers: The Contribution of Amateurs to Astronomy, Eds. S. Dunlop & M. Gerbaldi, Springer-Verlag, 93–94.
Edberg, S.J. 1996, The Archive of the Amateur Observation Network of the International Halley Watch, Vol. 1: Comet Giacobini-Zinner + Vol. 2: Comet Halley, Jet Propulsion Lab. Publ. 96–3, Vols. 1 & 2, Pasadena CA.
Edberg, S.J. (Ed.) 1992, Research Amateur Astronomy, Astron. Soc. Pacific Conf. Series 33.
Edberg, S.J. 2000, Amateur-Professional Cooperation: Lessons Learned from the International Halley Watch 1981–1989, in Amateur-Professional Partnerships in Astronomy, Eds J.R. Percy & J.B. Wilson, Astron. Soc. Pacific Conf. Series 200, 108–112.
Gadsden, M. 1998, The North-West Europe data on noctilucent clouds: a survey, J. Atmos. & Solar-TerrPhys. 60, 1163–1174.
Gleissberg, W. 1966, Ascent and descent of the eighty-year cycles of solar activity, J. Brit, astron. Assoc. 76, 265.
Goodacre, W. 1931, The Moon: with a Description of its Surface Form Fully Illustrated by the Author’s Revised Map of the Moon in Twenty-five Sections, together with Numerous Drawings, Charts and Photographs, published by the author, Bournemouth.
Halliday, I., Blackwell, A.T. & Griffin, A.A. 1978, The Innisfree meteorite and the Canadian camera network, J. Roy. Astron. Soc. Canada 72, 15–39.
Hasegawa, I. 1988, Observations of Comets, Minor Planets and Meteors in Japan, in Stargazers: The Contribution of Amateurs to Astronomy, Eds. S. Dunlop & M. Gerbaldi, Springer-Verlag, 87–89.
Heck, A. 2000, Characteristics of Astronomy-Related Organizations, Astrophys. Sp. Sc. 274, 733–783.
Heyman, I.M. 1996, Smithsonian Perspectives, Smithsonian Magazine April.
Hicks, J. 2000, The Many Faces of the Sun: Observing & Photographing the Solar Chromosphere Through a Solar Cycle, in Amateur-Professional Partnerships in Astronomy, Eds. J.R. Percy & J.B. Wilson, Astron. Soc. Pacific Conf. Series 200, 146–156.
Hill, H. 1991, A portfolio of lunar drawings, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Joy, W. 2002, personal communication.
Kato, T. 2000, GRB 000926, optical observation by Oksanen, GCN GRB Obs. Rep. 813, Kyoto University.
King-Hele, D. 1983, Observing Earth Satellites, Macmillan London, 107–108.
Lovell, A.C.B. 1968, The Story of Jodrell Bank, Oxford Univ. Press, 8–10.
Lovell, A.C.B. et al. 1947, Radio echo observations of the Giacobinid meteors 1946, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 107, 164–175.
McKim, R.J. 1999, Telescopic Martian Dust Storms: A Narrative and Catalogue, Mem. Brit, astron. Assoc. 44.
McKim, R.J. 1997, P.B.Molesworth’s discovery of the great South Tropical Disturbance on Jupiter, 1901, J. Brit, astron. Assoc. 107, 239–245.
McNaught, R.H. & Asher D.J. 1999, Leonid Dust Trails and Meteor Storms, WGN 27, 85–102.
Malley, P.D. 2000, Partnership Proposal Between the Amateur and Professional Communities in the Field of Earth Satellite Observing, in Amateur-Professional Partnerships in Astronomy, Eds. J.R. Percy & J.B. Wilson, Astron. Soc. Pacific Conf. Series 200, 142–145.
Middlehurst, B.A. et al. 1968, Chronological Catalog of Reported Lunar Events, NASA Technical Report TR R-277, Washington, DC.
Moore, P.A. 1971, Extension of the Chronological Catalogue of Reported Lunar Events, October 1967–June 1971, J. Brit, astron. Assoc. 81, 365.
Offutt, W.B. 2000, Kuiper Belt Objects: Observing, From an Amateur’s Perspective, in Amateur-Professional Partnerships in Astronomy, Eds. J.R. Percy & J.B. Wilson, Astron. Soc. Pacific Conf. Series 200, 123–130.
Oksanen, A. 2002, Amateur Astrophysics in the Arctic Circle, Sky & Telescope 104/November, 67–73.
Owen, K. 1965, Kettering’s Cosmos Scholars, Flight International (Special issue, 22 July).
Peek, B.M. 1926, Abnormal Jovian Spots in 1920, J. Brit, astron. Assoc. 37, 62–64.
Percy, J.R. (Ed.) 1986, The Study of variable stars using small telescopes, Cambridge Univ. Press.
Percy, J.R., Mattei, J.A. & Sterken, C. 1992, Variable Star Research: An international perspective, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.
Percy, J.R. & Wilson, J.B. 2000, Amateur-Professional Partnerships in Astronomy, Astron. Soc. Pacific Conf. Series 200.
Peek, B.M. 1958, The Planet Jupiter, Faber & Faber, London.
Phillips, T.E.R. 1922, The Third Satellite of Jupiter, Mem. Roy. astron. Soc. LXXXII, 96–100.
Phillips, T.E.R. 1939, Saturn Section Report, Mem. Brit, astron. Assoc. 34, pt 2.
Provenmire, H. 2002, The newly discovered binary star 44 Eta Librae and other binary stars discovered by lunar occultations, IAPP Comm. 81 (September 2000 [sic]).
Reese, E.J. 1953, A Possible Clue to the Rotation Period of the Solid Nucleus of Jupiter, J. Brit, astron. Assoc. 63, 219–221.
Reinsch, K. 1988, The Sonne Network — Amateur Solar Astronomy in Germany, in Research Amateur Astronomy, Astron. Soc. Pacific Conf. Series 33, 22–31.
Richardot, A. 1988a, A Renowned, Yet Forgotten Astronomer: Marcel de Kerolyr, in Stargazers: The Contribution of Amateurs to Astronomy, Eds. S. Dunlop & M. Gerbaldi, Springer-Verlag, 58–61.
Richardot, A. 1988b, Un amateur célèbre et oublié: Marcel de Kerolyr, Observations et Travaux, Société Astronomique de France, Hors-Série, No. 1 (Juin).
Rodriguez, D. et al. 1988, An Improved Method of Photographic Measures of Double Stars, in Stargazers: The Contribution of Amateurs to Astronomy, Eds. S. Dunlop & M. Gerbaldi, Springer-Verlag, 123–127.
Rogers, J.H. 1995, The Giant Planet Jupiter, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.
Sekanina, Z. & Fry, L. 1991, The Comet Halley Archive Summary, Jet Propulsion Lab. Publ. 400–450, Pasadena CA.
Shigehisa, O. 2000, The Story of the “Socks Star” — A Bright Nova Discovered by a Schoolgirl in War Time, in Amateur-Professional Partnerships in Astronomy, Eds. J.R. Percy & J.B. Wilson, Astron. Soc. Pacific Conf. Series 200.
Sicardy, B. 2002, What we learned about Titania, Sky & Telescope 104/July, 94.
Strohmeier, W. 1972, Variable Stars, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 5.
Tanguay, R.C. 1999, Observing Double Stars for Fun and Science, Sky & Telescope 97/February, 116–121.
Taylor, G.E. 1952b, Occultations of asteroids by the Moon, J. Brit, astron. Assoc. 62, 177–178.
Taylor, G.E. 1952b, An Occultation by a Minor Planet, J. Brit, astron. Assoc. 62, 176–177.
Taylor, G.E. 1990, The size and shape of (2) Pallas from the 1983 occupation of 1 Vulpeculae, Astron. J. 99, 1636.
Turaj, K. 1988, Amateur Astronomy in Poland: Past and Present, in Stargazers: The Contribution of Amateurs to Astronomy, Eds. S. Dunlop & M. Gerbaldi, Springer-Veralg, 40–43.
Warner, B. 1995, Cataclysmic Variable Stars, Cambridge Univ. Press, 5–6.
Westfall, J.E. 1991, The Luna Incognita Project, Sky & Telescope 82, 556–557, 559.
Wilkins, H.P. & Moore, P. 1955, The Moon: A Complete Description of the Surface of the Moon, Containing the 300-inch Wilkins Lunar Map, Faber & Faber, London.
Williams, A.S. 1896, On the Drift of the Surface Material of Jupiter in Different Latitudes, Mon. Not. Roy. astron. Soc. LVI, 143.
Legal and other documents
Heck, A. 1976, An Application of Multivariate Analysis to a Photometric Catalogue, Astron. Astrophys. 47, 129–135.
Heck, A. (Ed.) 2000, Information Handling in Astronomy, Kluwer Acad. Publ., Dordrecht, x + 242 pp. (ISBN 0-7923-6494-5).
Heck, A., Albert, A., Defays, D. & Mersch, G. 1977, Detection of Errors in Spectral Classification by Cluster Analysis, Astron. Astrophys. 61, 563–566.
Heck, A., Manfroid, J. & Mersch, G. 1985, On Period Determination Methods, Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. 59, 63–72.
Heck, A. & Mersch, G. 1980, Prediction of Spectral Classification from Photometric Observations — Application to the uvbyβ Photometry and the MK Spectral Classification. I. Prediction Assuming a Luminosity Class, Astron. Astrophys. 83, 287–296.
Heck, A. & Murtagh, F. 1989, Knowledge-Based Systems in Astronomy, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, ii + 280 pp. (ISBN 3-540-51044-3)
Heck, A. & Murtagh, F. 1993, Intelligent Information Retrieval: The Case of Astronomy and Related Space Sciences, Kluwer Acad. Publ., Dordrecht, iv + 214 pp. (ISBN 0-7923-2295-9)
Manfroid, J., Heck, A. & Mersch, G. 1983, Comparative Study of Period Determination Methods, in Statistical Methods in Astronomy, ESA SP-201, 117–121.
Mersch, G. & Heck, A. 1980, Prediction of Spectral Classification from Photometric Observations — Application to the uvbyβ Photometry and the MK Spectral Classification. II. General Case, Astron. Astrophys. 85, 93–100.
Mersch, G. & Heck, A. 1981, Preliminary Results of a Statistical Study of Some Period Determination Methods, in Upper Main Sequence CP Stars, 23rd Liège Astrophys. Coll., 299–305.
Murtagh, F. & Heck, A. 1987, Multivariate Data Analysis with Astronomical Applications, Kluwer Acad. Publ., Dordrecht, xvi + 210 pp. (ISBN 90-277-2425-3).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dunlop, S. (2003). Amateur Data and Astronomical Discoveries in the 20th Century. In: Heck, A. (eds) Information Handling in Astronomy - Historical Vistas. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 285. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48080-8_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48080-8_16
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-1178-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-306-48080-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive