Re: What is some general information about asronomy?: Astronomy Campfire
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line. Astronomy & Re: What is some general information about asronomy?
Hello Sparker. There's a great article in the November issue of Astronomy magazine that covers this question, or most of it. In short, it says that astronomers these days are almost as much computer engineers as stargazers, and maybe more computer engineers. To be a professional requires a PhD in physics, math and perhaps computer science. This means maybe 12 years of school, heavy in the physics end. Duties will include proposing observing projects for major telescope time, seeking grants, reducing data and hopefully looking for a teaching opportunity at a major university. Since many telescopes are operated remotely by computer, it's not necessary to move to remote locations, or the tops of mountains, although most top notch observatories have "control centers" located close to the actual telescope but lower down the mountain. The observatory on Mauna Kea in Hawaii is an example. The article quotes pay scales from $35k up to $75K, but says this may be intermittent, depending on who's doing the funding. The best bet being the research university . I'd recommend reading this article and going from there. I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me for further discussion if you like. Just remove the "x" from my email addy above, ok?
I own and operate a small observatory in SW AZ where I educate the public and do variable star research.
: I would like to know the duties of an astronomer, years of education to become an astromoner, location either in a city or rural area where an astronomer or where they might work, the pay of an astronomer, and any other general information about an astronomer.