What companies or businesses can astronomers work for?

Hi, I am a high schooler doing a research project on astronomy. I have an interest in astronomy and look at the sky through a telescope almost every night. Anyway I needed to interview an astronomer for my project. But I answered almost all of my questions from previously asked questions on your website. Unfourtunatly, there is one that I couldn't find the answer to. I need the name of a company or business that an astronomer could work for. If you could tell me that I would appreciate it.

Astronomers usually are employed by colleges, universities or government research organizations. Not too many work for companies or businesses because astronomy isn't really a science that has a lot of practical applications that you can make money off of! However, the most likely field in which you would find astronomers working for a company would be in the area of telescope or instrument design and construction. An example would be Malin Space Science Systems, a company run by an astronomer named Michael Malin which builds instruments for unmanned space missions, such as the recent Mars Global Surveyor satellite.

October 2002, Dave Rothstein (more by Dave Rothstein)

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