Gary,
Thank you for the clarification. I was recalling the Clyde Tombaugh story
off the top of my head & found the link with a quick search, but was
thinking in the back of my head that the mule driver may have been someone
other than Tombaugh. The stories are similar in some ways. Mea culpa.
I've taught astronomy for several years (but not recently), and have
always maintained that astronomy and paleontology are the two branches of
science where the amateur community complements the professional community
in very meaningful ways. Amateur astronomers get much more "telescope time"
than professionals. Amateurs learn to know the sky very well and have
historically been more likely than professionals to discover comets,
supernovae, asteroids, etc. These are non-trivial contributions to
astronomy. Amateur paleontologists keep their eyes to the ground and make
significant "finds" for the same reason as astronomers...they're looking.
Unfortunately for paleontology, amateurs are likely to keep what they find.
Unfortunately for the former student in question, being a great amateur
doesn't pay the rent. If she has an education or web background, try NASA.
They have very extensive resources for educators in space science &
astronomy, and somebody has to produce & maintain them. There might be a job
opportunity there. Also, some entrepenurial types make good money going from
school to school putting on assembly programs. From what I hear, most
assemblies are pretty bad, so if one can offer a good and entertaining
astronomy program, one might be able to make a living that way.
Vickie
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