Astro Anxiety

[Vallantho]

Is it just me? Does anyone else find the whole process of getting setup for imaging rather anxiety inducing?

I think my perception of time is the problem. In my mind the time needed to complete a task is vastly disproportionate to the time actually required. I give myself half an hour to drag the telescope out and get everything plugged in.  It actually takes me about two minutes because the way I’ve set things up I only need to plug one cable in. 

Polar alignment is the worst part.  I can feel my heart racing, the adrenaline pumping. It’s a five minute job. It’s not difficult. But it feels like so many hours and so much wasted precious darkness. I’ve taken to leaving my setup outside covered over for long periods if the weather is fair and that helps a lot.

Then there’s other complications. There are a lot of responsibilities in my life.  So all the while I’m getting setup, polar aligning, getting on target, getting the guiding up and running and sorting my imaging session out there are other things that require my one hundred percent attention. Frankly more important things. You know, actual life.

Once the work is done and everything is running smoothly I can relax and enjoy things  And I do really enjoy it. But that whole process before, I don’t look forward to that.

Anyone else have similar experiences? Or some tips to make life a little easier?

[Elp]

I actually find it quite therapeutic, once you've done it a few times things just click together like Lego, together with being outside in the quiet it's quite relaxing. Don't like the cold though, if it's beyond freezing I tend to use a smaller setup which I can pre build indoors and carry out in one go, also bring back in easily. Having all kit fit within one bag helps massively as there's no to and froing or feeling you've forgotten something which usually happens a lot of you don't have everything together.

Setting up more than one setup however, that is quite anxiety inducing, probably because you know how long it will take to break down again and bring back in as well as spending time taking more calibration frames. But with bad weather constantly looming you need to find ways to acquire data faster if imaging.

[powerlord]

Yeh I used to get that all the time. Building the obsy got rid of it mostly, but if I have to swap otas or summit it's the same. Like tonight. Forecast is nice , and it would take less than 10 mins to swap kit on both mounts, power em on and come back into the warmth. But I find it sort of stressful. It's not laziness. I just don't like doing it. Especially in the dark. Stupid really as I know I'll regret it.

[Earl]

I can get stressy about anyhing, I have to slow down get into the process, pay attendtion to the details. (thats the therory)

[Mr Spock]

I think it would drive me round the bend. I'm not too patient setting up for visual!

[Earl]

As to a tip, make a workflow chat laminate it and tick the jobs off with a whiteboard marker as you do them, it helps you focus.

[WolfieGlos]

I only find it “stressful” (strong term IMO) because I’m trying to maximise my imaging time. If every night was clear, then this wouldn’t happen. But I wouldn’t call it stressful, it’s just a pressure we put on ourselves to get as much data as we can, to produce the best image that we can, with the (as of late) relatively few clear skies that we get. I’ve seen Orion more in the last 2 weeks than the last 3 months put together.

I’m quite fortunate at this time of year, getting home from work at 5:30 I’m straight out setting up the rig (from scratch, no observatory here). The wife doesn’t finish work until about that time and usually doesn’t get back until somewhere after 6, so I have a good half hour or so to set up - and I’m lucky that she’s very understanding with his hobby. Then we’ll make our evening meal. Even better in the later half of the week where I work at home, so I’m setting up in daylight rather than dusk like tonight and timing is just a bit better.

Like Elp, I just have a routine that I run through every time. Turn laptop on, carry out the mount and roughly point it at Polaris (so it’s in the polar scope). Then attach the scope, I have a clamp on the bottom of the dovetail so I can just slide it on and I know it’ll be in balance, take out 2x driboxes with all the power and usb hubs and cables all bound up, attach said cables, connect the active usb cable to the dribox connection and then I still manually polar align. Make sure all caps are off and all items turned on, and get inside in the warm, connect Stellarium and NiNa and off I go. Usually all carried out and setup in 10 minutes, then another 10 to set up the session, sometimes a bit longer establishing focus with the EAF if it’s changed radically. 

[ollypenrice]

I cannot imagine imaging without a permanent observatory. Hats off to those who do - and I really mean that.

Olly

[Vallantho]

I don’t own my property at the moment so building anything is not an option.  But I am looking to buy in the not too distant future. Then I’ll be able to make a more permanent arrangement either an obsy or at the very least a permanent pier.  That would definitely take the edge off. Although maybe I’d worry about how long\ it takes to roll the roof off?

[Vallantho]

30 minutes ago, powerlord said:

Yeh I used to get that all the time. Building the obsy got rid of it mostly, but if I have to swap otas or summit it's the same. Like tonight. Forecast is nice , and it would take less than 10 mins to swap kit on both mounts, power em on and come back into the warmth. But I find it sort of stressful. It's not laziness. I just don't like doing it. Especially in the dark. Stupid really as I know I'll regret it.

I feel that. 

[The Lazy Astronomer]

It's a pretty relaxed affair for me - I leave everything set up, so the whole kit gets moved in one go. Plug in data and power cables, quick power align in Sharpcap and away we go! Takes 10 or so mins start to finish (but I'll admit I don't look forward to the actual 'moving it' but, it's a bloomin' heavy lump!!)

[ONIKKINEN]

1 hour ago, Vallantho said:

Anyone else have similar experiences? Or some tips to make life a little easier?

I used to be quite stressed by the idea of going out to image, but repetition and more experience took that away. Also planning for every possible situation so that i dont have to do any headscratching on site. I have a primary target, a secondary target, a bad seeing/high wind target, a good seeing target, and many "reserve" targets that i have already created sequences of so there is pretty much no chance that i have to decide anything on the go.

Im pretty sure i have more than a hundred dark site trips by now, so there are hardly any new obstacles to cross, or at least no shocking surprises to ruin a night. Weather is the one thing i cant help and its just a fact that needs accepting that 10-20% of all trips are a waste of time.

So, planning and experience is what helped me with the anxiety.

[dobblob]

My anxiety is more like fatigue.

I live on the second floor and had to tote all my AP gear up and down 15 ft of stairs out onto my back parking area.

1st carry---a fold out table and a chair.

2nd carry----heavy tripod.

3rd carry----AVX mount in box.

4th carry----2X 12 lb counterweights.

5th carry-----30 lbs of battery box of 3 batteries ( 2x 12 v--mount and camera supply/heater, 1x 6V autoguider)

6th carry---- all in one bag, camera, mask, intervalometer, headlight, cables, atlas, binoculars etc.

7th carry-----Scope 80 ED. In box.

8th carry----EP box.

9th carry-----beverages, nibbles, blankets.

10th carry-----everything else I forgot.

So that's about 10X15 ft X2 = 300 ft.

And the reverse to pack it all away again. = 600 ft. That's quite a hill to climb. Who needs to go to a gym? It can be summer sweaty heat or winter bone chill freeze.

Spend about 1/2 hour cabling up, 1/4 hr polar align, and finally acquiring target. Aligning guide scope. May be 3/4 hr before imaging can commence.

Start the imaging run. At this point it may become evident that there is something I have messed up. Often not.

And before this just a glance around to see how the sky is doing under the growing light pollution. Then the cloud arrives.

Then the wait for the will it/won't it clear, while the beverages are consumed rendering the packing away a little muddled.

Sometimes I am tempted to just go to bed and leave it all outside for someone to steal and I will never see it all again.

After my 72 laps around the sun you may assume that I have had enough. Good fun while it lasted.

My last hurrah will be April 8th when the eclipse path runs right through my front yard. Expect a yard sale after that.....

 

 

[Adreneline]

12 minutes ago, dobblob said:

My last hurrah will be April 8th when the eclipse path runs right through my front yard.

Fingers crossed it is a perfectly clear day for you to enjoy the spectacle - well deserved I would say.

[Vallantho]

26 minutes ago, Adreneline said:

Fingers crossed it is a perfectly clear day for you to enjoy the spectacle - well deserved I would say.

Oh no, preparing for an eclipse would probably induce a heart attack with worry. I feel for the scientists of old who’d sail half way round the world on scurvy inducing voyages only to be met with clouds and dysentery. 

[Adreneline]

2 hours ago, Vallantho said:

Polar alignment is the worst part.

After six years of PA'ing I bought a pier and permanently installed my azeq6-pro along with mains and network connections (at the pier). Stress levels and work load drop immediately.

An observatory is not an option for me but my Telegizmo covered azeq6 has survived two winters with no ill-effects that I can see.

[JeremyS]

If it’s stressy it’s not worth doing in my book

 But I do know what you mean. I sometimes put myself under pressure before a session. In that case I have to have a strong word with myself.

Edited January 17 by JeremyS

[dobblob]

1 hour ago, JeremyS said:

If it’s stressy it’s not worth doing in my book

 But I do know what you mean. I sometimes put myself under pressure before a session. In that case I have to have a strong word with myself.

To be honest it's not stressy for me. It's more like futility. You know, like discussing with UFO believers or flat earthers.

Under incessant clouds and nothing you can say will make them go away.....

[powerlord]

I've been paramotoring and paragliding now for 18 years, and still every time I do it I get stressed. I have to plan it in advance - no 'oh the weather is nice I'll just go for a flight'. And even planned I start to get stressed driving to my take off field. By the time I'm there my body has kicked in its fight or flight response which means bowel evacuation time (luckily now I have the motorhome), followed by adrenaline filled rushed/stressed setup where I'm constantly trying NOT to hurry and follow my checklist, but at the same time can't stop hurrying because maybe the wind will change, etc, etc.

18 years. 100s of flights, but every one I know if I forget to clip something right or something unexpected happen it might be my last. I suppose it keeps me on my toes.

Funny enough, most folk think the sport ( and sky diving that I also used to do) are adrenaline rush activities - but at least for me, the adrenaline rush is in the stress and fight or flight of the setup (or for skydiving crammed into the back of a wee plane waiting to jump out). Once you are actually doing it - whether it's flying through the sky or falling through it, I find the whole thing incredibly peaceful and relaxing.

Not saying I get the same bowel evacuation setting up to obsy right enough 😁 But there still is that slight 'I need to do this quick before the weather changes' kinda thing. So I prefer to setup earlier in the day - hence the planning bit is covered. So I'll be out there at 3pm or so swapping stuff over for a night of imaging later!

[Fegato]

I'm fairly relaxed about it all now I must admit.  Some time back, I do remember heart being in mouth every time I got the rig out, but now I've got it so that I know what I'm doing and it mostly just seems to work (touch wood). I just roll it out a few yards plug in power and two ethernet cables, and then aim to polar align and calibrate the guider before astronomical darkness sets in, meaning I feel relaxed that no time is being lost. It's not quite like having an observatory, but as close as I can get (my wife is not keen on any more buildings, and anyway, I quite like having the rig stored indoors when not in use - it's so damp here).  

I think my main stress is sometimes overnight - I have everything automated, so if I risk leaving it going outside and I'm not 100% confident of the weather, I really don't sleep very well!

Overall, I suppose being retired helps (time-wise), although I'm guessing there will be some age limit on my ability to nurse a 100kg + rig down two disability ramps through the bi-fold doors onto the patio!

 

[Carbon Brush]

20 hours ago, Vallantho said:

Although maybe I’d worry about how long\ it takes to roll the roof off?

I fitted a motorised garage door opener having sustained a shoulder injury not long before obsy build.
Little realising how welcome it would be when I was cold and tired at the end of the session.

[tomato]

Being retired and having a permanent setup I should be relaxed and I usually am, but when something forces a change from my planned session, that’s when I get stressed. The other night I was planning to get some NB data on a galaxy, but I couldn’t find a guide star low down with the NB filter. So I decided to change the filter which on the current set up meant removing the camera. When attempting to plug the power back in I managed to short something out in the camera and fried the darn thing. Then I was stressed. Still managed to put another camera on and complete the session though.

[jjohnson3803]

Different people have different tolerances for stress and different stressors.  I greatly appreciate and admire the pix that people produce, but maybe you'd enjoy yourself more if you spent some time doing manual, visual astronomy - no power supplies, cables, alignment, etc.  Carry out manual alt-az mount with scope, carry out chair (if needed), plug in eyepiece and observe. 

I've seen more and more discussions lately started by people who want a break from the technology, either short-term or "forever".  But only you can decide that.

 

[Stuart1971]

On 17/01/2024 at 17:32, Vallantho said:

Is it just me? Does anyone else find the whole process of getting setup for imaging rather anxiety inducing?

I think my perception of time is the problem. In my mind the time needed to complete a task is vastly disproportionate to the time actually required. I give myself half an hour to drag the telescope out and get everything plugged in.  It actually takes me about two minutes because the way I’ve set things up I only need to plug one cable in. 

Polar alignment is the worst part.  I can feel my heart racing, the adrenaline pumping. It’s a five minute job. It’s not difficult. But it feels like so many hours and so much wasted precious darkness. I’ve taken to leaving my setup outside covered over for long periods if the weather is fair and that helps a lot.

Then there’s other complications. There are a lot of responsibilities in my life.  So all the while I’m getting setup, polar aligning, getting on target, getting the guiding up and running and sorting my imaging session out there are other things that require my one hundred percent attention. Frankly more important things. You know, actual life.

Once the work is done and everything is running smoothly I can relax and enjoy things  And I do really enjoy it. But that whole process before, I don’t look forward to that.

Anyone else have similar experiences? Or some tips to make life a little easier?

You are certainly not on your own here, i was exactly the same, to the point where I went year in and year out, for around 5 years, with about 4 sessions under my belt, BUT the turning point for me, as has been said already was building a permanent home for my rig, so I just have to nip out and open the roof, takes 45 seconds, and that it…

TBH without my little mini obsy, I would have given the hobby up.

Even now if I have to re do my PA or change something that can only be done at night outside in the cold, it take me a while to bother to do it, but ATM all is good and set up ready to go at a moments notice.

I have a second scope, an 8” SCT, and it sits in the garage store cupboard year after year, because the thought of swapping all my kit over and then re rigging all the neat wiring, just cause me so much anxiety, I don’t use it, even when galaxy season comes round, I carry on with my frac rig. It’s just easier….☹️

[Elp]

For some reason refractors for imaging are far less anxiety inducing I find. If you know what your backspacing distances are beforehand they're quick to setup, you could even pre build the image train and bring it out all in one. The one issue I now have with them though is the speed, tried the other day with my 102 imaging reduced at F5.6, after experiencing F2 imaging it's painfully slow which adds to the "anxiety" of knowing how many more sessions you'll need to gather the data, but this hobby isn't a sprint so the sooner you adjust your expectations the less stressful it becomes. Some of my projects I've now adjusted them to take a couple of years to get where I want with them, also due to running out of time every season due to lack of opportunities.

For visual, it's doesn't really matter on the setup, but I find the smaller ones are used more often.