Amateurs and astronomy

For a long, the contributions of amateurs in science have been assumed with much of
the work and recognition been accorded to expert in given field. However, this should not be
the case as in reality amateurs have played a central role and contributed much in various
areas in science. This claim can be proved by exploring the accrued relationship between
amateurs and astronomy which is one of the fields which is linked to a high qualification
requirement.
Amateurs in astronomy or what we call amateur astronomers have proved to be
instrumental in the observational campaign and effort of almost all the celestial object in the
sky. Amateurs are even more fundamental in the observation of comets. Notably, comets are
among the objects that frequently interact with the inner solar system. As a result, it is
important to gather as much information about as possible. This effort will not be possible
without the amateur astronomers who make their observation at the comfort of their homes.
Some observation of the comets are once-in-a-life and to make the observation the
professional astronomers are forced to rely on the amateur astronomers.
Notably, there is a long history of amateurs’ contribution to astronomic discoveries.
The interesting thing amount amateurs are not needed to have big and strong telescopes to
make their observation and all is required is their eyes. The discovery of 2010IK, which was
supernova which was seen in 2010 is a good example of the relevance of amateur
astronomers. The supernova was first seen by Dave Grennan an amateur while he was sitting
in his garden. Today, the supernova is the biggest astronomic discovery in Irish astronomy.