Contrary to what the article states, MEarth is not an amateur astronomy group. MEarth is headed by the former Discover Magazine's Scientist of the Year, Harvard professor David Charbonneau. The business of identifying tiny changes in the brightness in the star from among an ensemble of thousands of carefully selected targets is no easy task. That being said, many amateur scientists have been able to follow-up and confirm transiting planets. I say amateur, but many have telescope rigs and detectors costing upwards of $50k (USD). In that sense, the amateur community has contributed greatly to the follow-up of transiting planets.
Also, the article mentions GJ 1214 to be 300 times "cooler" than the Sun. It's 300 times less luminous, not cooler (although the stellar surface is cooler by a factor of a few).
I will wait for the confirmation of water from transit transmission and absorption spectroscopy.
Slashdot Mirror
Contrary to what the article states, MEarth is not an amateur astronomy group. MEarth is headed by the former Discover Magazine's Scientist of the Year, Harvard professor David Charbonneau. The business of identifying tiny changes in the brightness in the star from among an ensemble of thousands of carefully selected targets is no easy task. That being said, many amateur scientists have been able to follow-up and confirm transiting planets. I say amateur, but many have telescope rigs and detectors costing upwards of $50k (USD). In that sense, the amateur community has contributed greatly to the follow-up of transiting planets. Also, the article mentions GJ 1214 to be 300 times "cooler" than the Sun. It's 300 times less luminous, not cooler (although the stellar surface is cooler by a factor of a few). I will wait for the confirmation of water from transit transmission and absorption spectroscopy.