28 replies to this topic

[JayinUT]

This has been on my mind a lot lately and I'd like to see what others so. I use to be probably 95% a DSO observer. I would wait and wait for what I call the Wanning/New Moon period and then be out 2-4 times, weather permitting. I'm still that way. I got in my third night last night. I then often would not to much until the next Wanning/New Moon period. I'd image my sketches, organize my observations and enter them and clean up. 

 

I still do that. I got out for 3 nights this Wanning/New Moon period and LOVED every minute of my DSO observing. I'd go once more  tonight but my granddaughter turns 6 today and I need to be home tonight with her. Anyway, I am currently mixing up my observing with Hickson's, some ARP's and I am redoing the H400 again just because I want to as I enjoy many of those objects and their neighboring NGC's.

 

However, I have matured or grown I think in my amateur journey. I now use my Lunt LS35 a LOT more. I usually will pull that out 2-3 times a week and observe and sketch the sun. I find it thrilling to watch our nearest star and I get a LOT of enjoyment out of that. I've increased my double star observing as the moon grows in it' waxing phases. It is fun to see what my 10 inch dob and a 4 inch refractor can do on doubles and I find I love splitting them. Last but not least, I have found a love for Luna. I would look and play with the moon, but I have really discovered how great our nearest neighbor is to observe, learn about and sketch. 

 

So in my journey I think I've developed well as an observer and find that I am now observing pretty much all month long. I find it allows me to maximize what nature gives me in regards to weather and conditions. I always say I am a very lucky person to live where I live. I have excellent dark sites nearby and even at home, in my 19.6 SQM skies, I can still observe a lot of differing objects. I still plan out my observing, usually as the wife is either reading or chilling watching TV (I listen). I'm finding that there truly is more than I will ever possible see or learn before my time is up, but I have to say, that is what I LOVE about this hobby. I am always learning and growing. I have also found doing night vision at home is becoming more fun also. I'm old fashion and will always put my eye on an eyepiece, but I like NV so far. It's opened up DSO observing from home during the waxing moon phases. 

 

So what is your observing journey? How and what do you observe? How has it changed over the years? Is there some aspect of observing that you would want to look into pursuing? What is your past, present and hopefully your future as an observer in the hobby? 

[GSwaim]

I do solar system observations. I've always been fascinated with the planets and their moons. Started doing solar observations too, it's interesting to look at the sun in different frequencies. 

 

I got into astro photography (solar, lunar and planets) in 2006. That lasted for a few years then I got bored doing that and went back to doing visual astronomy of the solar system. 

[TOMDEY]

I've ~gone through phases~ concentrating on this and that, eventually covering pretty much the entire menu:

 

> small to gargantuan scopes

> solar, lunar, planets, meteors, asteroids, auaora, DSO's, remote galaxies and clusters of

> visual, imaging, Night Vision, all-sky all night every night video

 

I've returned to visual only binoscopic... (sun, moon, planets, DSOs) from hand held to 16-inch Binoscope. Still have the other capabilities, but use them less often --- no longer obsessive or competitive --- just relaxation!    Tom

[ABQJeff]

I started my first serious foray (meaning as an adult) into astronomy in August of 2020. Yes COVID inspired. So I am coming up to my 5th Anniversary.

Focusing, at first, only on telescopes (binoculars are their own tale):

I started with an Orion 150mm Mak and Orion 80mm ED (only compact scopes and GoTo mounts for me) to see if I even liked the hobby. I found I did. I also got a Daystar Quark Gemini to use with the ED80.

That Christmas I added an ST120 for ultra wide field North America and Veil “killing”.

My first full summer I had four weeks of remote work travel in dark sky location in Hawaii, so I bought a Altair Wave 102mm F/7 triplet as an all-in-one DSO, planetary, solar H-a scope.

On my 1 year astronomy anniversary, having done Messier, 111 times objects for light polluted skies amd Deep Map 600, I felt I had learned enough to up my Cat and Frac game.

So I got an Atlas Pro, C9.25 Edge and Istar 140mm F/6.5. I completed Caldwells I couldn’t do with my 150mm Mak, Pensack 500, 80 Planetaries, Best Deep Sky Object and TAAS 200. I also did the majority of the Lunar 100 with the C9.25.

In fall of 2022, I had another 4 week dark site work trip to Hawaii, and now there was the AzGTi. I used that to bring my 150mm Mak on a carbon fiber tripod. I ised that trip to finish the Lunar 100.

In Feb of 2023, realizing the C9.25 was too small and light weight to be my main scope, I upgraded to a C11 Edge. I then did TAC Eye Candy, Roger Clark’s 611 DSOs, Herechel 400, Illustrated 650 DSO lists and am finishing up Menard 400.

I had another long work trip in late fall of 2023, this time to coastal DelMarVa and now there was an AzGtiX available. So I bought an 80mm F/6 triplet to give 3 degrees with a 1.25” EP to dual mount with my 150mm Mak on the GtiX. The 80mm F/6 also provides full disc Solar H-a views with binoviewers, so I added a Quark Chrimosphere to go with the 80mm F/6.

The 80mm F/6 was my last telescope purchase.

For binoculars I started with OB 12x60LW, then progressed to buying OB 20x80 Deluxe III, 15x70 Deluxe, TS 23x110 MX, Hawke 8x25ED, Canon 15x50, sold the 20x80Deluxe III, bought Maven b1.2 8x42 and APN 16x70 MS ED.

My main used binocs are: Hawke 8x25ED picket pair for hiking/sports events, Maven 8x42 for hand held widefueld, Canon 15x50IS for handheld zoom in, TS 23x110 MX for mounted going deep bino observing.

I use the 15x70 Deluxe on Monopod for travel if nebulae are in the menu more than star clusters (for which the 15x50IS would do fine.)

My latest gadget is a L3 Harris PVS-14. I am still working it into the rotation, but am already finding it has its uses, especially on dim DSOs and nebulae.

Edited by ABQJeff, 27 May 2025 - 08:48 PM.

[WillR]

I stared a little more than 6 months after ABQJeff. I had a 5” dob, and now my main scope is a 10” dob.

 

Once the bug bit, I pretty much was out every night, and that hasn’t abated. I observed the moon, planets, DSOs and double stars. I also worked through the Messier list and the Lunar 100 pretty quickly.

 

The only thing that has really changed is I observe the moon a bit less and concentrate on going deeper on galaxies and fainter DSOs. I have a topic on my first 4 years here: 

https://www.cloudyni...s-of-observing/

[Jon Isaacs]

So what is your observing journey? How and what do you observe? How has it changed over the years? Is there some aspect of observing that you would want to look into pursuing? What is your past, present and hopefully your future as an observer in the hobby?

 

 

I began more than 35 years ago, before then internet.  I was about 40, I had met my wife to be. She loved the red rock country along the Arizona-Utah border, we spent our vacations there.  There are few places with such clear dark skies so I acquired a 60mm long focal length refractor at a garage sale for $5. A photo tripod for another $5 and I was in business, one two element eyepiece and no finder.  I just want to look around to see what I could see.  Stumbling upon M42 was a life changing event.  

 

DSOs have always interested me.  I find the planets enjoyable. I really enjoy double stars.  A Sky and Telescope article got me started.  

 

From my urban backyard, it's the planets, double stars and brighter DSOs.  In 2009, we acquired a 4 acres in the high desert with reasonably dark skies.  Since I retired in 2014, I spend about 10-14 nights a month out there, mostly observing DSOs.  I especially enjoy observing faint galaxies, particularly multiple galaxies visible in the same high power (200-300x) field of view.  But I am observe just about anything.. 

 

I am 77, I am enjoying amateur astronomy, I hope to continue on the same path for as long as possible.  There may come a point where I am restricted to my urban backyard.  At that point, I would consider doing Night Vision with my 12.5 inch F/4.06 Dob on the Tom O. EQ platform.

 

 

Jon

[weis14]

There has never been a time in my life that I wasn't fascinated by the stars.  As a kid in the late 80s and early 90s, I spent a lot of time outdoors and first learned the main constellations (and some of the mythology) from my maternal grandmother on evenings at her farm after picking vegetables for the Saturday farmer's market.  Her sky (and ours at home) was dark enough to see the Milky Way and occasionally the aurora.

 

My first telescope was a 4.5" equatorially mounted Newtonian that I bought when I was 11 or 12.  I had no clue how it worked or how to find anything and my parents, while supportive, didn't really know either.  With books from the library, I learned the basics and was able to see the Pleiades, Jupiter and a few other objects.  I spent hours in the yard with that scope trying to see things without much success.  However, in my attempts to get better at it, I read a ton, subscribed to Sky & Telescope and learned all the constellations and other "basics" of astronomy.  By the time I was 14, I had sold the Newtonian and bought a good pair of 10x50 binoculars and a Meade ETX-90.  Those tools (especially the binoculars which I still have) finally let me see things in a reliable way.

 

Throughout high school and college astronomy was on the back burner, though I observed with binoculars occasionally and was aware enough not to miss the 2004 transit of Venus.  After I graduated in 2007, I bought my first small refractor (a William Optics 80mm 10th Anniversary ED) and a C6 to replace my ETX (which had disappeared).  I observed relatively regularly, but I lived in large cities and was busy with grad school and work. 

 

In 2018, I moved from the D.C. suburbs back home to Michigan.  My backyard went from off-the-chart light pollution to roughly Bortle 7 and I suddenly had easy access to very dark areas within an hour of home.  This reinvigorated my observing to levels not seen since I was a kid.  I went through a phase of buying and selling a lot of different gear, but have largely settled on things as of the last year or so.  I also started logging my observing and working on various observing "projects" such as Astronomy League lists.

 

Finally, the last thing I've done to really improve my astronomy experience is adopt a mentality of not getting stuck on one class of object.  That has made me really appreciate things like double stars and lunar observing from my backyard, which probably accounts for over half of my observing.  

[VA3DSO]

My journey began in 1979 when my parents bought me a little Sears 40mm reflector for Christmas. With it, I visited the Moon, Jupiter and Saturn. I was 10 years old then. I used that scope for a few years, but soon I discovered guitars, girls and cars so the telescope gathered dust for a long time.

 

When I got married, my passion for astronomy got rekindled. My wife and I were living in an apartment in Toronto, and a coworker loaned me his Meade 4500 telescope. I used it for a while then bought my own version (a Bausch & Lomb Pro 200) which I used to view frequently from a dark sky park north of the city. This was around the time of Hale Bopp and Hyakutake.

 

We then bought a house in the 'burbs and I rented a vintage orange tube C8 from our local telescope shop (Efston Science) and then promptly bought a new Celestar C8 from them (they applied my rental fee to the purchase!).

 

I've had a variety of scopes since then, but my observing habits haven't changed much since the 90's. I like to drive out to dark sky sites, and set up. My targets are pretty much anything and everything. I'm not a dedicated DSO or planetary observer - I view whatever is up in the sky and is interesting to me. My favourites are globular clusters and planetary nebula. But I also enjoy galaxies, comets, open clusters, obviously the planets and lunar observing. During the day I'll frequently do solar observing with a white light filter. One thing I haven't observed yet is asteroids - I'd like to try that. I have observed Pluto, though.

 

Just yesterday I figured out how to do EAA with my laptop, so hopefully this weekend I get to try that out and see how it improves my views specifically of galaxies from my backyard. Likely this is the first big change to my observing in over 40 years. I've been 99% visual with a dabbling into AP but to me EAA seems like an exciting avenue to explore.

 

Clear skies!
 

Rick

[Tony Cifani]

My astro journey began in the late 1970’s in Chicago, at the Adler Planetarium. I was in fourth or fifth grade and bugged my parents to take me to the planetarium as often as possible. A year or so later, my uncle refurbished an old Edmund Scientific 4.25” Newtonian and gave it to me along with some basic observing tips and telescope care. I was hooked. My family used to take vacations to a friend’s cattle farm in western Illinois, and I’d always bring my telescope. The skies were truly dark at the farm, much darker than what I was used to seeing in Chicago. This was my first experience seeing The Milky Way, The Aurora Borealis, and many Messier objects. But, by age fifteen or sixteen, I put it all away.

 

I always wanted to get back into the hobby, and about eight years ago (at age 47), I acquired an old 6” F/8 mirror, had it resurfaced and built a Dobsonian. Fortunately, I stumbled upon Cloudy Nights and a few other wonderful resources for help, so my Dob build was somewhat successful. It took some time to plan and build, but I loved working on it (and reworking it more recently to fix the problems from eight years ago). I can honestly say that Cloudy Nights, and the incredibly knowledgeable and helpful members, have shaped my passion for this hobby more than any other resource out there. I owe a lot to those of you who have helped me learn how to be a better visual observer and telescope operator and tinkerer. I am a constant beginner and always willing to learn.

 

What’s in store for my future? Hopefully, a LOT more observing. And maybe a few gear upgrades in time. I enjoy observing just about everything - lunar, solar, planetary, deep sky objects, double stars, etc… with telescopes, binoculars and even without optical aid. One thing I discovered a couple of years ago was sketching. I have some background in art from college but hadn’t done a lot with it since then. I absolutely love looking through the Cloudy Nights Sketching Forum. And, for me, sketching from the eyepiece has become an integral part of observing. So, hopefully, a LOT more observing, and a LOT more sketching.

[therealdmt]

I started back in the good old days (the Age of Edmund) when I was a little kid, and there have been a series of on and off phases involved, so I’ll just cut to my current phase.

 

Planetary pulled me back into a telescope-using phase, most specifically Mars as it was approaching its 2020 opposition (prior to that, for years I had just been observing naked eye, occasionally with a little 12x25 binocular). For a while there, everything was up in the evening sky together, and with my then-new f/9 100ED, I was in planetary heaven. Our house is on the windward side of an island with a good fetch, so air stability and seeing is quite good (not as excellent as some places I read about on Cloudy Nights, but not bad at all except sometimes in winter when the jet stream dips down). Saturn’s rings were on good display, the GRS was still at least good (not like back when I was a kid, but still a ‘g’ in "GRS"). Mars was truly magnificent. I felt like the earthbound John Carter staring up at the beckoning Red Planet.

 

And then the planets, which had all been somewhat together, eventually all left the sky pretty much together. I could only get home around once or twice a month, sometimes less, so one weekend I came home, went outside on a clear dark moonless night, looked up, and seemingly suddenly… Oh no. The previous time I had been home, I had been doing planetary like usual. But now, there wasn’t a planet left in the sky. I’m not a morning person, so I was facing long months before there would be planets in the evening again. Meanwhile, I was totally back into telescopic observing, but I had never been much into double stars and the Moon holds limited interest for me… "I guess it’s time to start hunting down the oh-so-faint-in-a-4-inch fuzzies". Well, I eventually got hooked on star hopping and finding those so-dim objects. Could only go so far with my 4" in my light polluted skies, so after about 2 years of that I got a 10" Dob, which did the trick (had a great time with just the 4" though).

 

Hunting down galaxies and viewing globular clusters are my favorites, and my favorite time is the waning moon/new moon time frame for sure (at least when skies are clear and transparent).

 

This last year has been my least "planetary" year ever. A lot of it is that this Mars apparition was small and Saturn’s rings so close to edge on, and meanwhile the GRS has become disappointing to me. I went through a phase (so to speak) of viewing Venus intensely with my 72ED a few years ago (from my apartment by work in a city where there wasn’t much else to see) and learning to sometimes make out cloud contrast markings, but that having been done, this year I’ve mainly just enjoyed Venus naked eye or, with a telescope, at a deep crescent phase. I always like catching Mercury, but such views are rare for me. Anyway, I’ll be looking forward to Saturn’s rings opening back up and Mars apparitions getting closer in the years ahead.

 

Mainly living at my city apartment for a few years, where I only had the little 72ED, I got into lunar more than I’d ever been. Speaking of which, I was just looking last night at a still-thin, wonderfully orange, waxing crescent moon with my 100ED — very enjoyable, with all sorts of terrain (lunain?) details slowly being unveiled by the rising Sun. Now I look forward to such sessions.

 

I’ve also slowly but steadily gotten more into double stars. Again last night, after spending sufficient-to-me time on the Moon, I then swung through some old familiar doubles, enjoying their contrasts and similarities. The skies were milky, so that was the whole menu, but I always like breaking up a mainly DSO session with a few doubles, or similarly with a mainly planetary and/or lunar session. I also like finding and viewing new-to-me doubles, gradually building up my doubles reference points in the sky. One nice thing somewhat related to this has been a gradual movement on my part away from only using planetarium app "electronic charts" and more towards paper charts — I like how my paper charts clearly denote doubles with a line through them. Whenever I want a change of pace from a DSO session, or perhaps I’m inside and specifically itching for a new double star target or targets for an upcoming session, I can see right away on the chart a number of double star choices, so having a new such target to hunt down is always just a chart glance away.

 

When the Moon is full or nearly full, I mainly just enjoy it naked eye or might take a look with handheld binoculars or a mounted 52mm (the SW72ED shows some color when the moon is that full, so anymore I hesitate to use it then). If planets are up, that can definitely help fill out an observing session’s menu during those times of the month. But, I’m a lifelong naked eye night sky enjoyer, so just taking in the full moon low over the trees or the water is always sweet.

 

And speaking of naked eye, the Milky Way, though it’s rare for me to be in a situation where I can clearly see it, is certainly another favorite naked eye or with small binoculars. I had a trip back in late April where my wife and I were able to take it in at like 3:00 a.m. I had my 72ED with us, but after looking through the telescope a few times my wife was enthusiastically like, "Binoculars are the best", and I had to agree. For a suburbanite/urbanite, it’s an amazing treat to get under a dark sky with a binocular and scan through the Milky Way’s star fields

[asterope62]

My journey began with looking through my next door neighbour's telescope when I  was eight years old and seeing Saturn for the first time! The Christmas following that I received a 60mm refractor and spent many nights looking at the Moon and planets.  To encourage my interest in astronomy,  my mother would bring home past issues of Sky and Telescope magazine that the place where she worked was throwing out. In my mid teens I started my own subscription to Sky and Telescope and by the time that I was 17 I had saved my money for my first good telescope,  a Celestron 8 inch Schmidt-Cass, the older orange one from the 70s. That kept my interest going until age 19, then life got in the way; college,  marriage, joining the military.

  In the mid 1980s I discovered my first astronomy club while living in California, but life got in the way again and I put astronomy on hold until I moved to Idaho in the mid 1990s. In Idaho I found another astronomy club, the Boise Astronomical Society,  and went to many of their star parties and bought a Meade ETX (I had sold the C8 a few years earlier). I became more interested at this time, after a few years using the ETX (I completed the Astronomical League's Messier Certificate with that scope) I bought my 12.5" Discovery Dobsonian.   I've owned that dob ever since then and was able to complete the Astronomical League's Master Observer Award with it. 

My last 3 years of military service was spent in Tucson, Arizona and I was active in the Tucson Amateur Astronomer Association  while there.  After retiring from the military I moved back to Idaho and continued with the Boise Astronomical Society again. 

10 years ago I moved to Utah and continue to remain strong in this hobby.  I've owned several telescopes since purchasing my 12.5" dob.  I've owned 3 different 90mm maks, 2 different 127mm maks, a 150mm mak, a 120mm refractor,  and an 8" dob. In the past 8 years I also gained an interest in solar observing and now own a Coronado PST.  I recently joined the Ogden Astronomical Society and attend their star parties. 

Edited by asterope62, 31 May 2025 - 02:13 AM.

[Jon Isaacs]

One nice thing somewhat related to this has been a gradual movement on my part away from only using planetarium app "electronic charts" and more towards paper charts — I like how my paper charts clearly denote doubles with a line through them.

 

 

A word of caution:

 

One difficulty with using paper charts for doubles is that many doubles have short enough periods that their separations change with time.  Porrima is widening.  In 2010-2011 it became a Dawes limit split for an 80mm as it widened from 1.39" to 1.59".  I spent the summer of  2011 watching Porrima with my 80mm ED/apo and later when it was wider with an 80mm F/11 achro. Today, Porrima is at about 3.5", doable in a good 50mm finder. 

 

Others are narrowing.  Zeta Bootis was at the Dawes limit for a 10 inch 2013 or so, now it is down about 0.1".  

 

Paper charts have have their advantages but it is best to check the separations with Stelledoppie or SkySafari so you have the current separation and don't spend time trying to split an unsplittable double.  They calculate the separations based on the orbital elements.

 

Jon

Edited by Jon Isaacs, 31 May 2025 - 07:51 AM.

[Alex65]

I started out in the mid 1970s, when I was around ten years old.

 

I used my dad's little 2 inch spotter 'scope to look at the moon as I had became fascinated with the very last Apollo missions. In 1976 Vikings I and II landed on Mars and sent back amazing photos and that hooked me even further. I used that little 2 inch 'scope for a few more years, read up everything on astronomy in my local library and achieved the Astronomy merit badge in the BSA. I finally got my little AstroScan for Christmas in 1978 (Thanks, Mom and Dad) and used that for many years afterwards for observing the Moon, planets (Mars was ALWAYS a major disappointment!), a handful of comets and the brighter DSOs. 

 

Never caught the aperture fever as I had many other interests that kept me busy and I was very happily content just being a stargazer. 

 

A few years ago I decided on getting a bigger 'scope, so I bought a preused 6" Dob. I had always wanted a 6" reflector as they were always mentioned in the books that I read in my teens. 

 

The only thing that has changed is that I nowadays love looking at binary star systems, otherwise I just look at the same targets that I have always observed and enjoyed. 

 

Will I upgrade to a larger 'scope? No, I'm quite content with my 6" dob and there is enough to see through it to last me the rest of my days. As I said, I'm a stargazer, not an astronomer. 

[12BH7]

Much like everyone else, I got the bug when my friend got a small scope for Christmas. The first bone chilling night the two of us peeked at the moon I knew that was it.

 

Fast forward past college and my first house to about 1990.  No home computers and no internet. Fate had brought me to a store in a mall that had a Meade 8" EMC sitting there. It was like my brain went on fire and I had to have it.  After about a year Meade put their 16" Dob's on sale and I bought one for about $700. The thing was a beast and DIY converted it into a truss. Now it was moveable and portable. I used the heck out of that thing. 

 

For the first two decades I did log in a few clusters, nebulas, but my passion was galaxies. The moon was nothing more than a nuisance and planets and star clusters were a passing interest. Something I just looked at and moved on quickly.

 

Fast forward to around 2020. Now I'm in my 60's and a little more tired and my eyes aren't what they used to be.  One afternoon I was board and the moon was up and I just wanted to play with my telescope. It was that simple getting hooked on lunar. From that day I started doing about 80% lunar and planetary.

 

As for deep sky I still do a lot of galaxies and love seeing them. But I seem to get FAR more enjoyment out of globular clusters, open clusters and nebula's. I've been enjoying them so much that I'm now considering a good 4" refractor setup. 

 

But one thing that isn't mentioned very much is how us older astronomers started and developed PRE internet. Back then is was more social. Also I had to do a lot more reading from the library on cosmology in general. 

[VA3DSO]

 

A word of caution:

 

One difficulty with using paper charts for doubles is that many doubles have short enough periods that their separations change with time.  Porrima is widening.  In 2010-2011 it became a Dawes limit split for an 80mm as it widened from 1.39" to 1.59".  I spent the summer of  2011 watching Porrima with my 80mm ED/apo and later when it was wider with an 80mm F/11 achro. Today, Porrima is at about 3.5", doable in a good 50mm finder. 

 

Others are narrowing.  Zeta Bootis was at the Dawes limit for a 10 inch 2013 or so, now it is down about 0.1".  

 

Paper charts have have their advantages but it is best to check the separations with Stelledoppie or SkySafari so you have the current separation and don't spend time trying to split an unsplittable double.  They calculate the separations based on the orbital elements.

 

Jon

I agree totally. Even though I mostly use paper charts - that is just for stuff that doesn't move - galaxies, nebulae, most stars, clusters, etc. Oh, and my lunar charts.

 

But for stuff that moves (planets, comets, asteroids, double star separations, close stars, etc) I certainly use electronic charts. SkySafari Pro on my phone, and Stellarium on my laptop. But if I am going to look something up electronically, I usually do it at home before going out to observe. I rarely have my laptop with me in the field unless I'm doing AP or EAA. But sometimes I'll use my phone if it is spur of the moment.
 

Edited by VA3DSO, 31 May 2025 - 01:41 PM.

[Starman1]

This has been on my mind a lot lately and I'd like to see what others so. I use to be probably 95% a DSO observer. I would wait and wait for what I call the Wanning/New Moon period and then be out 2-4 times, weather permitting. I'm still that way. I got in my third night last night. I then often would not to much until the next Wanning/New Moon period. I'd image my sketches, organize my observations and enter them and clean up. 

 

I still do that. I got out for 3 nights this Wanning/New Moon period and LOVED every minute of my DSO observing. I'd go once more  tonight but my granddaughter turns 6 today and I need to be home tonight with her. Anyway, I am currently mixing up my observing with Hickson's, some ARP's and I am redoing the H400 again just because I want to as I enjoy many of those objects and their neighboring NGC's.

 

However, I have matured or grown I think in my amateur journey. I now use my Lunt LS35 a LOT more. I usually will pull that out 2-3 times a week and observe and sketch the sun. I find it thrilling to watch our nearest star and I get a LOT of enjoyment out of that. I've increased my double star observing as the moon grows in it' waxing phases. It is fun to see what my 10 inch dob and a 4 inch refractor can do on doubles and I find I love splitting them. Last but not least, I have found a love for Luna. I would look and play with the moon, but I have really discovered how great our nearest neighbor is to observe, learn about and sketch. 

 

So in my journey I think I've developed well as an observer and find that I am now observing pretty much all month long. I find it allows me to maximize what nature gives me in regards to weather and conditions. I always say I am a very lucky person to live where I live. I have excellent dark sites nearby and even at home, in my 19.6 SQM skies, I can still observe a lot of differing objects. I still plan out my observing, usually as the wife is either reading or chilling watching TV (I listen). I'm finding that there truly is more than I will ever possible see or learn before my time is up, but I have to say, that is what I LOVE about this hobby. I am always learning and growing. I have also found doing night vision at home is becoming more fun also. I'm old fashion and will always put my eye on an eyepiece, but I like NV so far. It's opened up DSO observing from home during the waxing moon phases. 

 

So what is your observing journey? How and what do you observe? How has it changed over the years? Is there some aspect of observing that you would want to look into pursuing? What is your past, present and hopefully your future as an observer in the hobby? 

My first astronomy memory was seeing Sputnik pass over in 1957.  It was in a vacant lot with a bunch of neighbors.

Then watching a total eclipse of the Moon in 1959, learning the constellations to earn a Boy Scouts Merit Badge in 1962, then buying my first telescope in 1963.

 

I did a lot of planet, double star, and moon observing for the first 30 years, along with other objects of all kinds.

In the next 10 years, I rolled into galaxies, emission/reflection nebulae, and planetaries.

For the last 22 years, I've concentrated on planetaries, galaxies, and star clusters (both open and globular).  I sometimes go 6 months without looking at a planet, even briefly.  I briefly view favorite nebulae about once a year, but I don't concentrate on them.

 

My scopes have steadily gotten larger:

4" to 4.25" 1963-1982 (newtonian, refractor, SCT)

5" 1982-1983 (newtonian)

6" 1983-1993 (newtonian)

8" 1993-2004 (SCT)

12.5" 2004-2025 (dobsonian)

16" 2025-? (dobsonian)

Along the way, I've had innumerable smaller second scopes (of all kinds) and tons of different binoculars; currently a 4"f/7 apo and a pair of 10x50 astronomy binos to accompany the bigger scope.

 

It's patio observing with the 4" and binos 3x/month for maybe 6-7 hours total, and dark sky observing with a larger scope for 6-10 hours one full night a month.

Those of you who observe a lot more are privileged to live nearer dark skies--at a minimum, I am 90 minutes away from the nearest site where I can see the Milky Way, and 4.5 hours away from what I would call a truly dark site.

It's hard to get excited about observing at home where often 2nd magnitude stars are hard to see, if it's clear at all, which usually occurs only at Full Moon.

Edited by Starman1, 31 May 2025 - 02:41 PM.

[Tony Flanders]

This question interests me greatly, because I'm obviously in a transitional period, and have little idea where I'll end up.

I've always been interested in the science of astronomy and in viewing the night sky, but for most of my life I didn't do much stargazing. Nonetheless at the dawn of my "serious" observing career I already knew most of the major constellations and had viewed a few deep-sky objects through binoculars.

Then, at age 42 in 1996, I decided to buy a telescope. It's an odd story. I was actually trying to think of a gift for my nephew, and since he was (and still is) interested in science, a telescope seemed like an obvious possibility. But being a conscientious uncle, I didn't just rush out and purchase one; I decided to research the subject instead.

 

At that point I was a computer programmer, and my company used the Internet back in the days when it was still the ARPANET. So my research led me rapidly to the USENET group sci.astro.amateur. It soon became obvious that my nephew was too young to use a telescope productively. But it became even more obvious that I was about 20 years overdue to buy one for myself. So I did.

 

Once I bought my 70-mm refractor (the Tele Vue Ranger) I plunged into observing headfirst. I viewed pretty much everything I could think of, but ended up focusing on deep-sky objects, which are still my main interest. I tended to be very list-focused at first. After observing all the Messier objects with the little scope I purchased a StarMaster Oak Classic 7-inch Dob, and re-observed the list with the bigger one. Then I embarked on the Herschel 400, and it was that project that (to my mind) made me a "serious" observer. The Herschel 400 has much greater variety than the Messier list both in object type and difficulty, and whereas the Messier objects are concentrated in a handful of constellations, the Herschel 400 cover the entire northern sky.

 

I've never been especially interested in equipment for its own sake; I purchased all three of my main scopes and most of my current eyepieces in the first four years of my observing career. My biggest scope is the StarMaster 12.5-inch EL Dob, and I doubt I will ever buy anything bigger; it's just not practical given the configuration of my life. And I'm very far from feeling jaded about the 12.5-incher's capabilities!

 

However, since I like to be able to participate intelligently on internet groups -- and even more so after I joined the staff of Sky & Telescope magazine -- I've felt an obligation to be familiar with a reasonable range of equipment. While I was still working at S&T it was pretty easy to scratch that itch by borrowing my fellow editors' equipment, but I also purchased a fair number of "minor" scopes of my own. I have a particular interest in budget-priced telescopes, and ended up owning quite a number of them after reviewing them for S&T. The only one that has come close to my three main scopes in terms of observing numbers is the Z130 tabletop Dob. Very sweet scope, that.

 

My interest in list-based observing waned after I completed re-observing the Herschel 400 with my 12.5-inch Dob. I did start in on the Herschel 2500, but lost interest pretty soon. Truth be told, I just don't find it all that interesting to chase down yet another tiny, nearly featureless, barely visible fuzzy. While I was working at S&T I kept very busy trying to observe all the objects in the articles I was editing. I didn't necessarily succeed -- hardly surprising given that some of my authors were using twice my aperture under much better skies. But it was always fun and illuminating to try.

 

My obsession with observing started to wane probably even before I retired from S&T in 2014. I stopped feeling sad or guilty when I stayed indoors on a clear, moonless night. I still try to get out as often as I can, but at this point -- like so much else in my life -- I've stopped trying to improve. At this point, it's all about slowing the decline. And frankly, having spent much of the last decade or two dealing with aging and dying parents, aunts, and uncles, slowing the decline seems like an altogether worthy goal, both for me and the people around me.

 

So these days I mostly try to re-observe my old friends -- the Moon, the planets, the Messier objects, and the major non-Messier warhorses, like NGC 4565 and the Double Cluster. Given that this adds up to a good 300 objects, I don't expect to get tired of cycling through them for the rest of my life. Though it's always good to throw a few new ones into the mix every now and then.

[OAJoe]

But one thing that isn't mentioned very much is how us older astronomers started and developed PRE internet. Back then is was more social. Also I had to do a lot more reading from the library on cosmology in general. 

I also got into the hobby pre-internet. First, it was viewing a total Lunar eclipse (8/16/1989) that captured my attention. I didn't need a $10,000 telescope to do this as a hobby! Then, it was looking at a Sky & Telescope magazine at the local public library that kept me hooked. I also joined a small astronomy club in my hometown.

[Sketcher]

My past:

 

1957 -- went out with my father to try to see Sputnik, the first of the Earth-orbiting artificial satellites

 

Interim years -- reading books about both, space travel and astronomy.  Often in this time period I would copy the futuristic depictions of spacecraft as well as some of the book-based images of astronomical objects/features using colored pencils at times and watercolors at other times.  I also did some naked-eye astronomy in this time period.

 

1967 -- acquired my first "serious" telescope, a cardboard-tubed 60-65mm refractor.  It had no finder, but that didn't matter.  By that point in time, I was able to overcome all of the drawbacks of both the telescope and its tripod/mount.  With that telescope, I observed (and often sketched) pretty much anything and everything I could find in my night sky -- a variety of Messier objects, sunspots, lunar features, a partial solar eclipse, etc.

 

1977 -- I made my first telescope purchase, an 8-inch SCT.  More observing, I dabbled a bit in the realm of astrophotography -- using film, of course.  But one of my first astro-photos was of Comet Bennett somewhare around 1970 using a homemade astro-camera.

 

1979 -- observed and photographed my first total solar eclipse.  With me was a young lady whom I married shortly thereafter.

 

My (oil) painting of the February 26, 1979, total solar eclipse based on the photos I had taken with the above mentioned 8-inch SCT:

 

 

1981 -- moved to my current, rather isolated, but "seriously dark" location in rural Montana.  Built my first observatory.  I now have two observatories, but only one is being used nowadays.

 

Comet hunting gradually became somewhat of an interest somewhere around this time period -- sometimes more seriously than at other times.

 

Halley's comet was observed, photographed, and sketched.

 

Somewhere around here I became active on sci.astro.amateur (s.a.a.).  I dropped out of the astrophotography "game" somewhere around here -- returning to my preferred world of sketching.

 

Built a 10-inch reflector from purchased components along with some homemade components semewhere in the 80s.

 

1995 -- purchased/received my new 130mm Astro-Physics apochromat.  Traded the old SCT (at a star party) for a couple of new, Tele-Vue eyepieces.

 

I gave up on comet hunting after the professionals got heavily involved with their NEO searches (after the Shoemaker-Levy-9 impacts on Jupiter).  I came "that close" to discovering my own comet:  While sweeping with the 10-inch reflector I found a comet that hadn't even been named at the time.  I called a "hot-line" and a message mentioned a "possible new comet" "not yet confirmed" and gave the coordinates -- which matched that of the comet that I had just stumbled across.  If only I had found it a night or two earlier . . .

 

More recent telescope purchases -- ST-80 (2001), 12-inch reflector (year?), 152mm f/6.5 achromat (2015).

 

Got into observing with relatively small apertures, including 1-inch and 1/2-inch apertures soon after departing s.a.a. and moving to CloudyNights.  I soon ceased using my 10 and 12-inch reflectors, preferring to use my 6-inch and smaller refractors.

 

Present and future:

 

I'm now drifting away from observing (eye issues) and moving into the realm of astronomical art / painting.  I finally varnished and framed that old solar eclipse painting along with a few of my other pre-existing paintings.  I made a painting of March's total lunar eclipse, having switched from using oil pant to using acrylics:

 

 

Actually, the above photo is one of the many earlier versions of the lunar eclipse painting.  It's been further modified (and I dare say "improved") since that photo was taken.

 

My next painting is already being planned, based on a rough sketch of last night's beautiful aurora (during its rather short period of peak activity).  But mostly I intend to make use of my stockpile of many decades' worth of sketches for my future painting ideas.

 

Among my older paintings waiting to be framed are:  two 18x24 paintings, one of M31 and family, the other of the Pleiades, two small, 8x10 paintings, one of the Orion Nebula (low-power view with 80mm aperture), the other of Saturn.  There are a few other older paintings, but I'm not as satisfied with those . . .

 

Some observing will of course continue, but it won't be like it once was.

[mountain monk]

Well, I envy you all being able to still type these long replies since I am down to typing with one finger. Jay’s question deserves a long reply, but mine will be rather short. I stared astronomy after WWII with my father, lying on a dock with war surplus binoculars learning the major constellations. I was merely a casual observer with 10x binoculars for decades, but because of my travels I  got to see lots of stuff under dark skies. About twenty years ago I bought a red-line Nikon spotting scope for hunting and began to look at planets and the Moon. Hummmmm… Then 16 years ago I got my NP101…Wow. Then my 11” Teeter…Wow, Wow, Wow. My main interest became deep sky stuff, especially nebula, galaxies, and clusters. Now I’ve regressed a bit—I spend more time on Saturn, Jupiter, and the Moon. Recently I’ve gotten interested in doubles with my Tak DZ. At 83, I’m slowing down, but I hope to continue observing as long as I am able. I too keep returning to old favorites—they are sufficient. I still love scanning the Milky Way with the NP-101 and the 31mm Nagler. It remains, for me, the most interesting thing in the sky.

 

Dark, clear, calm skies.

 

Jack

[weis14]

But one thing that isn't mentioned very much is how us older astronomers started and developed PRE internet. Back then is was more social. Also I had to do a lot more reading from the library on cosmology in general. 

Maybe, but the pre-internet days had downsides too.  I didn't technically start astronomy pre-internet, but when I bought my first scope as a 12 year old in the mid 1990s, the internet had not yet made it to my parents' house and wouldn't until 2000 or so.  Everything I learned in the early days was from books and while these books mentioned astronomy clubs, there was no accurate list or contact information for them.  Plus, the nearest club was 20 miles away in Bay City, which even if I could contact them, might as well have been on the moon considering my transportation options.

 

I didn't meet another amateur astronomer in person until I rejoined the hobby after college in 2007 or so.  Even then, and continuing through today, I don't have many "real-life" astronomy friends and primarily rely on CN and other internet sites for engaging in the hobby with others.

[VA3DSO]

Speaking of books, I want to give a shout out to The Backyard Astronomer's Guide by Terrence Dickinson and Alan Dyer. I started out with the first edition (the white book) and although the Internet was just becoming a thing back in the mid-90's, information was hard to come by. This book is packed with information and really was the fuel that propelled me into the hobby. I have owned each edition and have read them all cover-to-cover. This book and NightWatch were by go-to references for over a decade...

 

 

Edited by VA3DSO, 02 June 2025 - 06:53 AM.

[Starman1]

I have given away more copies of those books...

The Backyard Astronomer's Guide is the owner's manual that should be packed with every telescope.

And packed with it:

All About Telescopes by Sam Brown:

https://www.edmundop...elescopes 2.pdf

[WillR]

Sketcher,

 

I knew you were a sketcher (duh) but haven't seen many of your paintings. Are they on line somewhere? I love the one of the 1979 solar eclipse!  Aside from a record of the event, it is a wonderful composition and painting in its own right.

[Sketcher]

Sketcher,

 

I knew you were a sketcher (duh) but haven't seen many of your paintings. Are they on line somewhere? I love the one of the 1979 solar eclipse!  Aside from a record of the event, it is a wonderful composition and painting in its own right.

My few (so far) paintings have mostly appeared only on CloudyNights postings.  I once had a website (again, mostly sketches) but even there, I think there was only one painting there that hasn't appeared on CN.  I'm not sure I still have any photos of that one.  But I still have the painting itself.

 

Paintings have been rather rare in my history.  My priorities, as far as "art" goes, has been mostly directly related to astronomy, with more emphasis on scientific accuracy and less on "art".  But that's subject to change now.

 

That being said, I do have an art history, of sorts:

 

When I was an elementary or Junior High student, a visiting artist (to the school) strongly suggested that I go into art as my future major, but I explained that I was more interested in science -- and ignored the suggestion.

 

Sometime in the 1970s I painted a "copy" of the Mona Lisa. It hung in my mother's home until her passing -- then it came back to me . . .

 

While finishing up my BS in Mathematics, I took a couple of drawing courses.  One of my drawing instructors (professor?) Really liked my work and explained that the only reason I didn't get an "A" in his course was because he didn't give "A"s to non-art majors.

 

My final project in his class created a bit of a stir -- both, at the college/university and in the community at large.  We (the students) had to put on public display one of our works.  The teacher, as well as all of the students in the class strongly encouraged me to display a certain work.  I did so.  A letter to the editor of the city newspaper came out highly critical of my work (no great surprise, considering what I had created!),  As I passed by the art department the following morning, I could hear members of the art faculty discussing my work in the context of that letter to the editor.  My art instructor even wanted me to take the work to his church (not one of the more mainstream churches) to share with others there.  The assignment for that work was to combine three works of art, from three different centuries, into a single composition -- and that's precisely what I did.  But the way I did it . . .

 

I still have that piece of art, but it's unsuitable for posting to CloudyNights.  Its nature would cause it to be immediately censured and removed from CN.  Don't know if there would be any repercussions against me or not.  My history on CN might be enough to save me!!  Regardless, I know better than to post that work -- or to even share it with anyone whom I don't know quite well . . .

 

Anyway, I have few paintings.  But I hope to finally get going with art, specifically painting, in a major hobby shift.  There's a reasonable chance that more paintings will appear from time to time on CloudyNights.

 

This small (8x10) painting will be framed on Wednesday (after allowing 2 weeks to pass since varnishing):