[Wavytone]

Have we reached the end of amateurs can contribute to Astronomy ?

Yes, and as a result of several things.

- useful measurements that can be done with basic gear (telescope, clock and eyeball) are now vanishingly few and possibly none;
- anything else has become a technological arms race ($$$$$), if you ain’t got the gear you aren’t in the race;
- the advent of the internet means the rapid dissemination of news is great, but it also means many others will pile onto anything you could consider, better equipped, with more observing time;
- increasing population growth and light pollution mean that for most a dark sky site is all but impossible unless you are retired to a dark location - or move internationally to escape the light (UK, Europe and US);