Quote:
Originally Posted by alocky
Perhaps I was being a little flippant. The real difference is one lot get paid (a little), the other cheerfully pay to do it. You aren't likely to get affiliated unless you've got the necessary formal training either, and no, I don't think the next breakthrough in theoretical astrophysics will come from someone who wouldn't know a differential equation if it bit them on the ass - but it may be triggered by an observation made from a desktop review of 100s of years of data by someone with no formal training, just energy, time and dedication.
You can get involved with the local uni - have a look at the latest sky and telescope, for Paul Luckas's inspirational story. There are wealthy people who choose to donate to astronomy research - I can even name names!
What unites us all is a sense of wonder at the universe. Funny how some people still think anything involving our petty affairs actually matters after contemplating that.
cheers!
Andrew.
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Thanks for the kind words Andrew. Disclaimer - I actually get paid to run the SPIRIT initiative (ie, it's my job at UWA). But, I do appreciate your sentiment. :-)