Who knew astronomy could be so risky?

[Paz]

If I am observing on my back lawn I have to carry my gear up 8 steep-ish steps to get there. One night I had just taken some heavy bit of kit up and was walking back down for the next thing with my lights out to get my eyes adapted. The steps are stone and were damp and had some moss in places and I slipped with my feet scooting out forwards and me rotating backwards as I fell. I expected to hit the edge of the steps spine-first but by luck my hands landed just before my back hit and what could have been life changing turned into nothing. But I remember this every time I go out and now I place my feet very carefully and deliberately when I move around in the dark.

[Alan White]

Twice with the same counterweight bar, Astronomy got interesting.

Stood up from swapping eyepieces in box under tripod, bald patch straight up into counterweight arm and weight,
I saw stars and cut my head.

But didn't learn....

Setting up scope on Giro Ercole, swung the scope, but nelt down, counterweight arm swung round and smacked me in the side of my head,
right next to my eye. Bumped head, broken readers and very upset with myself for being so stupid.

So yes Magnus, it is dangerous.

 

[Peter Drew]

On my own at the observatory when I was lifting a heavy 20" primary mirror out of a truss tube Dobsonian.  The sudden loss of lower weight tipped the tube forward trapping my arms so that I could neither get out of the truss or put the increasingly heavy mirror back down.  Fortunately I had recently fitted wheels to the groundboard so I was able to crawl the whole scope across the floor and pass the mirror on to a convenient chair.    🙂

[Rusted]

I make a habit of rising from the last step, up into my dome, only to crack my head on my telescopes or the counterweights.
Don't ever have a trapdoor into an observatory! Not with 7' long refractors weighing 40lbs hanging over your head!

Then there was the time I absent mindedly removed the 7" refractor from its rings before securing the counterweights.
Boy can can 25kg of weights move quickly when given their freedom! The huge saddle whizzed around my side just as quickly.
"Pit and the pendulum" style. I thought I'd be batted out of the observation slit with the 7" still cradled in my arms! It was that close!
 

[kev]

This thread is really a) worrying but b) hilarious!  

[Stu]

48 minutes ago, kev said:

This thread is really a) worrying but b) hilarious!  

Indeed! Worrying because I have yet to injure myself during astronomical activities, but it seems only a matter of time!! 😱😱🤣🤣

Have done plenty of other foolish Astro related things though...

[chiltonstar]

I once made the mistake of not adding the retaining screw to the counterweight bar, and in due course the weight slid off and landed on my foot (anglo-saxonisms^10) and to add insult to injury, the frac swung round on the mount and hit me somewhere very delicate!

Chris

Edited June 7, 2020 by chiltonstar

[Stu]

3 minutes ago, chiltonstar said:

I once made the mistake of not adding the retaining screw to the counterweight bar, and in due course the weight slid off and landed on my foot (anglo-saxonisms^10) and to add insult to injury, the frac swung round on the mount and hit me somewhere very delicate!

Chris

Not sure whether to laugh or cry at that one Chris! Ouch!

[ApophisAstros]

On 03/06/2020 at 21:04, Dantooine said:

I can't believe he's not wearing any shoes 👟👟

Glasses might have helped as well,

Roger

[Star101]

I've had my ror shed about two years now and in the beginning I banged my head several times moving around and under the counter weights. Funny thing is, at the moment there is nothing on the pier, as its been stripped for painting, yet I still find myself ducking and swerving to avoid where the weights were! 🤪

 

None astro related...I remembered one late night, about three years ago, that the bin needed to be taken out for collection in the morning. Being used to walking bare footed, I thought, its only a minute to wheel it to the front of the house, don't bother with shoes. Started to drag the wheely bin to the front of the house when, OUCH, I stubbed my heel on a Hedgehog 😮  Quite painful, believe me. lol. The Hedgehog was ok...and I gave it some meal worm as compensation. Fortunately no skin broken  

[Alan White]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

Indeed! Worrying because I have yet to injure myself during astronomical activities, but it seems only a matter of time!! 😱😱🤣🤣

I would worry too......the sands of time are running, how many grains are left? 😉

In all seriousness Stu, take care fella.

[Swoop1]

I once trapped my thumb between the mount body and tripod top as I released one of the clutch mechanisms when the mount had no scope but all the counterweights. You know that sick in the mouth taste you get when you kill a thumb nail?

[Gina]

Ouch!!!