60 replies to this topic

[balcon3]

 

I would argue that walking is more Zen like than driving a car... 

 

 

And I would agree. I avoid a car whenever possible.

[VA3DSO]

Considering that set-up & tear-down is not strictly part of observing, GEMs (or tracking platforms) are brilliant tools to reach a zen-like experience during observing requiring no inputs from the observer once tracking, even if they add a little complexity before and after.  

Is a motorcycle more Zen like than a bicycle?

 

The more I do myself, the more connected I am, the closer I am, the more I am "in the moment."

 

When doing outreach, using an undriven mount, people learn about and see for themselves the rotation of the earth.

 

 

I would argue that walking is more Zen like than driving a car... 

 

Jon

I actually see both sides of this. On the one hand I agree with Jon that simpler (for me) is more Zen-like. However, I also have had that experience that N-1 refers to where I have gone through the effort to set up my EQ5 mount, and then found Zen while looking through the eyepiece at Jupiter or Mars for ages without having to touch the telescope at all. 

 

BUT... when using my AZ4 mount, the nudging of the scope is actually almost an automatic reaction - it doesn't take me out of my Zen while observing. The most Zen-like telescope I've ever owned was a 10" Dob.

 

I guess that is why I have both mounts - depending on what my goals are.

 

Still, if I'm heading out to a dark sky site to do some general observing, I am taking the AZ4 mount with me for the simplicity. 

[TheChosen]

Without going into the details of what 'Zen' is, I will just say for me observing the stars is indeed a spiritual & energetic experience. I've had a lot of experience in that area as well, meditations for hours at a time and dreaming work (as described by the Toltecs)... so I get a really good feel if an activity is adding or taking away from my spiritual energy.

 

In the beginning I was excited to do some imaging in between my visual sessions with my DOB and that energized me quite a lot, getting my first ever pictures of the solar system, but there came a point where any amount of imaging, even once in 3 months, (camera, laptop, processing, bad seeing frustrations, collimating perfectly) would leave me energetically drained, no matter the result.. and I just stopped doing it.

 

So my absolute spiritual experience these days is simply with my 12" DOB at about a 25 minute drive outside of the city, a relatively simple setup of just 4 eyepieces.. and just enjoying whatever objects come to my mind without any pressure of 'getting through the list' or having an 'image to show off later'

 

My friend recently bought the SVBony SV705C... so as he has made the investment he has spent a lot of nights playing with it at the expense of visual observation sessions and last weekend we were together at that spot. While I had a thoroughly satisfying experience even with the short night and coming up almost full moon, he felt miserable after that because they (he and his son) were unable to get a proper DSO image on the 150p reflector on an EQ mount and he barely looked through his 10" DOB that night.

 

It just made me realize by the end of it ... wow ... it is his time and his energy but boy I am SO done with laptops and cameras and all of that. If I managed to feel great even after relatively poor night conditions, I must be doing something right.

 

As for EAA ... at the end of the day for me it is not about the detail I visually see on a laptop screen but it is about the 'detail of the energy, feelings and emotions' I get when visually observing. Those are far superior to anything EAA can offer me.

 

[bobhen]

My "Zen" moments occur independent of equipment. Any scope I have can transport me or take me outside of myself.

 

The above is not limited to astronomy. For example, anyone who plays a musical instrument knows the same feeling, when the guitar just becomes part of you and you stop thinking and just play. 

 

As I've aged, simplicity, for a while now, is how I've been approaching astronomy. My mounts are all manual, even my GEM is manual. If the seeing is good, then the moon or a single planet can hold my attention all night. I'm on the moon. The moon is as familiar to me as my own neighborhood streets. I'm home again. The world around me disappears.

 

My image intensifier has expanded my visual perception many times and the Milky Way has become richer than I ever imagined. I can get lost in the ultra-rich star fields or seemingly endless expanses of huge nebulas while just sweeping through our galaxy. I know the sky well enough that many nights I don't have a plan or even look at an atlas. I just wander through the great out there with the same purpose as a child playing on the beach, which in the grand scheme of things, maybe I am – maybe we all are.

 

The "simple" telescope that started it all, some 60-years ago, was a Sears 60mm on an alt/az mount, like the image below. Things have now come full circle. My Tak FC-100DF "also" on an alt/az mount.

 

Bob

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Edited by bobhen, 18 June 2025 - 07:49 AM.

[12BH7]

I started with a manual equatorial and quickly came to the realization - I hate this.

 

So I bought a Dob and tried star hopping. It was more fun and I did enjoy it. But after a few years it started to become bit laborious finding objects. 

 

When Meade came out with the Magellan II DSC that could be retrofitted to a Dob, it was a miracle.  It was crude but cut out the star hopping process. For 16 years I truly was in Zen mode with that scope. 

 

Having seen the evolution of telescope mounts in the 90's I was drawn into the GOTO generation. In 2006 I bought a Meade 12" LX90. I did enjoy the GOTO. But after using a Dob I felt a bit disconnected from the universe. 

. 

Fast forward my life and now I'm a senior, Now I just want to go out and view with the least amount of difficulty.  When I go out with my LX90 I'm fully setup and viewing in less than 10 minutes.  NOW I'm appreciating the LX90 for its simplicity.  Push a button and the object is in the FOV and tracking. I can sit and look at M what ever for as long as I want - Zen has been achieved. 

 

So for me Zen is having a VERY simple GOTO with an easy setup,  

[Takuan]

Among many testimonies, the common belief seems to be that it's more "zen" to observe without screens and motors. Indeed, although you can meditate in full sunlight and amid the din of a big city, we can all agree that meditation is "better" under dim light and surrounded by silence. Noise and light excite us.
Another aspect that has been discussed, although less so, is the mental attitude toward observation. I agree with The Chosen in this regard. My best nights have been those where I had no list prepared, no expectations, and where I simply wandered carefree through the firmament.
In Zen, this is called "mushotoku." If you sit down to meditate expecting something—be it relaxation, a certain experience, or enlightenment—the experience is most likely to be negative.

[csrlice12]

It's hard to be Zen when there's a Meade grinding coffee around....

[12BH7]

It's hard to be Zen when there's a Meade grinding coffee around....

It's even harder when you miss the point

[lanndonkane]

 

I recently took at stab at doing some EAA with my telescopes and mirrorless camera. I immediately didn't like it. The cables. The laptop. The software. The EQ mount. Futzing with my camera. Futzing with the focus. I quickly lost my "Zen" even when I did see an image on the laptop screen.

 

A few days later I was in the backyard with my Alt-Az mount, my drum stool and a few eyepieces. That was it. It was SOOOO relaxing! I felt completely at peace.  

 

Have any of you encountered something similar where you went from complicated to simple in your setup?

 

What is your "Zen" observing setup?

 

Here are mine:

 

 

 

Clear skies!

 

Rick

 

Are you a drummer too? I'm one and yes, a drum stool is my go-to chair...

[VA3DSO]

It's hard to be Zen when there's a Meade grinding coffee around....

This made me laugh... and actually spit my coffee out! I had an ETX that I affectionately called "The Coffee Grinder"!  

[VA3DSO]

Are you a drummer too? I'm one and yes, a drum stool is my go-to chair...

Someday I'd like to learn how to drum (Stewart Copeland is one of my heroes), but alas I am just a poor (and crappy) guitarist. But for astronomy, a drum throne is DA BOMB! (IMHO. YMMV.)