David in Indiana writes:

How do I make money doing Astronomy from my home?

Well for starters, most professional astronomers have advanced degrees in Astronomy and/or Astrophysics.
There are some amateur astronomers who have since gone on to become successful authors or lecturers.

Like any career it takes a long time to build yourself up to a good level.

One thing you could do is see if your local planetarium is hiring presenters.
It’s a great way to practice your public speaking skills, and keeps you up on your knowledge of the subject.
The pay isn’t too good in most places, but it’s a start.

As for doing Astronomy at home, You’ll need to get a pretty decent setup to do good work,
as well as be in a location pretty far away from light pollution.
There are filters you can use to mitigate the effects but you still lose some incoming light regardless.
A decent telescope and tracking mount can cost you anywhere from about $1000 to millions.

That all being said, I’m certainly not trying to discourage you, far from it!
The more Astronomers, the better, but again, like any career it’s a lot of hard work, skill and a little luck.

-DA