Astronomy has always fascinated a lot of people; unfortunately most of us are not able to afford the expensive equipment, like large telescopes to get the best sight of the skies. Quite often amateur astronomers build their equipment on their own and their main aim in the sky is the Moon, planets, stars, comets and meteor showers. The lens in the primary mirror is the indicator of the power of the telescope.
Part of the amateur astronomers group involves themselves in amateur astrophotography which means that they like to take pictures of the night sky. As the digital technology of picture taking has advanced enormously during the past years, so has the field of astrophotography. Nowadays even amateurs can take amazing pictures of comets, meteor showers and many other amazing spectacles that the sky has to offer.
Amateur astronomers can make contributions to the field of astronomy. They often discover comets and make observations of various stars and it is one of the few sciences where amateurs really can have an effect on the discoveries. Amateur astronomers often display their findings online, so not only help the real astronomers in research but also popularize astronomy with the public as they attract attention by publishing their interesting findings online which otherwise would not be known.
