A professional can't just scan the sky to see if there's anything new, but an amateur can do as he pleases and just look around... and think "hey, that wasn't there last night!" Tell the astronomical community and then a bigger telescope can have a look to confirm it. Someone particularly good at this is the Rev Robert Evans in Australia, because he has memorised what hundreds of galaxies look like, so he can easily spot if one looks different. That's enabled him to discover 42 supernovae though admittedly that's the world record for one person. Obviously you can tell from his name that he's a church minister (retired now) but on spare nights, he's still out there looking from his back yard.
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tham153 say: work in planetariums generally requires little advanced math. Observational astronomy may need less than theoretical, but still requires things likespherical trigonometry
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Nyx say: Become an amatuer astronomer. Then you can approach the math at whatever level you feel comfortable doing.
There is quite the need for amateurs to collect and prove data to the professionals.
But if your goal is to become a professional astronomer, be aware that it is highly math intensive, and to be eligible for the better positions, you need a PhD. which requires at least 10 years of college education.
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quantumclaustrophobe say: All branches of astronomy are very math-intensive... From calculating the types of energies and speeds that some stars attain, to just figuring out where they appear in the sky - all require math to get you there.
But, don't be afraid of the math... If it's truly something you're interested in, then finding out *all* about it may help and encourage you to get *good* at math...
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poornakumar b say: Astronomy needs more Mathematics than any other Science.
Descriptive Astronomy like what journalists write about, is where no Mathematics is required
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Angela D say: no math = no science.
get over it or reconsider your goals.
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oil field trash say: To get the kind of education you need to be an astronomer would entail a lot of math and physics. In fact you would have to have an advanced degree and most likely a doctors degree. I am not saying you can't do it but it is a lot of work.
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Gary B say: Janitor in an observatory.
You won;t do much in astronomy except sweep floors if you don;t get good at math.
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Acetek say: Amateur Astronomy. Any and all Professional Astronomy professions require a lot of math.
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