Is purely observing a minority pastime now ?

[John]

This is not in anyway intended to be a controversial topic I hasten to add - I'm full of admiration for those who try and capture images of the heavens and often the results are really worthwhile

I've just noticed over the past, say, 18 months how many folks are seeking to acquire images now in one way or another, through dedicated astro cameras, mobile phones DSLR's etc.

The urge to capture seems to be stronger than ever.

I've dabbled when the comet was around last year and with the occasional crude "mobile to eyepiece" snapshots of the moon, sun etc but I'm not yet tempted to get any deeper into imaging despite rather a long time "at the eyepiece" as an observer

Is the trend towards imaging growing or am I imagining it ?

 

[johninderby]

I have noticed that there seems to be a growing interest in imaging, particularly with beginners. How many posts by beginners looking to get into astronomy mention “I want to take photos”? 

Or perhaps do imagers just simply post more than observers which gives a skewed impression?

I simply prefer visual and will probably never do any more than dabble in Lunar AP. 

[Shimrod]

I suspect relatively new and affordable mounts like the star adventurer make it easier to get into imaging, and it has been covered a couple of times on the news as a lockdown activity. For experience visual astronomers, lockdown may have given more time to experiment with imaging than was otherwise avaialable.

In my case I am just starting the imaging journey, and that is primarily because I am steadily losing the nightsky from the garden. I have neighbours who like to leave lights on in bedrooms with curtains open all evening, and the latest is a string of bare bulb lights that practically run down the garden fence between us. If I did not try imaging, my astro activities would be limited to travels to darker sky locations.

[Kon]

I love my visual observations and I think it shows in the reports I post in the relevant section in SGL. I occasionally take photos on my Dob which I do post and I do not plan to invest more money from what I already have in place; they usually take place at the end of a session. I still prefer what I see with my eyes at the EP and describe them in the report. I tend to take a few shots once in a blue moon (maybe more often these days with Saturn/Jupiter out) for memory and share with family.

Others might prefer to have the bright colours/more defined details in AP than they grey smudges we see. In addition, today's culture is being digital and share them is social media etc.

[JeremyS]

I do both:  visual and electronic imaging. Probably more imaging (last 3 nights it’s been purely imaging, for example). But tbh I get most observing pleasure from visual observing.

It might be that there are more images posted because it’s relatively easy to post a nice electronic pic, rather than write a description of a visual session (let alone a sketch). So the numbers might be a bit skewed towards imagers as John Handleby suggests. But I suspect it’s also true that there are more imagers in absolute terms.

Ive noticed that many new to the hobby are attracted by imaging. Nothing wrong with that. But I do get a bit tired of seeing yet another image of M13 😊

Edited July 20, 2021 by JeremyS

[banjaxed]

I am in the minority 🙁

[markse68]

My plan is to image things i can’t see (well) while observing things I can see well- the process of capturing images is a bit boring!

edit: just the other night got first capture of M13 😂 looking forward to processing it and seeing all those blue stragglers and the wealth of colour

Mark

Edited July 20, 2021 by markse68

[johninderby]

I wonder what will happen in a few years when imaging gear that requires no technical knowledge or experience to use becomes common place. Will the lack of any challenge put some off or just encourage more imagers? 🤔

[scotty38]

16 minutes ago, johninderby said:

I wonder what will happen in a few years when imaging gear that requires no technical knowledge or experience to use becomes common place. Will the lack of any challenge put some off or just encourage more imagers? 🤔

I am assuming the challenge is part of it though. There was a thread on here recently around what is the point but I guess if taking images becomes as simple as clicking a button and saying "Get me a picture of M13" then we may as well pack in and just use Google....

[Andy R]

I started this hobby as a visual astronomer but migrated over to the ‘other side’ as it looked like a technical challenge with computers, wires and fancy acronyms and fantastic images. At the time I thought it would near on impossible to get these from your back garden.  
 

I still however, enjoy nothing more than laying on the bed chair with a pair of bins having a mooch around the Milky Way etc.  It beats obsessively staring at guide graph all night, that’s for sure. 
 

one thing I have noticed this year is the amount of satellites I’m seeing, 3 or 4 at a time crisscrossing each other’s orbits. But I guess that’s for another thread. 

Edited July 20, 2021 by Andy R

[John]

7 minutes ago, Andy R said:

.... a technical challenge with computers, wires and fancy acronyms...

 

I think that is what has always put me off imaging to be honest.

When I was working I spent all day working with computers so for my hobby I wanted something with as little tech as possible. Probably also why I use manual alt-az mounts as well. I like to keep it as simple as it can possibly be.

Good to hear what motivates others though - all are welcome in the Stargazers Lounge

Edited July 20, 2021 by John

[Paul M]

It's now nearly 18 months since I looked through an eyepiece, other than that of my polar scope.

I never intended taking up imaging but a combination of things took me down the path. Not least of which was owning a huge Newtonian atop of a EQ mount. The eyepiece being rarely in a reachable or comfortable position. So I dabbled and got bitten

It becomes all absorbing and fiddling with equipment can help fill those cloudy nights as can processing images, which in my view is a standalone subject.

It is interesting that an increasing number of imagers don't seem to have much interest in astronomy as a subject. I still have a keen interest and particularly like capturing  events such as asteroid movements, comet apparitions or novae. Pixel peeping isn't for me, it's still all about the subject of the image. 

[Stu]

It’s hard to tell @John, although I guess the retailers could make a rough estimate based on sales of different scope types. I think sharing is much easier if you have images to post up. Not everyone can be bothered to write up (or read!) long observing reports although I do enjoy reading of others’ experiences.

Like you, I’m a visual observer for the most part, enjoying getting away from too much technology. I dabble with smartphone imaging, largely just single shots with any processing done on my iPhone. I spend enough time on a laptop with work!

I’m due to move somewhere significantly darker quite soon, so hopefully my deep sky observing will get much better!

[westmarch]

I am purely visual, I love the experience of being alone at a dark site with the universe spread out above me.

As hobbies go, photography has always been one of the most popular ones - explaining why everyone has a high tech camera in their pocket.  Photographers are seeking new and more complex challenges like AP.  I suspect that as tech simplifies the AP process, something else will turn up - 3D photography perhaps? 

John

[JeremyS]

As a participant in both aspects of the hobby, I have been known to drool over eyepiece collections, but imaging cameras don’t have the same romance 🤣

[Stardaze]

1 hour ago, JeremyS said:

I do both:  visual and electronic imaging. Probably more imaging (last 3 nights it’s been purely imaging, for example). But tbh I get most observing pleasure from visual observing.

It might be that there are more images posted because it’s relatively easy to post a nice electronic pic, rather than write a description of a visual session (let alone a sketch). So the numbers might be a bit skewed towards imagers as John Handleby suggests. But I suspect it’s also true that there are more imagers in absolute terms.

Ive noticed that many new to the hobby are attracted by imaging. Nothing wrong with that. But I do get a bit tired of seeing yet another image of M13 😊

I do wonder whether the tech that goes with imaging is as much of a draw to it from a younger generation, than the actual pursuit itself. That may well be controversial, but I’ve started as an observer myself, yet I do love tech and the irony is that I have a background and very keen interest in photography. Will I ever end up imaging? Well, it’s not on the horizon yet. I have been thoroughly enjoying getting to know and somewhat understand the basics. I can’t see it for some time but the cost of some of the new kit on the market will open it up to the majority. 

[johninderby]

19 minutes ago, John said:

I think that is what has always put me off imaging to be honest.

When I was working I spent all day working with computers so for my hobby I wanted something with as little tech as possible. Probably also why I use manual alt-az mounts as well. I like to keep it as simple as it can possibly be.

Good to hear what motivates others though - all are welcome in the Stargazers Lounge

Hmmmm. Probably explains my preference for visual and alt-az mounts as well. Many years spent doing computer tech support then running a few internet business and designing and maintaing the websites. The simple life has its appeal. 😁😁😁

Edited July 20, 2021 by johninderby

[Jiggy 67]

I just enjoy visual, there’s nothing better than standing in the quiet peaceful dark with your eye glued to the eyepiece. I have thought about AP in the past but can’t bring myself to do it, I think I would lose what I just mentioned as I faffed about with all the gadgetry. 
I do think observers are quieter on the forum but maybe they just haven’t got as many questions to ask, I imagine if I did get into AP my post count would be through the roof!! But I don’t think observing is becoming less popular, it’s just the more sedate side of the hobby 😀

I actually think I would enjoy sketching more than AP ….if I didn’t draw like a one year old!

Edited July 20, 2021 by Jiggy 67

[fwm891]

I'm primarily an imager but once everything is running I like to sit back with a pair of bins and just look up...

Making myself a dob at the moment to get more detail from areas found in the bins.

[globular]

I’m another visual only. And fairly new too. 
SGL posting is not an accurate way to gauge the answer - nor is Stu’s idea of asking retailers - but both of these methods will likely point to the majority of new to the hobby users being imagers. I personally (and without any evidence) suspect visual only will still be in the majority over all protagonists. 

You, John, have been a long term visual poster (and long may it continue) sparking interest and enjoyment in parts of the sky the rest of us have forgotten or overlooked. And there are many others here too of course. But it’s not as easy as it looks to write interesting and engaging visual observation reports. So the numbers engaging in it are, sadly, low.  

p.s. like Jiggy67 I draw like a one year old too but I’m sticking with sketching and very much enjoy the process - I feel it improves my observations. I just don’t share them as often as perhaps I should. 

[wulfrun]

For me, I like the simplicity and lack of tech of visual observing. I'm still very much a novice so there's still time to be tempted to the other side but I don't foresee it. My challenge is that I need to determine where something is, aim the scope correctly, choose a suitable eyepiece and keep the object in view. The reward is seeing something "live", with just my brain for processing power and nothing but some bits of glassware involved.

Saying that, in no way do I detract from the imagers, each to their own etc. I'm in awe of their patience and skills! I've looked at some of the images folk have posted and, apart from the "what went wrong here?" type of threads, I've yet to see something I wouldn't be proud to post if it were my work.

[Pixies]

Being relatively new to this, I guess I joined at a time when AP was taking off. However, it's not really what interests me. It was was the fact that that tiny little smudge was a distant galaxy that fascinated and enthralled me. That and enjoying the meditative peace of the process.

I'm not a luddite, and actually have an MSc in computer graphics, but as others have said, spending all day on a computer really puts me off fiddling around with AP gizmos. Last year I tried to get some images of Mars using a phone mount and video processing, and spent hour after frustrating hour trying to get a smudgy image. However, I see how one could get bitten with the bug. I've recently started renovating an old Vixen SP and that includes starting to repair some old motor drives and possibly build something.

I wonder if in a few years' time, the scopes and mounts take the complexity and difficulaty out of it, what would happen? Say you could put it out in your garden, switch it on and pick a target - let it self-align and get on with the process. I know there are EEVA-type mounts for brighter objects that do this, but it's only a matter of time before they can do multi-band images of faint nebulae. Would that lose a lot of current AP practitioners and gain a new market of those just wanting their 'own' pics?

 

[almcl]

I wonder if the increasing levels of light pollution in towns and suburbs has an effect on this?

I started imaging because all but the brightest DSOs are invisible from my back garden.  Even mighty Andromeda is just a small, faint grey blob.   With an image I can now see galaxies (my maIn interest) that are completely invisible, even if I pack all the gear into the car and drive the 40 minutes to a dark sky site.  

For those who live away from LED street lights, neighbour's insecurity lights and white painted houses reflecting large amounts of the same, visual must be very satisfying but in my hideously light polluted town, it's more than frustrating.

[Jiggy 67]

19 minutes ago, globular said:

p.s. like Jiggy67 I draw like a one year old too but I’m sticking with sketching and very much enjoy the process - I feel it improves my observations.

I’m just gonna have to give it a go, been considering it for ages

[scarp15]

Like others on here, I like to take pictures of my set up within places it gets used and share them on the forum. I like to look at members contributions on wide field and deep sky, lunar, planetary images and I like to look at sketches, requiring no need or desire to pursue imaging. I retain an interest upon reading others written reports, which can often conjure up an impression within your minds eye, just like reading a good book can. As others have commented, with the exception of occasional lunar, I haven't participated much in visual astronomy for quite some time, expect the vibe will come back in good time.