Fame
You've got to be pretty good at this stuff to be famous. Being into science and space is super fashionable right now and there are a lot of astronomers out there that you're competing with for the limelight. These guys are total geniuses with the charisma of a baby seal that just baked you cupcakes because they "like to see you happy."
But, hey, if you write an incredible book and kill it when you're interviewed for Good Morning America (showing both your funny and sensitive side and your intellect), you may make it in with the modern science rat pack. That's Neil Degrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, and Stephen Hawking.
Neil's got his own television show, Bill had one, and they just made a movie about Steve. These guys are basically Kardashian-famous, but they worked really, really hard to get there. And, if you become a charismatic genius, you could too. Or you can be the kind of famous that only other really serious astronomers know about. That may be more feasible.