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What kills the hobby of astronomy and what keeps it going?

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#201 RussL

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Posted 28 March 2017 - 06:05 PM

Sitting at my grandson's baseball practice, I'm watching the sun get low. The sky looks fairly milky over that way, and there's a few large clouds passing overhead. Not going to be a very good viewing night probably. And it's a red zone to boot. But, you know what? I'm thinking about grabbing the ST80 on its eq2 later anyway and see how it goes. If it weren't for that little rig I wouldn't see anything tonight. There's been many other times like this. It keeps me going and going.

#202 Rollo

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Posted 29 April 2017 - 07:37 PM

What keeps me going with the hobby ?  Its almost like the first time I have ever looked through a scope every time I get mine out to view.  The new, fresh feeling is still there !!   waytogo.gif 



#203 Starkid2u

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Posted 29 April 2017 - 08:43 PM

 

I think at one time or another we each reach a place where we stay with the hobby or leave it.
So why it that, I think the big one is lack of time, followed by bad weather or not knowing the sky as well as we wish we did or even not having the dream scope we think would keep are interest.


I don't think there's a single person who has ever left the hobby because they couldn't buy their dream scope. There might be some who have said that, but they wouldn't have lasted in the hobby no matter what telescope(s) they owned. Most likely it's a sign of unrealistic expectations -- no scope, no matter how dreamy, would have made astronomy glamorous and effort-free as they were dreaming.

There are a fair number of people who toy with the idea of astronomy but never really get into it -- never get over that initial hurdle. No doubt this is true for the great majority of people who buy telescopes -- and even more true for the ones who are receive them as gifts. I don't think you can really say that these people are leaving astronomy, because they were never there in the first place.

Mind you, such people might yet come back again. I did. I was given a scope as a child, but never really figured out how to use it, so that was a false start. Then I explored the scope through 7x35 binoculars when I was 20, but my interest became dormant for several decades. And finally, I purchased yet another scope and really got over that first hurdle.

Since then, my enthusiasm has waxed and waned, but unless I go blind I will never stop being a stargazer. Even when I have no access to a telescope, I still go out at night to check up on the positions of the planets and make sure the stars are still in their familiar constellations. (So far, they always have been.)

I think that's quite typical. I do know a fair number of people who became adept at using telescopes, but then drifted off into not using them. But they could easily restart at any time, unexpectedly.

 

Kinda like dormant volcanoes, right?     STARKID2U



#204 Nile

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Posted 30 April 2017 - 12:43 AM

 

 

Traveling to a dark site etc is out of the question.

you don't need dark sites for planets and the moon, I like to sit by my street lights for viewing planets. or view them at dusk/dawn.

 

they are so bright, I can't let my eyes get adapted to the dark.

 

Pinbout, in crowded Indian cities, with too many verticle buildigs and pollution etc. dusk-dawn planets are a challenge to see unless you travel out of the city or climb up on top of a tall building/a hill.  You will not see barely see a small portion of the sky from the streets.



#205 Stardust Dave

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Posted 30 April 2017 - 09:32 AM

Weighing in , grazed the thread to not be too redundant. 

 

What kills?

Hard to imagine anything actually killing the hobby of Astronomy.

 You've got all types of observers from naked eye to telescope makers and imagers.

Armchair to field expedition. Astronomy as a hobby has been ablaze for centuries and nothing could stop it.

Its always been an exclusive and elusive activity. need perfect weather ,ect  

You need to be well rested to stay up .  Then it ruins your circadian rhythms ! 

 

Lots of learning involved is an obstacle to the hobby. Many friends of mine are hesitant to get involved ,cannot allocate time for the hobby. Like most, Ive sacrificed many weddings ,birthdays and events than countable due to New Moon- 

Wife commented "can we do something besides Astronomy?"

Astronomy demands a lot.

Huge learning curve , often becomes a lifetime commitment to really grasp many aspects of Astronomy and the sciences. Then there is the field aspect of learning the skills needed at the telescope.its a handful.

 

Light pollution, yes an obstacle , If you are young and and or able, really need some trips out of the city.

If you have access to car or observing pal and can get to good sky -no excuse (sure there are exceptions)

Willingness to drive many hours and stay up all night takes a certain type, why there are not hoards out viewing.

 

What keeps Astronomy going? 

Anything great sells itself.  Many of us put our observing aside for decades to re-discover it. 

But we need visual reminders .Outreach people, THANK YOU!



#206 rehling

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Posted 01 May 2017 - 09:26 PM

There've been a series of external forces that have amped up my interest, in spikes:

 

1) My Dad taking us to the park to look at Mars during its close opposition in 1971.

2) Getting a 3" refractor for Christmas.

3) Carl Sagan's Cosmos.

4) My high school having access to a 14" telescope.

5) My sudden realization in 1995 that the WWW would allow me to get information from new space missions much faster than before that. This coincided with Galileo arriving at Jupiter.

6) Late night schedule during grad school that had me awake more during the night than the day. This is the first time I got to know the layout of the night sky, and it would surprise me sometimes to see a particular bright star (often Capella or Vega) and think, "Wow, the hour/month is further along than I thought." When you're awake all night, every night, a telescope becomes a much more useful and valuable possession.

7) My decision to buy a dedicated telescope camera because holding a digital camera to the eyepiece was not cutting it. And as soon as I had a camera, I needed…

8) My first new telescope in 37 years, making deep sky objects an appealing target as they, frankly, were not with my 3" starter scope. The galaxies in the spring skies are as new to me this year as the planets were in my childhood. And I don't think the skies are going to run out of new surprises anytime soon.

 

 



#207 39.1N84.5W

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Posted 09 May 2017 - 12:20 PM

What keeps it going for me:
Building a $500 observatory.
Learning how to use an Atik Infinity camera.
The community of Cloudynights.

#208 drollere

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Posted 09 May 2017 - 04:35 PM

what kills astronomy.

 

light pollution

overcast skies

chronic turbulence

city living

bad back

failing eyes

poor equipment

lack of curiosity

unrealistic expectations

limited horizons

treating it as "a job"

lack of money

lack of time

"honey do"



#209 karstenkoch

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Posted 09 May 2017 - 09:53 PM

What keeps it alive:

Keeping binoculars with you all the time and stealing a glimpse during briefs moments of opportunity.

#210 sizematters

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Posted 09 May 2017 - 10:59 PM

I think it's interesting how I see a lot of people make reference to something called "serious astronomy" or "serious observing". Let the people who get paid to do it take it seriously. Never let the romance go out of it. Don't let the stigma of tiny scopes or binos hinder you. They are quite enjoyable and extremely easy to pick up and get out the door. Keep frustrations low and don't let equipment get between you and the sky. Do use DSC or GoTo so you have the confidence to always find what you're looking for-it's not an admission of defeat but a way to save precious time. Occasionally turn off the gizmos and point the scope yourself just for fun. Spend as much money as you want to but no less than you need to. Read astronomy books and watch documentaries on the cosmos. Learn as much as you can about Jon Dobson-he did it right.


Edited by sizematters, 10 May 2017 - 12:53 PM.


#211 DHEB

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Posted 11 May 2017 - 10:56 PM

What keeps it alive:

Keeping binoculars with you all the time and stealing a glimpse during briefs moments of opportunity.


+1 !

#212 DHEB

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Posted 11 May 2017 - 10:58 PM

I think it's interesting how I see a lot of people make reference to something called "serious astronomy" or "serious observing". Let the people who get paid to do it take it seriously. Never let the romance go out of it. Don't let the stigma of tiny scopes or binos hinder you. They are quite enjoyable and extremely easy to pick up and get out the door. Keep frustrations low and don't let equipment get between you and the sky. Do use DSC or GoTo so you have the confidence to always find what you're looking for-it's not an admission of defeat but a way to save precious time. Occasionally turn off the gizmos and point the scope yourself just for fun. Spend as much money as you want to but no less than you need to. Read astronomy books and watch documentaries on the cosmos. Learn as much as you can about Jon Dobson-he did it right.


Very good points!

#213 Vesper818

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Posted 11 May 2017 - 11:49 PM

Nothing would kill stargazing for me short of losing my eyesight. Always a skywaycher, -weather, clouds, birds , moon and stars-all have their season. Sometimes my physical limitations put a damper on getting the scope out, but every clear night, there's at least a little chair-time out on the balcony, to check out the celestial neighborhood.
Times when I can't go out, or putter with the scopes, reading , especially biographies , works of historical astronomers, stories of constellation myths, old cosmologies, and current ones, fills the void.
As fascinating to me as the stars are, so to is the story of humankind's relationship to them.


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