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'Amateur' Astronomer Snaps Pic of Planet-Forming Disk

Posted by Soulskill on from the getting-the-most-out-of-your-tools dept.

The Bad Astronomer writes "Rolf Olsen, an 'amateur' astronomer in New Zealand, took an amazing photo of a disk of material around the star Beta Pictoris, the first time this has been seen outside of professional observatories. Incredibly, he snagged it with just a 25 cm (10") telescope! A comparison with an earlier pic from a much larger observatory indicates he nailed it, making this a milestone for amateur astronomy."

1 of 59 comments (clear)

  1. Why the quotes around amateur? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Either he's a professional astronomer, or he's not. Or is this like an 'amateur' porn star?