An Unconventional Method of Observing the Universe Astronomy is the scientific study of the Universe. The practice of astronomy involves principally the direct observation of all areas of the Cosmos as it is viewed from Earth. The observers are astronomers who use many methods and instruments in their astronomical observing research.
Astronomers fall in two classes - professionals and amateurs.
Upper right - Triple star in Andromeda. Lower left - Arcturus. I have had a personal interest in astronomy for a lifetime and in recent years have become an amateur astronomer with a special interest in astrophotography. Since 1991, I have been experimenting in the use of a method of astronomical observing which uses color slides of the nighttime sky taken without magnification as a data base. These slides are then viewed with a microscope with magnifications up to 500x and photographs taken of the magnified sky images.