Are we stargazers?

[Mr Spock]

Maybe we are just equipment sensualists who like to play with expensive things?

[Xsubmariner]

22 hours ago, Xilman said:

what will Betelgeuse look like in only 65 ky?

A pretty picture. 😢 I’ve just realised I am not a Star-Gazer, I’m a Star-Imager 😱

Edited February 11 by Xsubmariner

[Peter Drew]

During a TV interview I was asked what did I do in astronomy.  I replied that I made keys.  The keys that help unlock the secrets of the Universe.      🙂

[SCANS]

2 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

Question: can one 'gaze' into a telescope?

Olly

Ooo, now you're challenging my wee brain before my morning caffeine boost 😁 I suppose one might say, it depends on the eyepiece. Definitely not with the stock 10mm Plössl that came with my dob, but perhaps with a fancy Ethos or XWA? Alternatively, perhaps it isn't so much gazing INTO a scope as THROUGH one? But this is too much to for me to contemplate without a cup of tea . . . time to put the kettle on 😊

[R26 oldtimer]

Well, in science you need an assumption (theorem) and the actual verification (through multiple observation & experimentation). We observe and verify, so are actually doing science, especially in times where even our planet's shape is questioned.

[bingevader]

4 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

The activity of astronomy is a broad church so no single form of looking can embrace it all - which is good.

My point about the small PN at long focal length is simply that you won't find it by 'gazing,' you will find it only through some studious looking.

Olly

Yes, but once you've found it......!!! 

[saac]

3 hours ago, maw lod qan said:

Earlier I saw a member say he thinks the term astronomer seems to imply some sort of intellectual or scientific endeavor. 

When I "gaze" into the heavens thru my telescope I'm doing it to enjoy the beauty above me and to increase my knowledge of the infinite universe. 

I guess that falls into both groups, scientific and intellectual. 

But deep down inside I still know I'm an amateur amateur!

If through your observations, calculations and conclusions you can show that the universe is infinite then you will certainly be an Astronomer and perhaps even on your way to a Nobel Prize. Now that would be a niece day out  

Edited February 11 by saac

[Rusted]

You can easily tell that astronomy is a science: Unlike astrology. Which is a faith based religion. Every new probe or instrument reinvents our understanding. You could say that, if you live long enough, almost everything "up there" is further misunderstood. Teaching astronomy is best done virtually. By the time a book come out it is only of historical interest. It's lucky we no longer imprison the last generation for blasphemy when their theories prove inadequate. We were and always will be, working in the dark. 😉 Our constant progress is an insider joke within the broad subject matter. We should acknowledge this with a wry grin. Because every newly published paper ought to begin and end with a . That emoticon which best describes a visual astronomer whom is in on the joke. Whether they favour their right 😉 or their left eye. By next week the object of interest in our eyepiece, or camera, has already changed and has been changed by our constantly advancing wavefront of knowledge. 😉

[JeremyS]

Beneath the vast expanse of night,

Two souls in wonder take their flight.

One, a stargazer, dreams unfurled,

The other, an astronomer, maps the world.

 

The stargazer, with eyes aglow,

Lies upon the grass below.

In awe, they watch the heavens dance,

Each star a story, each constellation a chance.

 

Their heart is free, their spirit light,

Lost in the beauty of the night.

They dream of worlds beyond their sight,

And paint their dreams in starlight.

 

Yet the astronomer, with telescope in hand,

Seeks to understand the cosmic plan.

With charts and graphs, they chart the skies,

Mapping out the galaxies that mesmerize.

 

Their passion burns with scientific fire,

Their quest to unravel each celestial choir.

With precision and method, they explore,

The mysteries of the universe, they adore.

 

Both stargazer and astronomer,

Bound by a love that's no misnomer.

One gazes up with wonder bright,

The other delves deep into the night.

 

Though different paths they both pursue,

Their love for stars forever true.

For in the cosmos, they find their home,

As stargazers and astronomers roam.

[Guest]

I personally like stargazer, as it's pretty much what I do while the rig is shooting at the night sky.  Funny thing, a lot of folks I've met in my life call themselves stargazers simply because they like to go out at night and just look up at the night sky.  Some use binoculars.  Does that make them astronomers?  I've mentioned that to them and most disagreed.  They look at "proper" astronomy as someone with a telescope of some kind.  Fair enough I say.  Doesn't matter to me, it's still gazing at the stars, just with better optics than eyeballs lol.

The one distinction I do make though is astrophotographer.  That of course involves a camera.  Now, one might debate whether taking milky way shots at night on a simple tripod qualifies.  And I won't even get into the eaa debate. 😏. But that's for another different topic entirely.

[Xilman]

28 minutes ago, dciobota said:

The one distinction I do make though is astrophotographer.  That of course involves a camera.  Now, one might debate whether taking milky way shots at night on a simple tripod qualifies.

I regard "astrophotographer" as a subset of "imager". To me an astrophotgrapher is someone who takes images primarily for their aesthetic appeal. They are artists first and foremost, but could well be scientists at the same time.

For my part, I very rarely take pretty pictures but have a collection of well in excess of 30K images, the vast majority of which do not look at all pretty. They exist because they are measurable.

Whether a DSLR on a tripod is used or not is irrelevant. If it is taking images for aesthetic reasons it is being done by an astrophotographer.

 

[saac]

Are we at the stage in the discussion where we need to introduce pronouns for all our various categories and append them to our signatures 😁  Or perhaps we could have specialised emojis to identify the way we, err identify 👁️‍🗨️

Jim 

[JeremyS]

2 hours ago, JeremyS said:

Beneath the vast expanse of night,

Two souls in wonder take their flight.

One, a stargazer, dreams unfurled,

The other, an astronomer, maps the world.

 

The stargazer, with eyes aglow,

Lies upon the grass below.

In awe, they watch the heavens dance,

Each star a story, each constellation a chance.

 

Their heart is free, their spirit light,

Lost in the beauty of the night.

They dream of worlds beyond their sight,

And paint their dreams in starlight.

 

Yet the astronomer, with telescope in hand,

Seeks to understand the cosmic plan.

With charts and graphs, they chart the skies,

Mapping out the galaxies that mesmerize.

 

Their passion burns with scientific fire,

Their quest to unravel each celestial choir.

With precision and method, they explore,

The mysteries of the universe, they adore.

 

Both stargazer and astronomer,

Bound by a love that's no misnomer.

One gazes up with wonder bright,

The other delves deep into the night.

 

Though different paths they both pursue,

Their love for stars forever true.

For in the cosmos, they find their home,

As stargazers and astronomers roam.

In case anyone was wondering, and I’m sure @ollypenrice has rumbled me, this ditty was composed by ChatGPT. 

If only this had been around when I was doing O Level Eng Lit….
 

With ChatGPT and an in depth study of Brodie’s Notes I might have improved on my grade C.

And all I would have then needed was a way of getting out of PE lessons (In addition to my appendectomy which I milked for a whole term of Off Games notes)

Edited February 11 by JeremyS

[Xilman]

42 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

In case anyone was wondering, and I’m sure @ollypenrice has rumbled me, this ditty was composed by ChatGPT. 

If only this had been around when I was doing O Level Eng Lit….
 

With ChatGPT and an in depth study of Brodie’s Notes I might have improved on my grade C.

And all I would have then needed was a way of getting out of PE lessons (In addition to my appendectomy which I milked for a whole term of Off Games notes)

Well, it fooled me.

I thought you were angling for the post of SGL gonnagle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nac_Mac_Feegle#The_Clan_Gonnagle ) but, to be brutally honest, you failed miserably to make the grade. The lines were far too short, by and large, they almost scanned and had nowhere enough non sequiturs. Perhaps I should try to take on that role. Vid. sub.

A couple of weeks ago I had friends round to celebrate Scotland's greatest bard. I made cock-a-leekie soup, haggis, neeps and tatties and provided  far too much whisky.  (The special stuff is unobtainable in La Palma, as are neeps, so they had to be smuggled in.) Scottish pudding (tartan custard) was foregone because I'd made far too much of the first two courses.

The amateur watchers of the sky, they do tell me,
Look with awe on the silv'ry Andromeda Galaxy.

...

 

 

Edited February 11 by Xilman
Italicise the poetry

[Sunshine]

Amateur astronomer rings nice, though some have referred to me as an amateur astrologer which annoys me to no end. 😁

[andrew s]

This will probably never be settled but just to spice it up what should we call kit licking, tripod sniffing,  kit collecting, Takahashi obsessives like @JeremyS ?

Regards Andrew 

Edited February 11 by andrew s

[Moonlit Night]

I have to confess I don’t like the term. I always tell people I am amateur astronomer. I remember reading Patrick Moore hated the term. I was a small child at the time but quickly developed an aversion to the term ever since. 

Edited February 11 by Moonlit Night

[bingevader]

23 hours ago, Sunshine said:

Amateur astronomer rings nice, though some have referred to me as an amateur astrologer which annoys me to no end. 😁

When the children in school say, "But what's the difference?!"

I just say, "One is science, the other is made up."  

[Sunshine]

21 minutes ago, bingevader said:

When the children in school say, "But what's the difference?!"

I just say, "One is science, the other is made up."  

I like the word “balogne” lol

[StevieDvd]

15 hours ago, Sunshine said:

I like the word “balogne” lol

Do you mean baloney?

[Mr Spock]

Bologna - baloney is American 

I prefer polony myself 

[Naughty Neal]

In away we could be looked upon as stargazers and in my skies last night  the title would have lived up to it's name.

Any one  living in my neighbourhood looking up into the night sky would wonder what the fuss is about ?   One can see some fairly bright stars and make out others ,  the three main belt stars eta ori, epsilon ori & zeta ori in Orion.  Rigel , betelgeuse and salph etc all visible and with good sight one can just make out M42 is a faint blur. Those who had never looked through a good telescope with good/ great ep's wouldn't appreciate what the night sky has to offer, but look through a good telescope with an equally good ep and they would    have simply been blown away and gone WOW !! 

Last night with  the clear skies in my Bortle 6/7 skies   placing the slow 80mm acro with 18mm UFF in the direction of Orion and KERPOW the viewing is instantly changed, a whole new vista of  vibrant stars is opened up before your eyes into a completly new world.     Instead of just seeing a few brighthish /faint stars the 18mm uff exposes a whole magnitude of 100's of vibrant stars invisible to the eye, crisp clear pin point stars with little in the way diffraction and distinct out of focus perfect rings either side of perfect focus. Then there is the trapezium and the nebula that is drawn out even in a 80mm acro. Use the az/alt control knobs and one can pan side to side and up and down and the bright far stars keep appearing in their ten's& ten's in numbers.

So yes we can be labelled as stargazers at times and at times I'm quite happy to see the magnificent vista's to be seen through a lens without really having the need to search out any single body.

 

 

 

                                                                    

                                                                                         

                                           

 

 

   

Edited February 13 by Naughty Neal