Ignorance or poor education

[iantobach]

Is it me or does everyone else find it amazing that when you show someone an image of a nebulae( occasionally a planet or a galaxy)- do you get the following questions/statement.

a.

what is it?- usually for nebulae people are clueless

b.

No way you can see/take that!

Back in my school days it was every boys must to know your galaxys from your nebulas- mainly as a result of star wars, buck rogers,star trek and battlestar galctica- bring em back.

Is it a case of " in a galaxy far far away " or" life jim but not as we know it",with people these days??

[The Warthog]

When I showed my (highly intelligent) wife the comet, she was singularly unimpressed, and didn't even believe it was in focus. She liked the picture I took of the Moon, but isn't interested in looking at faint fuzzies or star clusters. It's just not on a lot of people's radars. The question that sometimes gets asked, though not always in these words, is, "So what good does knowing that do for you?"

Young people, with some exceptions, seem to be interested in clothes, pop music and entertainers. If you asked them to identify five trees, they'd point down the street and tell you, "Well, there's three maples and two pines" when it's actually, a walnut, a locust, and a red maple, and a black spruce and a Fraser fir. If they look up in the sky at all they see 'stars.' An education system geared to training people for business careers has leached out of them all the intellectual curiosity that they may have had as children. They are taught to be consumers, and you can't consume stars. Not the hydrogen-burning ones, anyway.

[Whippy]

TBH Ian, I think it's neither. Times have changed immeasurably even since I was a kid and I'm only 34. There's so many things competing for our attention (and wallets) today that a 'slow' hobby like stargazing isn't for everyone. Saying that though, I believe there has been an upturn in stargazing recently through various factors (just look how fast SGL is growing for example) and long may that continue!

Tony..

[saturn5]

If people have no interest in astronomy then i wouldn't expect them to know a nebulae from a galaxy imho ,it might seem obvious to us but this is our hobby,its a bit like "Who wants to be a millionaire"if you get asked a question on a subject you have knowledge of then its easy,if its a subject you know diddly squat about then its"phone a friend " time.

I do agree that there seems a bit more interest in all thing astronomical of late.

[Andrew*]

I realise now that I only know a nebula from a galaxy because I read plenty of space books when I was wee. I think possibly the first DSO that the average person can identify is a classic spiral galaxy such as M31/33 and anything beyond that is totally alien.

Andrew

[Talitha]

"what is it?- usually for nebulae people are clueless"

It's hardly earth-shattering for a non-Amateur not to know the difference between a nebula and a galaxy unless they're aspiring to become a professional astronomer. I'm sure there are botanists out there who could run circles around me, but I hope they wouldn't consider me ignorant or poorly educated just because I can't remember which is the pistil and which is the stamen.

"No way you can see/take that!"

Considering that the Hubble images are the extent of most peoples' deep sky experience, it's perfectly understandable why they marvel at what Amateurs can do.

That's ok, though.. it sure makes me look pretty smart sometimes.

[cygnusx1]

I'd say 99% of people have no interest in astronomy.

To busy with the rat race and things that effect them firsthand to expand their minds or use them.

Saying that, mention a asteroid is going to hit the earth and see the response then!

e.g the movie "Armageddon"

[Ant]

But thats the trouble Kevin, mention an asteroid about to it earth and thats what they think off THE FILM!

My old boss lives in a very dark place - did he ever look at the sky - not a hope.

I think that there is a minor interest in, probably not DSO's (well not visually anyway), but most people I know would look at the moon / saturn / jupiter if offered.

It's back to the instant gratification thing - people want stuff without waiting for it. The moon / Saturn / Jupiter view is instant and generally it's impressive.

Most people think I'm off my head sitting in the garden for three hours to get one image. I don't normally tell them it takes several more hours to process the image!!!

[Talitha]

There's the money factor, too. Several times, people have looked at me like I've got three heads because I paid almost $1000 for the LX-10.

On the other side of the coin, they thought nothing of flying to Vegas just to see Celine Dion's show, which at the time, was $250 per person.

Different strokes, I guess.

[saturn5]

There's the money factor, too. Several times, people have looked at me like I've got three heads because I paid almost $1000 for the LX-10.

On the other side of the coin, they thought nothing of flying to Vegas just to see Celine Dion's show, which at the time, was $250 per person.

Different strokes, I guess.

Exactly,everyone has different interests/hobbies.

Would you look at someone strangely if they told you they paid $1000 dollars for a rare stamp? :shock: I know i would but i'm not into stamps.

I think we should be careful not to judge people just because they don't know about galaxies,or associate asteroids or comets with "Armageddon"

One of the top uk hobbies is fishing, be it coarse,game or sea angling,how many of us would think these people must be crazy sitting there for hours on end in the rain and wind(we only do our hobby in the dry)

and the're probably saying, i showed this passer-by a Perch,just 2 ounces short of the British record and all he could say was "oh thats a pretty fish" .Didnt even say "that must be near the British record mate"

Does that make the passer-by ignorant or poorly educated,i dont think so,hes just not interested in fishing

[cygnusx1]

I agree saturn, what i was really alluding too, was the only way we can generally expect to ellicit some form of response from most folks is to mention the scare or wow factor in astronomy.

All hobbies are praiseworthy of pursuit, but as you say, many don't hold any interest for me personally.

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

On the fishing side of this I'd just like to add an anecdote.

I've been working recently in Derbyshire installing some heating stuff in a factory. A small part of the factory is set aside as a shop selling fishing stuff. They sell boxes to keep stuff in, chairs (and things specific to fishing of course) but the thing that struck me was the prices. It seems that most hobbies turn out equally expensive i.e. as much as you can spare, as we all tend to buy stuff when we have "spare" money. I could have spent more getting kitted out for fishing than it would cost me to get kitted out for imaging. Both need the DSLR for recording images, you don't get to take home what you "caught" in either case, and people think that you need psychiatric help if you do either.

My view is, if you like it do it. If you're good at it, fine, if not, fine by me. Some people are into some stuff, others are into other stuff. People who aren't into anything worry me, but that's just me.

I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a gudgeon and a cod to be honest (OK, the cod has batter on it), but I don't find that to be a cause for concern. I did think, initially when this post started, that the seething masses really ought to get their act together and learn the difference between a nebula and a galaxy, but now I'm not so sure.

Kaptain Klevtsov

[legion48]

Live and let live I say. As long as my plumber can fix my heating, or my postman find my house, why should I care if they know their nebula from their elbow?

I know where to come when I want to talk to like minded individuals.

[saturn5]

Your spot on regarding prices KK.I do beach fishing which has cost me more than astronomy,i have a coral reef marine tank which cost more than the my astronomy stuff and fishing gear put together.

It would seem all hobbies can be very expensive if you choose to go down that route,the temptation is always to upgrade and almost impossible to resist,but what price do you put on your hobby?

[leehawkins]

Your spot on regarding prices KK.I do beach fishing which has cost me more than astronomy,i have a coral reef marine tank which cost more than the my astronomy stuff and fishing gear put together.

It would seem all hobbies can be very expensive if you choose to go down that route,the temptation is always to upgrade and almost impossible to resist,but what price do you put on your hobby?

For me, it is totally impossible to resist, but then why not! we are only here once, if you can manage to afford the money, then Buy it! it's good for the the soul! and your well being, makes us happy, nothing wrong with that.

A lot of people i know, think nothing of going out for dinner in restaurants & buying home delivery meals 3 times a week, and that's on top of their normal weeks shopping, they spend tonns more than me, for what i spend on my hobbies.

[nitram100]

Depends on the individual i think, for instance, i showed my brother comet homles through my 10 inch scope and his jaw dropped, literally, while my friend also viewed it and he said he couldn't see anything :shock:

Both of them have no interest in astronomy whatsoever i might add.

[asteria]

Hi all - I think part of this is down to the difference people see between images from Hubble (for example) and what it is possible to see through the eyepiece. It's very difficult to excite the casual observer about a faint fuzzy at the eyepiece when they are used to the colourful, detailed media Hubble images. Of course, observing is much more than just 'seeing' stuff. For me it is all about the drama of the sky, the cycle of the seasons, the history and mythology of thousands of years of humans watching the stars. But this element of the hobby takes time to learn and appreciate.

The other thing about cost is interesting: although I don't think anyone could call astronomy a cheap hobby, relative to the technology that the £ purchases I think it is a bargain. Scopes and mounts are so sophisticated now that to be able to pack all that technology into a relatively inexpensive package is amazing. OK, most of it is made in China to keep the cost down, but it is a remarkable feat.

When I think about the fact that the pioneers of telescopic astronomical observation were working with scopes with tiny apertures and wobbly mounts, it is incredible what is available to the backyard amateur now. What would Kepler etc thought about a typical backyard astronomy session! He and his colleagues would have been absolutely amazed by a typical set up - heavyduty/motorised/go-to mount, 6 inch precision OTA or bigger, a huge selection of eyepieces, may be laptop control, cameras etc etc!

The imaging work that is being done every clear night in the UK backyards by people on this forum is absolutely astonishing. I am sure we could only have dreamt about achieving such standards so reliably even just a few years ago. In some ways we I think we live in a golden age for backyard astronomy - the gear and information required to maintain the hobby has probably never been more accessible.

Best wishes.

Ed

[Neon]

One of my mates is a teacher and we were talking about what we wanted to be when we were the age of his students (8 to 12). Back in the day I wanted to be (in no particular order) an SAS soldier, RAF Tornado Pilot, Stunt Man, News Reporter, Astronaut and (to [removed word] off my teacher at the time) a BladeRunner ('cos when I was older it'd be the future). Appart from wanting to be a sci fi character, my mate's list was pretty much the same.

However, these days boys in his class want to mostly be either premiership footballers, pop stars, movie stars or male models! :shock: And rather sadly, half the girls in his classes wanted to be footballers wives!

I'm not saying that in my day we were right, but it seems like a big shift in what's important to society these days. Everything seems to be about the big 'me' and being adored. So unless what you know has any material worth, people aren't interested. I'm guessing most kids these days couldn't care less about nebulas or galaxies, unless Simon Cowell is slagging them off "M31. As far as I can see, you're nothing new. As galaxies go you're a dissappointment".

Can you imagine what the world would be like if kids would rather grow up and be scientists, engineers and explorers? I'm sure it'd be fairly dull, but at least the trains would run on time and 'Tomorrows World' would be back on telly.

[Cloudwatcher]

Can you imagine what the world would be like if kids would rather grow up and be scientists, engineers and explorers? I'm sure it'd be fairly dull, but at least the trains would run on time and 'Tomorrows World' would be back on telly.

Utopia! 8)