What Does An Astronomer Do?
Learn About This Fascinating Career Choice.
In order to answer the ‘what does an astronomer do?
we need to understand what astronomy is.
Astronomy is the study of the stars, moons, and other celestial
bodies that make up the universe.
It looks at what these bodies are composed of, how they move, and
how they came into existence.
Astronomers are the that do the studying.
Many astronomers specialize in a particular area of astronomy, as it
is a field of science that stretches across numerous disciplines.
It is not a science that includes interaction with the subject but
instead by measuring the energy a celestial body emits or absorbs – or the ‘motion’ of
the body – how one celestial body affects another, gathering data, formulating
hypothesis, and then testing their hypothesis to come to a logical conclusion.
Astronomers do not work a typical nine to five day although many of them are
professors and teachers in addition to doing their astronomical research.
They do spend a lot of time working on theories, studying data and
computing models with the aid of a computer, and attending meetings.
If they also teach, they must take time prepare class lectures and grade papers.
Organizations such as NOAO (National Optical Astronomy Observatory) are
research institutions which allow the astronomers on their staff to use 50%
of their time on their own research and the rest maintaining and improving
the NOAO observation facilities.
Often, NOAO will work with NASA and National Science Foundation (NSF).
In order to be an astronomer you must love star gazing and be
intrigued by the universe at large.
You should have good observation skills and able to understand what you are seeing.
Proficiency at math, analysis, logic and science is a must, and you should
have some solid computer skills.
You also need to be patient because you may be required to work on complex
astronomical problems for years.
Finally, good communication skills are also a must as you will need
to be able to communicate your findings not only to the scientific
community, but the world at large.
By studying astronomy, we learn about the sun and our solar systems as well as the
galaxy and larger universe around us.
It is this science that helps up understand how the sun and the moon affect the
earth and our daily lives, such as the moving of the tides, or brief periods
of electronic disturbances when sunspots run through their 11 year cycle or
when solar flares become more active.
It also helps us understand the composition of the earth as compared to others
planets and how all of them make up this great solar system we are a part of.