Sky & Telescope - March 2021 - 40

discovered by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)
telescope. Making an observation that conﬁrms the existence
of a planet around another star would be a pretty exciting
use for a backyard telescope, and it can be performed with
photometry and telescopes as small as 6-inch aperture (see
our December issue, page 60).

X SOLAR SYSTEM DISCOVERIES Many
amateurs concentrate on studying the
solar system. Christopher Go has made
several important discoveries, including
witnessing major changes in a large storm
on Jupiter (seen here passing south of the
Great Red Spot on August 25, 2020).

Solar System Studies

well as recording an impact in the gas giant's cloudtops. Go
is an excellent example of an imager whose passion blurs the
lines between amateur and professional astronomy.
Even if you don't have any observing equipment, there are
numerous citizen science projects you can participate in with
just an internet connection. You can help classify galaxies
with Galaxy Zoo (zooniverse.org) or classify craters on the
Moon and map the extent of impact ejecta on asteroids at
CosmoQuest (cosmoquest.org).
Whether you are an astrophotographer taking pictures for
fun, performing your own research, taking part in an orchestrated scientiﬁc data-collection program, or participating in
a citizen science project, you'll be spending your time in a
wonderful way. Projects such as these build scientiﬁc literacy
and appreciation while contributing to the world's astronomical and artistic richness. How deep you choose to delve into
this fantastic hobby is completely up to you.

Closer to home, objects in our solar system exhibit a great
deal of dynamic activity that we still have much to learn
about. If this interests you, there are two organizations that
you can get involved with - the Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers (alpo-astronomy.org), and the British Astronomical Association (britastro.org). Both have programs
covering solar system objects, from the Sun, Moon, and
planets to asteroids and comets. For example, amateurs can
submit their images of sunspots to a repository that documents how these features evolve over time. Other examples
include recording storms and weather events on Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. These observations contribute
to the pool of data and aid our understanding of the planets.
Taking part in this research is within the reach of many amateur astronomers and imagers.
A great example of an imager making a name for himself
in solar system studies is Philippine amateur Christopher Go
- a man who runs a furniture company by day and methodically images the planets by night. Go has made several discoveries, including detecting a changing storm on Jupiter as

RICHARD WRIGHT, a lifelong amateur astronomer, is a
software engineer specializing in computer visualizations and
high-performance GPU technologies.

S Left: You can contribute to astronomical research without even owning your own telescope. Galaxy Zoo, for example, is a crowdsourcing
program that uses the power of the internet to let you help identify star-forming regions in other galaxies and work on other big data projects.
Right: Organizations such as the Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers (ALPO) and the British Astronomical Association (BAA) are made up
entirely of amateurs who study objects in our solar system.

MARCH 2 021 * SK Y & TELESCOPE

JUPITER: CHRISTOPHER GO

Imaging Science

http://www.alpo-astronomy.org http://www.zooniverse.org http://www.britastro.org http://www.cosmoquest.org

Sky & Telescope - March 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - March 2021