Quote:
Originally Posted by bojan
Perhaps there was a misunderstanding here....
My comment was related to amateur astronomy (simply enjoying the starry skies and contributing to science here and there if possible at all) and not scientific research you are mentioning.
Of course robotic equipment are far more productive (that is why it is designed and built).
What I wanted to say was, I do not want this equipment as an amateur... If I wanted to be so productive in this kind of research, I would have to become professional.. one thing leads to another, and in order to keep the efficiency of research with supply of data from such robotic station, I would quickly find myself in situation with no time to do anything else ..
Unless I hit lotto jackpot :-)
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OK, I'm a little confused here.... I am an amateur - and I do research. I provide my data to various professional programs - as any data obtained by amateurs (or anyone else for that matter) should be. Doing research certainly does not make one a professional nor does participation in any professional program!
One of the major features of a robotic station is that it is robotic - ie I have time to do anything else while the setup is gathering data.
There are 2 things that separate the amateur from the professional. First is that an amateur does not get paid for doing it. Second is that the amateur does not have the relevant scientific background/qualifications. As an observer, I am likely far more experienced that many professionals and this is perhaps one of the qualities that makes me desirable to various professional programs - reliability.
Cheers