Amateurs' Contribution to Astronomy

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CONTRIBUTION OF AMATEURS TO ASTRONOMY
Haldun I. Menali, Investment Bank Officer, Amateur Astronomer, Istanbul, Turkey (1)
(Originally published in Turkish in Cumhuriyet Bilim Teknik on December 22, 1990)

Have you ever dreamed for years wishing that something special happens to you? Most probably you had. Everybody has some dreams in their life to make it more joyful.

As an amateur astronomer, I had a dream since the day I started observing the skies. To observe a special celestial event that no one has ever witnessed that day (rather, that night!). My astronomical observing endeavor I have been carrying on for eleven years has been focused on variable stars since 1983 (I have been observing the heavens for more than 21 years in 2000). After having started to estimate their ever-changing brightness using a pair of 8x30 binoculars and currently observing with a homebuilt 8" reflector, more than 1000 of my variable star observations have been published by several astronomical organizations around the world (As of January 2000 they reached 2000 too!). Even though I was aware that my observation results contributed to a rich database accessed by numerous professional astronomers, I wanted to get something more tangible out of my observations. I have waited with patience for so many years. Until that night...

My luck turned around when my phone rang on the night of November 23rd (1990). When I answered I recognized the voice of Janet Akyuz Mattei, the long-time Director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) located in Cambridge, MA, the clearinghouse for the variable star observations of amateurs around the world. Janet told me that the cataclysmic star U Geminorum was in outburst for a couple of nights already. These kinds of events are the most interesting ones for astrophysicists who want to unveil the mysteries of stellar evolution. They try to observe these enigmatic stars on the whole electromagnetic spectrum during their outbursts (or minima) to find answers to their questions. Visual amateur observers who closely monitor these stars issue warnings when something unexpected happens. Janet explained that US scientists were planning to observe U Gem in the ultraviolet using the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite.

The variable had been observed at visual magnitude 9.7 from the US the previous morning. The observing prerequisite for the IUE was that the variable should have been brighter than magnitude 10.5. We had about three hours before the start of an IUE observing session that night. It would have been impossible for the satellite to observe the variable if there weren't any observation to confirm its brightness within this time frame.

I was the only one among 500 or so AAVSO observers in 40 countries around the globe, geographically the best located to observe the star within that tight time frame. It was just after civil twilight in Turkey and the star had already started to rise over the northeastern horizon. The observers in the Far East missed that opportunity as the morning was getting near there. Telling to Janet that the skies were clear and I could observe the variable, I jotted down the phone number of the astronomer who would make the ultraviolet observing in California (He was Dr. Chris Mauche whom I met in person at the AAVSO Second European Meeting in Sion, Switzerland in May 1997 and presented him with a signed copy of my original article).

Within the next half hour after Janet's call I was ready to observe. Having bundled up against the cold weather, I grabbed my reflector, eyepieces, sky charts, red flashlight and 7x50 binoculars and went out into the backyard. I was deeply disappointed to see that the sky which was clear half an hour ago, was covered with a thick layer of haze and clouds. We the amateur astronomers are ready to face this kind of annoying and unexpected surprises. So I set up my telescope and started to wait for the sky to be cleared up.

Almost two hours had already fled and I was still waiting outside. I was exhausted standing up and started shivering because of the decreasing temperature. There was no sign of a clearing up.

When a police patrol car stopped by the backyard gate "Yeah, that was the perfect timing" I mumbled! Another common issue for the amateur astronomers is their weird working hours. Because the darkness of the night makes it almost impossible to distinguish between a bazooka and a telescope! Despite the suspicious ski mask I put on to stay warm, I would have been so convincing to the police officers that they left at last, by wishing me good luck and with a grin on their face! (They must have thought I was the crazy ONE in the neighborhood!)

Yet the clouds stayed where they were!

Waiting for that special moment in my life after so many years and hours, it was really saddening not to realize it. But I started to dissassemble my instruments by uttering to myself "don't worry, next time".

Oh my gush! Were stars really getting brighter or was it just my imagination because of cold and fatigue? I swept the sky with my binoculars at once. Boy, I was right! The haze and clouds were almost completely dissipated!

The telescope and other stuff had been set up again in a matter of minutes, ten times faster than dissassembled! Another 30 seconds and there it was! 15 more seconds and I was estimating U Gem's magnitude as 9.7. As soon as I made my estimation I rushed inside the house to the phone. At the other end of the line in California was Dr. Mauche who thanked and told me that they were waiting for my call and they will be ready to start observing in half an hour.

When I returned to the backyard to take my instruments back inside I looked up to the sky. I was thinking about the IUE satellite. I was imagining the satellite, up there somewhere in the orbit, to be oriented toward U Gem. I was happier than ever, because I had realized my long-time dream; and because amateurs had proved their contribution to astronomy once again!

I have another dream these days... To be one of these amateurs to see a nova or a comet for the first time and become its only discoverer! Maybe, one night, you never know...

(I am getting there step by step! I was one of the just ten observers around the world (2) confirming the discovery of Nova Aquilae 1999 Number 2 on December 1, 1999; and one of the seven observers worldwide confirming the discovery of Nova Ophiuchi 2003 on July 18, 2003. I keep looking up...)

Notes:
(1) My title and location as of December 1990.
(2) Based on observations published in the related AAVSO Newsflashes.
Comments in italics have been added during the translation and posting on the web.

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