87 replies to this topic

[Keith Rivich]

I have seen many a study that proves having a hobby, any hobby,  as one gets older fends off many of the ills associated with growing old. I'm not sure what I would be doing if I never got into astronomy and science...

[John Fitzgerald]

In late spring, it's cloudy a lot here. Mowing over two acres of grass becomes my hobby.

[Orion68]

Astronomy is awe inspiring. When the views are not that good, the brain takes over and fills in the blanks. The incredible distances and sheer amount of stuff in the universe always comes to mind when I observe.

[Olimad]

Agreed with almost everything said there.

spending time with my kid, trying things, doing it together, seeing him enjoying, learning, is something worth all the money/time spent.

Intellectually, it is a new thing to understand, and the more i dig into it, the more i have to dig.... because it is not only understanding the gears, but also the sky, what i am looking at, how it works, interfere etc... I have spent almost same amount of time behind the eyepiece than digging about astronomy/cosmology. 

Joining an astronomy club, participating in its classes (lot of them, in a lot of fields visual, photo, spectro, double stars, sciences.....) is also challenging.

I have found myself in a kid stance, by trying to find this little, faint globular cluster, trying everything i could with my small scope, and being happy finding it. With kid eyes.

Spending times looking at the stars/sky is really something that put down all the stress, and our day to day speedy life.

And lastly but not "leastly", the people in this forum are really helpful, giving good insights, having immense knowledge, and it is great to share and read experiences with you guys.

Edited by Olimad, 12 June 2023 - 07:09 AM.

[kasprowy]

Something to forget all of life's hassles and connect with the universe as a whole.

[RalphMeisterTigerMan]

Without Astronomy we would not have the clock or other "chronometers".

Without Astronomy we would not have the calendar.

Without Astronomy people like the ancient Egyptions would not have known when the Nile river was going to flood and when to plant their crops.

Without Astronomy many sea faring peoples would not have had a way to navigate the oceans.

 

As a modern civilization, Astronomy has benefited us in many ways by helping our ancestors so that could have gotten to where we are now!

BTW, do you make use of G.P.S., then thank Astronomy.

 

Clear skies and keep looking up!

RalphMeisterTigerMan

[esd726]

It’s a very nice escape. Quiet, beautiful, calming, and maybe best of all [IMO] by myself. 

Haven’t gotten to “escape” in months.  SOMEhow got the next two days off 😳 (I understand the 4th-not my holiday this year- but surprised I got Wednesday off too)   and see tonight SHOULD be clear (Moon though 😞 ) so we shall see. 

Edited by esd726, 03 July 2023 - 05:05 AM.

[sajaime]

Contemplating the majesty of infinite space is, in turn, being alone and wanting to fill a void, is feeling part of an immensity even though your existence is quite ephemeral.
It is an irony of our lives to know that we are in cosmic connection, looking at what lies beyond in the heavens, others do the same, perhaps on the other side of the world or somewhere in the vast universe.
Hawking said that the universe is like a nutshell in his Brief History of Time, and it is that in the eyes of the great cosmic clock, the time that we have been here has been brief... I want to imagine that when I finish my tour of this space time that I had to inhabit, I will be able to contemplate this immensity from another dimension and somehow continue to remain in it.

Next photo, taken with my cell phone connected to an RS 72 Super ED, reminds me of listening to "Under the Milky Way Tonight" with the voice of Ana Kelly.

[Chad7531]

It’ll always be there when the things you think will be there won’t. I’m not sure there’s a better way to put it really.

[sajaime]

Stellar navigation logs...

I like to observe the sky without resorting so much to the guides of objects that are recommended to observe. Now, I prefer to search to find the unexpected, discovering little gems visible through my 60mm scope with 15mm Super View eyepiece. For example, a few nights ago I concentrated on observing what I could appreciate in Lupus, that constellation that almost always goes unnoticed in reviews of celestial objects. I had never taken the time to see the space it occupies between Centaurus and Scorpius, but I felt comforted to be able to appreciate a couple of double visual stars in my tour of the 9 main stars, those that are seen with the naked eye and that allow us to draw the silhouette of the beast identified by the Greeks. It was nice to cross the apparent nothingness between Alpha and Epsilon Lupi, and stop on the way when I could make out a small couple of flashes that made me realize that there was a star with its traveling companion, and after a few moments of observation I discovered a little further on and above another small flash that, although fainter than the previous one, was enough to detect another pair of cosmic travelers. The latter seemed more pleasant to me than their neighbors light years away, since the contrast between the two was more marked, not because of the color but because of the barely appreciable presence of that little star almost hidden by the brightness of its sister, which seemed to tell me defiantly " Hey, I'm here, can you see me?"...

Edited by sajaime, 17 July 2023 - 12:13 PM.

[bjkaras]

I've done astronomy both as a hobby and professionally. As a professional it consisted largely of reducing and analyzing data, and actually doing some cool physics, but now that I'm retired and back to doing it as a hobby I get to look at the real object with my own eyes instead of manipulating numbers on a computer. The sense of enjoyment is just as profound, but in a completely different way. When I got my first telescope as a high school kid and dreamed of sitting on a mountaintop in the prime focus cage it turned out to be completely different. Using the data to do real physics turned out to be what I really got off on, but now that I get to play with my own toys I'm starting to get off on that just as much.

[sajaime]

For the first time I have been able to observe Andromeda with its elongated shape, under a level 4 transitional sky and with a 60mm lens. Something unusual in the nearby rural area to which I have access, but fortunately sometimes nature gives us these opportunities, combining a few days of rain and wind that largely cleaned the skies...

I think that we lose the opportunity to appreciate starry skies and be able to marvel at that vaporous trail that is perceived very faint in the heights, that venous shape called the Milky Way and that today I was able to appreciate again, as I once did when I was a child...

[munirocks]

If your country has four seasons, you need at least one seasonal winter hobby that actually makes you look forward to winter. Astronomy does that for me. As the nights start to draw in, the anticipation builds.

[sajaime]

Passion & Pleasure...

 

 

 

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[exhogflyer]

It won't help anything, and in fact there's a few reasons why it will hurt you. To wit:

You're going to be **** away money on equipment that serves little purpose except to look at an object 6 billion light years away

You'll spend hours in front of a computer reading, typing, and looking at nonsense

You'll probably meet some real weird geeks

You'll read a lot of niche books, magazines,and download apps that will serve no purpose

You'll spend hours alone, in the dark and cold. or have mosquito bites that make you look like you have Leprosy

You'll lose friends, maybe even family. Many will fake "interest" but secretly say it's early onset dimentia.

You'll be researching and studying a "science" that can't be truly understood, simply to make your braincells work overtime.

You'll be walking around smiling to yourself ( people will think insanity) and mumbling things like "Galileo", "Nebula", and "seeing was good last night"

And you'll want to take vacations in the most remote, darkest, out of the way places on earth

AND........you will end up saying " I wish I started this 20 years ago"

Join this club of crazy people!

You're welcome!

[star acres]

If you ever saw the movie "The Horse's Mouth" , that's how far art can go. Astronomy can match it. What is so important, is that you safely successfully pass your collection to all the new kids that replace us, someday. Don't let it get burned along with your sled Rosebud. 

[Joe Bergeron]

After a trial period to determine whether you’re serious, astronomy starts sending you monthly checks. That’s the most tangible benefit it offers. 

[RRMichigan]

You either enjoy it, or you don't. If you do, whatever you take away from it and its value to you is dependent on your own interests, personal perspective on life, the ALL, and our place in it. It can be relaxing, pleasurable, mind expanding (educational), or, at the far end of the spectrum, no benefit at all and not a worthwhile venture.

[RRMichigan]

This is personal. For me ... I was out of astronomy for a very long time, decades. Then, I discovered that my autistic grandson, who was 8 at the time (he's 9 now) knew more about the solar system than I do. I found my Questar, which had been in storage since the mid 80's, and showed it to him, and he was interested. So I started doing astronomy with him, and he really enjoys it.

 

I see my grandson a couple of times a week, and we always pull out the weather app and look for a time when we can observe. My wife observes with us.

 

So for me, the benefits are time with my grandson and sharing a hobby with him and my wife. My wife would tell you it's my hobby, but if the telescope is set up and I'm observing, she comes out to observe with me.

Everything you said is as it should be, and right.

[csrlice12]

You will learn to deal with constant frustration.....clouds, more clouds, even more clouds, smoke, light pollution, bitter cold, mosquitos, furry and flying things, astrophotographers, and the moon....did I mention clouds?

[Mike Q]

Its different for everyone.  For me it is simply about not being in the house and seeing the beauty of the universe. It is actually a very zen thing for me.  

[Sebastian_Sajaroff]

Astronomy is my spiritual/religious activity, the mystic moment.

Most valuable lesson : I'm not the center of the Universe, there's a higher power above my head.

 

I can't tell a stupid cirrus blocking Neptune to move 5° to the right, so how can I pretend to "control" my life ?

Decisions are the only thing I really control : I can decide to observe later tonight, postpone it or change my target. That's all I can do.   

Astronomical phenomena occur without our permission. We adjust to the Universe, not the other way around.  

 

Astronomy is highly educational, you learn a lot about various sciences and crafts.

It's a hobby you can share.

 

Financially speaking, Astronomy is kind of a money black hole.

You may spend a lot of money (depending on how far you want to go), but ... all hobbies and little life pleasures are like that.

How much money do we spend on coffee ? Is it "useful" or "needed" ? No, we don't "need" coffee, but many of us still enjoy it.

[yuzameh]

in reply to original question :-

 

immeasurably!

 

except when you can't afford a decent scope, can't afford to live anywhere with a good back garden away from light pollution, or anywhere with lots of clear nights so you can get good moonless nights, or can't go galivanting off to observe somewhere (if at least two hour round trip that's a lot of observing time wasted anyway, and maybe it ain't safe to go on your own).

 

Then it's all as frustrating as {expletive deleted} and you feel you've wasted yer dosh.

 

Assumption based on you talking about observing and having enough free time (not too tired after working all day and having to come home and ablute, eat, chore-ify, socialise with gene sharers or others, etc) in order to commit, as observing is a bit of a learning curve that's experientially based 'cos no two set of personal circumstances are the same, albeit they congregate in similary sets.  No two nights are the same either, of it they are then can be up to a decade apart, for the weather it is random.

[WillR]

All I know is, I am near the break even point. When it becomes an obsession, or like a job, that’s not beneficial.

 

I’m trying to streamline my record keeping, which consists of oral notes at the eyepiece, drawing, transferring all the oral notes and drawings to a handwritten journal, and then entering all this into a spread sheet. It takes more time than the actual observing sometimes. But then I am a bit OC. One reason I stay away from AP is that I know my perfectionism will drive me crazy.

 

So when it starts to impact the rest of your life negatively, that is not good. But that is true of any hobby.

 

But on the other hand, to be out under the stars observing is to be lost in space and you lose all sense of time. And that is very beneficial for your mental heath.

 

So how m​uch astronomy is beneficial? As much as you want as long as it doesn’t ’t impact your relationships or the rest of your life.

Edited by WillR, 22 January 2024 - 05:41 PM.

[GeneT]

Viewing naked eye, with binoculars, or telescopes, will take you places you have only dreamed of, whether looking at the Moon, the planets, double stars, or deep sky objects.