Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers make contributions in doing citizen science, such as by monitoring variable stars, double stars, sunspots, or occultations of stars by the Moon or asteroids, or by discovering transient astronomical events, such as comets, galactic novae or supernovae in other galaxies.
The Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) is a United States astronomical observatory located on Kitt Peak of the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono Oʼodham Nation, 88 kilometers (55 mi) west-southwest of Tucson, Arizona. With more than twenty optical and two radio telescopes, it is one of the largest gatherings of astronomical instruments in the Earth's northern hemisphere.
The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) is an optical telescope for astronomy located on 10,700-foot (3,300 m) Mount Graham, in the Pinaleno Mountains of southeastern Arizona, United States. It is a part of the Mount Graham International Observatory.
McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The facility is located on Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, with additional facilities on Mount Fowlkes, approximately 1.3 kilometers (0.81 mi) to the northeast. The observatory is part of The University of Texas at Austin. It is an organized research unit of the College of Natural Sciences.
Brian A. Skiff is an American astronomer noted for discovering numerous asteroids and a number of comets including the periodic comets 114P/Wiseman–Skiff and 140P/Bowell–Skiff.
A robotic telescope is an astronomical telescope and detector system that makes observations without the intervention of a human. In astronomical disciplines, a telescope qualifies as robotic if it makes those observations without being operated by a human, even if a human has to initiate the observations at the beginning of the night or end them in the morning. It may have software agents using artificial intelligence that assist in various ways such as automatic scheduling. A robotic telescope is distinct from a remote telescope, though an instrument can be both robotic and remote.
Perkins Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Delaware, Ohio. It is owned and operated by Ohio Wesleyan University.
The Alice P. Lennon Telescope and its Thomas J. Bannan Astrophysics Facility, known together as the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT), is a Gregorian telescope observing in the optical and infrared situated on Mount Graham in southeast Arizona, United States. Measuring 1.83 m wide, the telescope achieved its first light in 1993.
The Astronomical Observatory of Modra, also known as Modra Observatory or the Astronomical and Geophysical observatory in Modra, is an astronomical observatory located in Modra, Slovakia. It is owned and operated by the Comenius University in Bratislava. The scientific research at the observatory is led by the Department of Astronomy, Physics of the Earth and Meteorology, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics.
Mount Graham International Observatory (MGIO) is a division of Steward Observatory, the research arm for the Department of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, in the United States. It is located in southeastern Arizona's Pinaleño Mountains near Mount Graham. During development, it was first called the Columbus Project.
Jeffrey S. Medkeff, usually known as Jeff Medkeff, was a prominent science writer and educator. He was also a designer of robotic telescopes, a minor philanthropist, and an advocate of personal and sexual freedom.
Pine Mountain Observatory (PMO) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by University of Oregon Department of Physics. The facility is located 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Bend, Oregon (USA) in the Deschutes National Forest near the summit of Pine Mountain.
Deborah Byrd is an American science journalist. She is editor-in-chief of EarthSky, which presents science news and night sky information. The website served more than 21 million users in 2019, according to Google Analytics.
Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) is a network of astronomical observatories run by a non-profit private operating foundation directed by the technologist Wayne Rosing. Its offices are in Goleta, California. The telescopes are located at both northern and southern hemisphere sites distributed in longitude around the Earth. For some astronomical objects, the longitudinal spacing of telescopes allows continuous observations over 24 hours or longer. The operating network currently consists of two 2 meter telescopes, nine 1 meter telescopes, and seven 40 cm telescopes, placed at six astronomical observatories. The network operates as a single, integrated, observing facility, using a software scheduler that continuously optimizes the planned observing schedule of each individual telescope.
Clear Sky Charts are web graphics which deliver weather forecasts designed specifically for astronomers. They forecast the cloud cover, transparency and astronomical seeing, parameters which are not forecast by civil or aviation forecasts. They forecast hourly data, but are limited to forecasting at most 48 hours into the future. Each individual chart provides data for only a 9 mile radius, and so are essentially point forecasts. There are clear sky chart forecasts for over 6100 locations, though the coverage area is limited to Canada, the USA and parts of Mexico and the Caribbean. Locations are typically cities, professional and public observatories, colleges and science centers. However there are also clear sky charts for star parties and backyard observatories.
The Mirasteilas Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Falera in the canton of Grisons in Switzerland. With its 90-centimeter telescope it is the largest publicly accessible observatory in Switzerland.
The Astronomical Society of South Australia (ASSA) was founded in 1892 and is the oldest society of its kind in Australia. It is the only representative body for amateur astronomy in the state of South Australia. It holds regular general monthly meetings, frequent meetings for members of specialised groups and has available two observatories, one with a 300mm telescope at The Heights School within easy reach of Adelaide and used primarily for public viewing, and a second at Stockport with 500mm and 450mm telescopes presently in service and a larger 36-inch instrument currently being considered.
The Astronomical Society of New South Wales (ASNSW) is an amateur astronomy club in the state of New South Wales, Australia, founded in 1954.
The Astronomical Society of Victoria (ASV) is an amateur astronomy club in the state of Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1922, making it one of the oldest such clubs in the country, and with some 1500 members it claims to be one of the largest amateur astronomy organisations in the southern hemisphere. Membership is open to all with an interest in astronomy, and the society caters for people with a wide range of ages, backgrounds, abilities and interests.
