Why are amateur variable star observers more important than ever?
Because amateur astronomers have more telescope time than professionals. The typical professional astronomer gets only a few hours of observing time per month, allocated in advance by telescope management committees. If the night happens to be cloudy then it’s bad luck! Therefore, professional astronomers can’t monitor every variable star. They rely on dedicated amateurs to provide virtually all of the basic information about a variable’s magnitude range, period, and visual characteristics.
