Astronomy, the loneliest hobby....

[paulastro]

There's always a choice with any interest or hobby as to if you share it with other  people or not.  

Just about any interest will have societies, chat rooms, exhibitions, facebook groups etc etc. If not, you can start your own.   It's entirely the individuals decission if they want to follow any of these up. If there are any 'lonely' astronomers out there, it's probably because they choose to be.

I have several friends who are long standing astronomers of at least 20 years who don't belong to any astro group of any kind - not even SGL !!!  In fact, I'm not a social media enthusiast myself,  and managed to ignore SGL for ages  before I  (against my better judgement)  joined.   I have to say though, I'm glad I did 😊.

 

[JeremyS]

On 08/03/2022 at 16:53, mikeDnight said:

 Although I had a humble 60mm refractor, I really cut my sky teeth using a pair of 60mm binoculars back in 1980 

  

 

1980? So when did colour photography finally reach East Lancs, Mike?

And that colour TV idea will never catch on

🤣

[paulastro]

On 08/03/2022 at 16:53, mikeDnight said:

 Although I had a humble 60mm refractor, I really cut my sky teeth using a pair of 60mm binoculars back in 1980 and for a few years afterwards. Those binoculars taught me my way around the constellations and gave me my first views of countless deep sky objects.  I think that back then, telescopes were not quite as easily available as they are today, and were relatively expensive. Even a pair of Swift 80mm binoculars cost in excess of £300 in 1983. How things have changed!  My skies were more transparent back then though, and what I could easily find in my binoculars back then, requires a significant aperture today. 

This is the only pic I have of my 60mm binoculars on my home made binocular fork mount and tripod. The fork was designed so that the altitude pivot was in line with my temple. That meant that the eyepieces remained at the same distance from my eyes as I altered the angle. Genius!! 

  I'm not sure I've ever felt lonely, as I've always had a small number of local observers to help keep me enthused, but mostly I do tend to observe alone. I am aware of several other astronomers in my locality who I've never observed with, but perhaps they like to be alone? I know how distracting it can be when several observers get together. Although it can be a nice social event, it can also be a pain when someone is hogging your eyepiece during a rare moment of exceptional seeing. 🥊 

 

 

Moi, I've never hogged an eyepiece in my life!  😅

[Sunshine]

Maybe it is more common than we think, we are used to being "alone"  in our back yards so naturally we assume we are an island unto ourselves. 

Is this true? I once thought I was literally one of a handful in this hobby but in the last few years I've come to realize there are many others, more than 

I thought. What changed my view was the classified ads, over the years I have met up with and made friends with many others while making

exchanges, many to my surprise were within a few Km's from me and the steady list of sellers/buyers in my region alone is surprising. When once 

I thought I would never run into a fellow amateur within the borders of my small town, now I have found several by way of classifieds. Yes I may 

be alone in my back yard but I am definitely not the only lonely one, if I could see from the stars down I'm sure I would spot many other telescopes

looking up at me.

Edited March 10, 2022 by Sunshine

[Ouroboros]

@Sunshine That sounds reason to start a local Astro society.  

[Stu1smartcookie]

I have met a few people that i certainly would not have met if we didnt share the same interest . Most i've met when i have bought or sold astro equipment, which has tended to be quite often up to now , mmuch to the dismay of my ever so patient wife . Also i have been honoured to meet people who i now call "my friends " . this hobby is indeed a singular one but there are thousands of like minded people out there , just like stars in the sky . Sites like these prove invaluable and like @Franklin says we think we know each other without even meeting . 

Also , don't you think its such a civilised hobby ? ... Niche ?... maybe , and its a bit annoying when the  media get  a sniff at an astronomical event and hype it to the extreme , but , we will take that , cos we all know , there is nothing better than quietly looking up .

[mikeDnight]

2 hours ago, paulastro said:

Moi, I've never hogged an eyepiece in my life!  😅

Oh Pinocchio, you big fibber!!! 

[mikeDnight]

3 hours ago, JeremyS said:

1980? So when did colour photography finally reach East Lancs, Mike?

And that colour TV idea will never catch on

🤣

Its grim up north. We've just moved to sepia. Remember those tri-coloured screens they sold in the 60's to place infront of your tv to add colour? I still use one. And my tv runs off towns gas! 

[paulastro]

2 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

Its grim up north. We've just moved to sepia. Remember those tri-coloured screens they sold in the 60's to place infront of your tv to add colour? I still use one. And my tv runs off towns gas! 

There you go again Mike, posting up a picture of yourself.  By the way, you forgot to mention your clogs, cloth cap and that smelly  ferret you used to keep in a cage in the back garden.  And you're one of the more 'normal' friends I have 😁.

 

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Astronomy is as social as you want it to be and you can also choose to engage with others at your own convenience, much like fishing.

Being alone with your kit during a clear night can be a tremendously relaxing and contemplative experience, however sharing one's time with the like-minded can be fun and rewarding.

 

As for shopping being a top hobby, that must surely be an invented statistic? 🙄

[jjohnson3803]

On 10/03/2022 at 13:48, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

As for shopping being a top hobby, that must surely be an invented statistic? 🙄

I can assure you that shopping is most definitely one of my wife's hobbies.

[JOC]

The most fun I've had with my telescope was when I got it out during a party and loads of guests decided that they wanted a peak of Saturn and Jupiter.  It was nice to be able to share what I could see and that made it well worth getting all the kit out.  Lugging all the kit outdoors to sit out in the cold, by myself has rapidly cooled my enthusiasm.   Yes, I'll do so if there is something out of ordinary to see though I must admit we comet-ed very successfully using binos in recent years as we needed to be beyond the garden.  I very much wanted to do the observing with someone else.  My son sprang to mind, I got the telescope for him when they couldn't get an astronomy club off the ground at school (a fact that never surprises me - there are very few months when it is suitably dark when kids are still at school to observe).  However, he had no enthusiasm for doing it at home - too boring/no company? I think.   I tried a club, but the club was more concerned with listening to talks, than it was actually setting up telescopes and looking at the night sky which is what I thought/hoped they would do.  So I sit here with kit that can be used, but it is rarely used.  Sometimes the family will come out and have a peek if we have a special event to see (I had a peak at some of the recent solar flares), but I just can't get into observing by myself esp. in the cold.  There seem far fewer opportunities for balmy warm evenings with good seeing when it might be OK to sit outside and have a look up for a while.   It would be so nice to have someone to do it with me.

[cajen2]

Odd. When I "get it out during a party", there's nothing like that enthusiasm.....🤣

[jjohnson3803]

Interestingly, as I was driving home after picking up some fast food a couple nights ago, I went past a guy with TWO tripods in his driveway who looked to be in the process of setting up.  So there appears to be another amateur astronomer less than half a kilometer away.  😁

 

[skyhog]

Some great replies, because I seem to have gone through life without bumping into anyone who shares my passion, I have always managed to be the guru in the many situations where astronomy has become the topic of conversation. I've lost count of the number of occasions where enquiring eyes look up and ask questions about what they are seeing. It always happens when someone is presented with a very dark sky and they normally live under heavy light pollution. Hopefully I've spurred a few folk into looking deeper into the hobby... 

Edited March 15, 2022 by skyhog

[cajen2]

I was out on the green a few yards from my house the other night, in the vain hope of finding a viewpoint that wasn't totally spoilt by streetlights. A youth in a hoodie came along on his bike, stopped and said, " Excuse me, what are you doing?"

"Uh-oh", I thought. "I'm looking at the stars. Up there's Orion," I said.

"That's so cool!" he answered. "Bye." And he rode off. There's hope for the younger generation for sure.

[SuburbanMak]

Getting back into this in 2020  in lockdown after a 30+ year hiatus I fully expected it to be a completely solitary hobby - SGL & the fellowship on here make it something much more. 

When I am out at my various spots alone at night I like the thought of there being all these other SGLers out there at the same time. I love reading everyone’s observations & experiences when I get in & it’s often really valuable for validating what I’ve seen. 

The “What did you see tonight?” thread whilst probably deterring a few longer observing reports from getting written is particularly good for this sense of community in real time. Already looking forward to this upcoming run of clear & increasingly dark nights & reading what others have found up there!  

 

Edited March 22, 2022 by SuburbanMak

[powerlord]

Just had plumbers in for new boiler. First thing they asked was what the big black thing in the garden was (the obsy). questions started. when I showed them pics on my phone they couldn't believe i took em from the back garden. that's a typical reaction.

I've found most folk are interested enough to want to see my photos. But not interested enough to want to sit up at 2am watching me take them! 🙂

 

[James]

18 minutes ago, powerlord said:

I've found most folk are interested enough to want to see my photos. But not interested enough to want to sit up at 2am watching me take them! 🙂

 

I think there's something in that...  I'm a pretty solitary type so have no problem sitting out all night at a local campsite doing my stuff... but the first time I went to a star party (Spring Kelling back in 2007 I think) I couldn't believe that there were hundreds of others into astro. Also in my local campsite I get a steady stream of interested folk wanting to know what I'm doing. They usually have some pretty good questions and if I've got a scope set up visually they'll always want a look, and their kids too. Folks' enthusiasm does wane after bed time... except the kids who want to use my scope as an excuse for staying up late...  to my immense pleasure many of the kids who first looked through my scope about 5-6 years ago, still come up for a look now, having done so every summer, as do their parents...

I like taking my DSLR out with me to various other places, usually the nearest beaches down here in East Devon for some Milky Way shots and I've met loads of people whilst timelapsing on a beach at say 4am. Many of them are locals out walking their dogs (insomnia is a very widespread problem it seems) , or as is often the case are folk trying a few pictures for themselves. It's alway the ladies who are interested at the campsite I use but elsewhere is always men. There are no doubt safety concerns involved but it is a shame..

So, anyway, I guess that ramble is just me saying that I've found Astronomy to be anything but lonely! 

James