another calling it a day.

[nightfisher]

This is one of the reasons i taake so much pleasure in Luna and planet work, i think if i were mainly dso i would have lost the faith by now

[John]

As per the other posters, I completely sympathise Rory.

My own viewing conditions at home are really not conducive to good DSO viewing and I have to work hard to get decent views of galaxies and nebulae. Occasionally I get a decent night and the objects are placed away from the surrounding trees, street lights, unpredictable security lights and un-curtained neighbours windows but often I'm frustrated too.

I've kind of learned to live with this and spend more time on the sorts of objects described in this thread that can withstand the above perils, ie: planets, the moon, bright clusters and binary stars.

I'd love to spend evenings searching out the fainter fuzzies but, like Michael, I have to wait for a star party for that treat and, so far, I've only managed one of those per year !

I guess adapting to the conditions is, as suggested above, the key to continuing to get something from the hobby. Scopes that are mobile and versatile help as well.

Hope you find a way through to staying with the hobby, one way or another

[crashtestdummy]

too soon Rory,3 clear nights on the trot here and looking clear tomorrow night for a dark sky session 10pm-6am!!!!!!!!just give it a month or two,let the urge come back

[Ant]

I've done a number of things to try and help my astronomy. I am an imager.

Firstly I've borrowed a PST, this was the only astronomy I've done since April last year.

i have moved to a rural location, has it's downsides as well though - broadband is rubbish and no shops! Skies are pretty good though - to the north, south and east I can only tell it's cloudy because there are no stars. Even though narrow band imaging is largely unaffected by LP.

DSO imaging takes a lot of telescope time. So for the foreseeable future I'm not going to get much, if any, done! So have decided to switch to lunar, planets and solar. I'm looking at a more grab and go mount (the skywatchers all sky) so that I can't image without running power out of the house etc.

This doesn't float my boat as much as DSO's, but it is astronomy and it's all I have time for. Images can be processed during cloudy nights when time permits.

I might even buy an eyepiece. Lol

Don't give up completely unless you really have too, but think about what you would be able to do and adapt accordingly.

Cheers

Ant

[LukeSkywatcher]

Let one person here claim they have never thought about giving up and selling their gear, and i would call them a liar.

MOST of us are in the same boat (observing from the back garden) in an urban/semi-urban area. We all have levels of LP which hamper our views of certain objects. Galaxies are about the trickiest objects to observe from anywhere apart from a dark sky location. It is true i believe that you will see more from a dark sky location with an 80mm refractor then you would see from a LP'd area with an 8" Dob.

"Don't fight the conditions - work with them".

I couldn't agree more. Instead of focusing (no pun intended) on the negatives.................focus on the positives and work with what you can see and do your best to enhance the experience.

I have never had a plan to observe any particular object or type of object. The fun for me is simply taking a wander around the night sky and if something catches my eye then i will up the magnification to investigate it further. Some people would see this as non-productive and a waste of time.

For me on a clear night i have all the time in the world (so to speak) and i just love to take a wander around the universe. I find it much more relaxing and enjoyable, rather then getting het-up on spending hours or whatever trying to locate a single object.

[DaveS]

I gave up astronomy once a couple of decades ago after getting disheartened by the lousy LP and seeing.

Since coming back a few years ago through imaging I've rediscovered my enthusiasm, and the joy of LP filters, however if the wretched new LED streetlights take over I may have to go NB.

Ironically I think the LP now is worse than when I first gave up. Back then I had nights when I could glimpse the Milky Way overhead and see the main stars of Ursa Minor on a good night. Not now though.