How much can an amateur astronomer study?

[NasaNerd]

Hi there all,

Am currently studying a B of science maj in phys and would really like to get into studying the stars! I am aware of most of the techniques that astronomers use to get information from a star ie (how far away it is, how hot it is, what its made from, weather its a variable star, if it has planets around it and so on) but i don't know how much of that an actual amateur astronomer can achieve. So I was wondering if you guys could point me in the right direction as to what amateurs can actually do with what equipment is available to us. I'd probably be willing to spend about $2500 on a telescope, but would consider making my budget larger for any other gadgets that i might need. Is that possible at all???

Thanks James

[Blue Skies]

There's a number of things you could do - variable stars, occultations, photometry (goes with variable stars and asteroid modelling), supernova searching, comet searching, automated programs of the last two, high-quality planetary imaging, meteor shower monitoring...heaps of things! Best to take a long look around the forums and see what people are doing before you spend any money at all. But I think most people will agree the number one tip is get a good mount.

Go. Look. Don't rush.

And come to NACAA (http://www.nacaa.org.au/) in Brisbane next Easter, its the top national event for featuring amateur research in Aus/NZ at the moment. You'll get to hear what people have been doing, how they are doing it and what needs to be done and get to talk to the people actually doing it.

[Terry B]

You can go as far as doing a phd if you want. Take a look at James cook uni or Swinbourne uni. Both offer masters and phd in astronomy.