I will discuss how amateur telescopes can be used to retrace the past 150 years of astrophysics. Amateur telescopes combined with modern detectors are now more capable than professional equipment from a century ago. Amateur astronomers can thus observe the consequences of stellar evolution, the passage of near-earth asteroids, transits of extra-solar planets and the expansion of the Universe. Even the creation of new black holes, via the merger of neutron stars, may now be observable by amateur astronomers. I will discuss the equipment required to make these observations, and show that some observations can be made with relatively basic kit.
Dr Michael Brown is a professional astronomer at Monash University, who has expertise in multi-wavelength astronomical surveys, galaxy evolution and active galactic nuclei. He has experience using 8" to 14" telescopes and CCDs to teach undergraduate astrophysics.