Editing Amateur astronomy (section)

== Objectives ==
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[[File:Hans Oberndorfer 2.JPG|thumb|Amateur astronomer recording observations of the sun.]]

Collectively, amateur astronomers observe a variety of celestial objects and phenomena.  Common targets of amateur astronomers include the [[Sun]], the [[Moon]], [[planet]]s, [[star]]s, [[comet]]s, [[meteor shower]]s, and a variety of [[deep sky object]]s such as [[star cluster]]s, [[galaxy|galaxies]], and [[nebula]]e.  Many amateurs like to specialise in observing particular objects, types of objects, or types of events which interest them. One branch of amateur astronomy, amateur [[astrophotography]], involves the taking of photos of the night sky.  Astrophotography has become more popular with the introduction of far easier to use equipment including, digital cameras, DSLR cameras and relatively sophisticated purpose built high quality [[CCD camera]]s and [[CMOS camera]]s.

Most amateur astronomers work at visible [[electromagnetic spectrum|wavelengths]], but a small minority experiment with wavelengths outside the [[visible spectrum]].  An early pioneer of [[radio astronomy]] was [[Grote Reber]], an  amateur astronomer who constructed the first purpose-built [[radio telescope]] in the late 1930s to follow up on the discovery of [[radio frequency|radio wavelength]] emissions from space by [[Karl Guthe Jansky|Karl Jansky]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Peter |date=2015 |title=John Bolton and the Nature of Discrete Radio Sources |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/211503498.pdf |access-date=18 November 2024 |website=CORE}}</ref> Non-visual amateur astronomy includes the use of [[infrared filter]]s on conventional telescopes, and also the use of [[radio telescope]]s.  Some amateur astronomers use home-made radio telescopes, while others use radio telescopes that were originally built for astronomical research but have since been made available for use by amateurs. The [[One-Mile Telescope]] is one such example.