No. There is a severe shortage of jobs for astronomers and it's not expected to get better any time soon. There are only about 6000 professional astronomers in the U.S. and many are employed in tenured positions, resulting in very few "traditional" jobs for astronomers at colleges, universities, and research facilities. Each year there are fewer open positions than Ph.D.'s available to fill them, and the trend is expected to continue. Many new Ph.D.

It varies some, but a typical starting salary for an assistant professor of astronomy is $45,000 to $50,000 for 9 months. A person who took a direct route through graduate school and then two postdoctoral appointments would be employable at this level by age 33 or so, 16 years after graduating from high school. Post-doctoral positions typically pay in the mid $30's and graduate students can eke out a salary from $10K to $20K as a teaching or research assistant.

Most definitely yes, and it's a good thing considering there are so few traditional jobs for astronomers! Ph.D. astronomers can be employed in a variety of technical fields, since astronomy itself is so multi-disciplinary. Many astronomers in the 1970's found themselves employed by the defense and aerospace industries.

Astronomers need to be good at physics and math; that's what they do! Don't fall into the trap of thinking that astronomy is one of the "easier" sciences! Astronomers work a lot with computers so good computer and programming skills are helpful. Some astronomers build their own instruments, so they learn about electronics, materials fabrication,and machining, and other skills. Astronomers need good teaching skills as well, since they teach as much as they learn.

Nowadays, the bulk of the work astronomers do is on computers. They spend a small portion of their time at telescopes actually taking data. Astronomically-useful telescopes rarely have eyepieces you can look through. Radio, ultraviolet, or infrared telescopes collect light that you can't even see with your eye! Telescopes that collect visible light often have electronic cameras called CCD cameras that create an image in a computer.

Distant galaxies have redshifted spectra, indicating that they are receding. The greater the distance the greater the redshift and apparent rate of recession. This is consistent with an expanding universe.

Amateur astronomers view the heavens for personal enjoyment whereas professionals are performing a scientific study to answer specific questions. Amateurs are more likely to engage in viewing for its aesthetic qualities or to overcome a recreational challenge. Professionals are more likely to emphasize quantitative measurements and repeatability. Having said that, there is no clear line between amateur and professional astronomers per se.

As our schedules permit, we make our telescopes and ourselves available for school, scout and church star gazes. Contact Dr. Rhonald Jenkins, Auburn Astronomical Society president, or Russell Whigham, the Montgomery area contact.

Some projects require a lot of observing time, others require just a couple of nights. On average, astronomers use the telescope only a few nights a year. Astronomers spend a long time (typically weeks or months) to prepare their observing runs. This includes determining the priority and making backup plans for unpredictable weather. Once the data have been obtained, a great deal of time will be spent on analysis. It often takes months or even years to turn the raw data into scientific results.

The HEASARC archives contain data from high-energy astrophysics missions (X-ray and gamma-ray data mainly) in addition to catalogs at other wavebands. A listing of these 250+ data tables can be found in the Browse area. These tables are also available in ascii format by visiting our FTP area.

Amateur astronomers whose telescopes have mirrors or lenses measuring 12 inches or larger should be able to sight the small comets before they disrupt in the atmosphere. During the course of a day there are two times for observation, each about one or two hours long. One ends about 45 minutes before sunrise; the other begins about 45 minutes after sunset.

Thank you for writing the "Ask a High-Energy Astronomer" service with your question. The methods astronomers use to measure distances to the stars is a piece of fundamental and active work in astronomy with important implications for how we understand the Universe around us.