An Amateur Astronomer and an Exoplanet Transit

Just before the end of Pi Day, I received an alert saying that an amateur astronomer has observed the exoplanet transit of XO-2b.
The thread can be found via cloudynights which starts with an enthusiastic "I think I saw an exoplanet!" and culminates with a much more proper remark "I saw an exoplanet transit!!!" along with the light curve being posted by the observer after a few rounds of data processing and calibrations.
This is great news for exoplanet enthusiasts who may someday jump into the Amateur Exoplanet Observing bandwagon.
A lot can be learned from this report and one of them is this list from TransitSearch which gives the predicted transit date and time for a large number of transiting exoplanets.
Someone has now reported this particular observation of XO-2b to the Exoplanet Transit Database (ETD) with credits to the observer named Tieman B.
Perhaps it will still be subjected to further verification, perhaps not.
Whichever is the case, I am getting more and more convinced that it is truly possible for amateur astronomers to observe exoplanet transits. And that amateurs will continue to contribute mightily to exoplanet research in the coming years.

On Exoplanets (downloadable cribsheet)

Here's a great cribsheet from Seed Magazine all about exoplanets and some popular methods of detecting them such as Radial Velocity, Gravitational Microlensing and Planetary Transit Technique. A thing or two about Habitable Zones is also featured.
Here's the link and the actual downloadable pdf and gif file.

The Living Cosmos: An Inspiration for Exoplanetology

If there is any book at all that magnified my enthusiasm for exoplanetology, then it is The Living Cosmos by Chris Impey. It's mostly on Astrobiology but the parallels to exoplanetology are unmistakable.
An exoplanetologist will learn most from the whole book, but Chapter 6, "Distant Worlds" is what i think is the most devoted to exoplanetology. It's where the planet-hunters are mentioned (such as Geoff Marcy, Debra Fischer and Greg Laughlin) as well as the current techniques used in planet-detection (such as Planetary Transit Method). Future initiatives such as NASA's Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) which will be launched in 2015 is mentioned as well.
The book is highly readable, and most of all truly inspiring.