Will you ever give up stargazing?

[emadmoussa]

I remember long time ago when I was little I found a small pair of binoculars in the loft and used them to look at the moon. I was quite impressed with what I saw. I think accidently I managed to spot the Orion nebula which baffled me. I was too little, you know...I got my first scope 7 years ago - birthday present. It was, I believe, a dept store's National Geographic 90mm. Even though I thought it was fantastic then, over time I learnt it was rubbish...almost a toy. But hey...it gave me a further kick into stargazing.

But yes, it seems that if you have a passion for something, you don't simply lose it. It might temporarily fade away, but on the first spark it comes back...either slightly or with vengeance

[sparkyjon]

I think its something that's installed in you as a child.

I as a child had astronomy books a tasco refractor and was always look at the moon,

I didn't look at much else as i didny really know what i was looking for and was happy looking at the moon.

But life took over the telescope got handed down to a cousin i concentrated my efforts on school women and fishing.

Now its when fishing my passion for what was up there reignited up until this year when i finally decided i was to have a good go and buy all the gear i need to look..

But it was always there the drunken summer bbqs looking up at the clear night and talking about how big and infinite it all is..sitting out at 3am in the morning after just losing a fish of a lifetime and looking up and that made it ok.. Just catching the last 10minutes of the sky at night or how the universe works and being gutted..

You may get distracted or dismayed by it all but as long as you are blessed with two working eyes and the stars shine there's no real need for a telescope once you've looked up you'll always look up...

[Stargazing_Cliff]

Nope but it's time to improve on me stargazing and learn more constelations.

recently been learning radio meteor astronomy since i captured that fireball event back in september 2012 it's kind made me like meteor crazy!!!.

and tuned to 143.049mhz G-r-a-v-e-s Dijon France as i pick up little trace from it.

and keep the skycams running capture more stuff in skies.

[nightfisher]

I have been at this hobby on and of for about 14 years, i took a very long break due to nagging wife and work but returned about 3 years back and in all honesty i love it with a passion, and will not pack it in till health or death stops me

[twotter]

I'm in this until my eyesight gives up....then I'll stand outside and listen.

[Lenny147]

Love your way of thinking there twotter

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dtr42]

i will never give up star gazing but ,i may give up some of the equipment which has become more of a dust collector than a light collector. theres always something to look and wonder at with good old mark 1 optics

[nightfisher]

I'm in this until my eyesight gives up....then I'll stand outside and listen.

If we had post of the day, this is it :grin:

[foundaplanet]

No.

[lukebl]

Been at it, on and off, for 40 years. Hardly going to give it up now.

[Scott]

for all i know i gave up last yr and haven't had a chance to realise it.

Honestly though, i can't see it happening. theres too much more to it than the observing/imaging although it does get frustrating at times

Scott

[Steve Ward]

I spent forty-eight years stargazing with the naked eye and no glass at all ,

Having only spent three years using scopes and only one year with a computer I sure ain't quitting anytime soon . . .

[L8-Nite]

. . . . . . . I see you're a UFO enthusiast?!

Not really. I just liked the photo, which I captured off my computer screen with a camera; took several trys.

[Welrod50]

Much like lots of peeps here, I gazed up around age 7 or 8, was given a Tasco refractor by Santa a year later and looked at the moon and that was it - fascinated beyond words!

Huge break in the middle then for school, girls, work, Mrs, kid and so on and 'rediscovered' the joys of the cosmos a couple of years ago and will never look back. I personally find the hobby something of a wonderful sickness - thoughts of stargazing tonight, can occasionally overtake daytime thoughts and I find that I can completely switch off from important tasks because I'm pondering over what the 'seeing' will be like later.

And on the cloudy nights, I can always find something to keep me interested, like knocking about on here, fiddling with the scope, browsing Stellarium and so on. You're either interested in the stars or you aren't. If that spark ignites, the fire rages for ever I find. I tried to get my son interested last summer,looking at Jupiter. "Oh yeah, cool" was quickly followed by him disappearing to go play football with his mates.

And then when the skies have been cloudy for weeks on end, you get one clear night and you go out full of enthusiasm only to freeze half to death in the cold, getting frustrated with a star alignment which isn't quite right because the mount is off by a millionth of a millimetre and you find that the seeing actually isnt that good so Jupiter looks like a wobbling blob and then the neighbour returns with headlights on main beam and your night vision is shot to bits before you have chance to look away.......

And then when it all comes together, you realise that it is all well worth it. We are a miniscule race of carbon based life forms which have developed the capacity to not only appreciate the wider Universe, but also to understand how it all works (more or less). This, is a spectacular concept!

[peteuplink]

I won't give up astronomy until I'm either too infirm to use my scope (but then there's still stuff I can do online), or I'm dead... *shrug*

[steve_bham]

Sometimes life commitments get in the way and astronomy takes a back seat, but I don't think ill ever give it up.

[emadmoussa]

Not really. I just liked the photo, which I captured off my computer screen with a camera; took several trys.

Nice image though

[starman1969]

Not me, but my telescope can stay indoors for weeks on end. If it is clear I always have a good look around.

I usually get the scope out when my club meets at a dark site. I can't see myself ever losing Interest in stargazing.

[wookie1965]

Ive been diagnosed with a condition called idiopathic intercranial hypertension which can make me go blind as it puts pressure on my optic nerves that's the only thing that will stop me stargazing.

[Luke]

I'm definitely hooked for life.

I can't think of many things much more exciting than looking at a galaxy containing billions of suns, wondering how many civilizations might be out there.

Yet of all those planets, how many have Jaffa cakes?

[emadmoussa]

Planet Sainsbury's perhaps...

[DazC]

NO!........is the simple answer.

I love it too much.

D.C

[MarkMayf]

Nope. The sky will never go away. No matter how long the bad weather is around, I can always come back to the eyepiece.

[starman1969]

Planet Greggs will do me.

[Obi Wan Ken00bi]

I'm definitely hooked for life.

I can't think of many things much more exciting than looking at a galaxy containing billions of suns, wondering how many civilizations might be out there.

Yet of all those planets, how many have Jaffa cakes?

jaffa dont know. But there is one planet with a Jabba on it