To sell or not to sell...

[Spoon]

Stuck with a decision, got an NEQ6 and 250PDS sat in the obsy. Due to rubbish weather I don't think I've been out in about 2 months so I'm not sure whether to sell all my kit. I'm really wanting to get back into imaging after a year or so break but I can't justify it!

[matt-c]

Only 2 months 

October was my last cloud free/work free session.

I say keep add a DSLR and that's a decent imaging rig.

[xtreemchaos]

hang in there mate, its not going to be cloudy forever and the days are getting shorter, the odds will be on our side soon. charl.

[Physopto]

30 minutes ago, Spoon said:

Stuck with a decision, got an NEQ6 and 250PDS sat in the obsy. Due to rubbish weather I don't think I've been out in about 2 months so I'm not sure whether to sell all my kit. I'm really wanting to get back into imaging after a year or so break but I can't justify it!

Why do you feel like that?

I don't want to be rude in any way but life is like that. I love imaging, but only get around 4 chances a year. At Kielder and Galloway, twice with luck at each. I don't feel that I have to give up. I am frustrated and just live with it. At the star camps I get the chance, when the weather gods allow, but also meet friends and have a right good natter. Being an astronomer is not always about how much; but about the quality of the time spent doing what you like. Be honest most of us have holiday clothes and gear for the summer holiday abroad, or at some favourite place in Britain. But we don't think, maybe I should give up going away just because we do not have the time off work every week.

Astronomy can be about quality time with the scope!

Stick in there and give it a go.

Derek

 

[mikeDnight]

I think you should keep it! We all hit peaks and troughs from time to time, be it due to weather or our own waxing and waning enthusiasm. I've seen it so many times where someone has sold up only to buy everything again when the bug re awakens, which it will! Once bitten your infected for life! If possible, mothball your set-up  until the darker nights arrive. Or, possibly consider changing your large scope for a smaller, high quality set-up, that could be used more easily at a moment's notice, allowing you to take advantage of brief clear spells.

Mike

[brantuk]

Yup - two months is a bit early in a hobby where you can regularly expect clouds to keep you away for up to 6mths at a time. If you still feel the same in a year, or if you need the cash suddenly - then maybe that's the time to think about selling up.

[nightfisher]

2 months is no time at all, i have a 150 pro mak that i bought a year ago and have only used about 3 times but i wont be getting rid of it, as said the nights are going to get longer/darker, the autumn and winter are the friend of the astronomer

[Dazzyt66]

The weather in the uk is what it is. It can be frustrating, where you spend most days hoping for a clear night only to find when it is clear you are either:

1. Working early the next day

2. Not at home/doing something else (life probably ?)

But when that clear night comes and you see something for the first time, or something better than you have ever seen before and/or get that just so image and you smile or laugh out loud because of the joy of it, it's worth it.

Hang on to those great moments and they get you through the low spells - I for one can't wait until those freezing cold, crystal clear nights at 3am! Yeah, it's a hobby but it's also a borderline obsession sometimes!!

 

[Roy Challen]

Like matt-c, my last decent observing session in the UK was last October. I got myself a less weather dependent hobby to occupy the time until a good astro opportunity arises. Still waiting, but at least I have something else fun to do while I wait. 

It's either that or go abroad more often!:-D

[Uplooker]

2 months is no time at all! Stick at it and hold onto that kit, darker nights are a coming?

Every year I have similar thought about my motorbike but I know if I got rid of it, it would be very difficult to get another and I would really miss it. I have made a big commitment to get over 2K miles on it this year.

I love Aug & Sept, out observing to all hours in a t-shirt and shorts ?

[ChrisLX200]

The skies would probably be clear for a solid week the day after you sold it...  UK weather is really perverse. We have suffered over the past year and half due to the global climate effects of El Nino (I think) and I sincerely hope this Winter will be better now that has gone away.

ChrisH

[iPeace]

If you love it more than whatever you would otherwise do, then you know the answer. If you love it, but love something else that you would be doing even more, then you know the answer.

Stuff you love is not about justification through results. If you love doing something, you cannot fail.

[ChrisLX200]

10 minutes ago, iPeace said:

If you love it more than whatever you would otherwise do, then you know the answer. If you love it, but love something else that you would be doing even more, then you know the answer.

Stuff you love is not about justification through results. If you love doing something, you cannot fail.

Um.. what if you love it but can't do it because of the *** weather?

ChrisH

[iPeace]

3 minutes ago, ChrisLX200 said:

Um.. what if you love it but can't do it because of the *** weather?

ChrisH

Well that's the point, actually.

If you love it, you may feel frustration when you can't do it. If you love it enough to want to be able to do it when you can, then you know what you have to do. You can scale down, of course, if you feel the limited opportunities you have mean it's better for you to "make do" with less when those opportunities arise.

If you love it enough to want to be ready for when you can, then do so. If not being able to makes you wonder how much, or even whether you love it, then perhaps... Well.

Mind you, this is not the same as asking "are you tough enough" for your hobby, or any such nonsense. It is just a decision to make. And I think those who ask the question already know the answer.

[Spoon]

Hey guys, I can see where you're all coming from and I probably won't sell. I think since selling my imaging kit (first CCD and GT81) I've been enjoying the hobby less and for that reason I think I prefer imaging to visual even with a f4.8 10" scope. With imaging I feel I can get more out of it for example using narrowband as I live about 3 miles from the city centre, and the LP is appalling. Where my better half lives (Hatton if any of you know it), the street lights go off at 12 and the skies are amazing, just like being back in the mountains in Sri Lanka in 2014, that was an awesome couple of nights! The only problem with imaging for me is the cost. I don't have the money to splash on a CCD, and I don't like using DSLR particularly. Oh well. Each to their own I guess 

 

cam

[iPeace]

Good luck and enjoy the journey!

[LukeSkywatcher]

Within the last 6 months i thought very seriously about selling up all my gear apart from a small 70mm scope which i use for solar observing, and my 20x90 bins. Thankfully i was talked out of it by the members here. What i did instead was revert back to an easier setup.......and most nights now i just use my 20x90 bins. I do solar observing during the day when its clear. I dont know the next time i'll drag my 8" SCT outside.

Its refreshing to get back to basics every now and then.

[spaceboy]

As far as we know our planet is the only one that can support life and given the diversity of life on the planet I would say mother nature does a pretty darn good job of it too. As astronomers we have to accept that weather is an essential part of this process and if it wasn't for weather in all its forms we probably wouldn't  be here to observe the night sky anyway.

The weather is what it is in the UK because we sit under 2 weather cells and as a result it is always going to be unsettled. As astronomers in the UK we have to accept that there is a very high probability that there are going to be far more cloudy nights than there is going to be clear. I accept it's the case and try to budget what kit I buy accordingly. I stick to mainly visual observing including solar so if the clouds break during the day I still get to see our closest star. I also have other hobbies to occupy my time when the weather is poor.

While it seems like I have spent an eternity getting my kit to where I want it, if for what ever reason I ever did decide to sell my astro gear I know I could always one day down the Rd buy most or all of it again so in answer to your question "sell or not to sell", if your truly unhappy I'd say sell.

[Moonshane]

I have not used my 16" dob for two years.  I am unlikely to sell as one day I hope to make a truss dob from it. Since taking up solar more seriously I get lots of opportunity to observe .

[neil phillips]

I live in the UK, and over the years have taken hundreds and hundreds of astronomy images. Not only do we have to worry about cloud, but also the seeing conditions themselves. You could be forgiven for thinking that its just a complete waste of time. But The images I have acquired over the years say otherwise. You need more patience than what others do in other country's. But its not a waste of time by a long shot, If that was so I wouldn't have got the images that I have, all from the UK

[uhb1966]

Good that you're not going to sell! I think, as long as you don't really need the money, there is nothing to really gain from selling...

[Charic]

Think I've had 5 nights since 1st January, and unlikely to use the Skyliner for any DSO's for a few Months yet,  whilst the scope is hibernating,  due to the lighter nights?

You`ll be sorry if you sell up,  and  possibly at a loss too?

[Physopto]

1 hour ago, uhb1966 said:

Good that you're not going to sell! I think, as long as you don't really need the money, there is nothing to really gain from selling...

I agree completely. All that happens is you lose the chance when a cracking clear dark night presents itself and you then kick yourself. I think I have had 4 nights in the last year! That was nearly a year ago.

Derek

[MattJenko]

It is time to try and be as honest with yourself as you can. What do you like about imaging? It is the data gathering with your own kit, or the processing and production of an image. If you were more about processing data and getting images of particular targets, you could budget and sign up for some of the remote internet observatories and this way you will get significantly more imaging time. If the challenge and enjoyment comes from the gathering of ones own data from your own kit, then things are more weather dependent unfortunately.

[Astroboy239]

2 months!!! I can't image for 7 months a year! You should definitely keep that setup. It's a great rig. And over here it is 12hrs of both day and night. In UK in December the nights are long. 

Varad