181 replies to this topic

[bunyon]

Huh. I hadn't seen that line in Phil's signature.

 

It's exactly the sort of attitude, going either way, that will turn people off. 

 

Amateur astronomy is far too niche of a hobby to divide itself further. But human nature is strong in humans.

[kasprowy]

AP and EAA bluntly aren’t my hobby. In fact I think AP is a completely different hobby that shares some characteristics with visual astronomy, but is so different as to make them at best, cousins.. 

I've said in the past that AP is the hobby of photography with a concentration on the sky, as other photographers concentrate on landscapes, wildlife, sporting events, etc.

[TopherTheME]

I've said in the past that AP is the hobby of photography with a concentration on the sky, as other photographers concentrate on landscapes, wildlife, sporting events, etc.

 

So you're saying all those "astronomers" running Hubble and JWST are just advanced photographers then? 

 

I might be considered young by this forums standards at the age of 37 and got into the hobby in my mid 20s. I don't think theres a lack of young people in the hobby, you just don't see them at clubs. Instead, you see them on youtube and Instagram. Many younger people get turned off by their local astro clubs as they can be very clicky or shun astrophotography like the posts above (i.e. they're ran by cranky I'd men). I've joined and left a couple clubs in my area as I just got nothing out of them. I sadly left the only one I liked because I moved away. 

[largefather]

So you're saying all those "astronomers" running Hubble and JWST are just advanced photographers then? 

nah, they don't generally care about the pictures so much as the data. when there is a pretty picture, bonus that's good PR. however they likely get just as excited (or more) about the spectroscopy from distant stars because that's how you find things like exoplanets. 

[CarolinaBanker]

So you're saying all those "astronomers" running Hubble and JWST are just advanced photographers then?

I might be considered young by this forums standards at the age of 37 and got into the hobby in my mid 20s. I don't think theres a lack of young people in the hobby, you just don't see them at clubs. Instead, you see them on youtube and Instagram. Many younger people get turned off by their local astro clubs as they can be very clicky or shun astrophotography like the posts above (i.e. they're ran by cranky I'd men). I've joined and left a couple clubs in my area as I just got nothing out of them. I sadly left the only one I liked because I moved away.

I think we are all saying that they’re incredibly different from visual astronomy. The professional astronomers use vastly different equipment and techniques with a different end goal, namely the collection of data.

Clubs have been visually focused since they began, if you find that off putting start an astrophotography club.

[kasprowy]

So you're saying all those "astronomers" running Hubble and JWST are just advanced photographers then? 

 

I might be considered young by this forums standards at the age of 37 and got into the hobby in my mid 20s. I don't think theres a lack of young people in the hobby, you just don't see them at clubs. Instead, you see them on youtube and Instagram. Many younger people get turned off by their local astro clubs as they can be very clicky or shun astrophotography like the posts above (i.e. they're ran by cranky I'd men). I've joined and left a couple clubs in my area as I just got nothing out of them. I sadly left the only one I liked because I moved away. 

I would surmise that 90% of club members do AP, so I'm not sure what your point is. As for the Hubble / JWST astronomers, the "photos" are at the bottom of their lists. That's for public consumption. They're into data. If you want to photograph the sky, that's fine. I don't understand why the AP crowd is so easily riled up over this.

 

"or shun astrophotography like the posts above (i.e. they're ran by cranky I'd men)"

 

I merely stated a fact, that you're photographing the sky, and you reply with the above. You, or I, are the cranky one?

Edited by kasprowy, Today, 12:22 PM.

[rgk901]

off topic a bit..but anyone can download hubble/jwst data and process to ones liking! cause you know, we all paid for it!