Seems like loads of welcomes - Is this a time of year thing?

[swag72]

I joined this forum a long time before I actually began to spend much time here. I have noticed that there are loads of welcome threads and new members saying hello.

Is this a normal amount of welcomes or do you tend to have a lot of new members after the Christmas period who then drop away?

Just wondered, hope no one minds me asking.

[John]

I think it's probably to do with the Stargazing Live thing on the TV - it's capturing a lot of imaginations !.

[Astro_Baby]

Yup, seems to happen after christmas, it did last year anyway. The BBC stargazing thing is probably doing its bit as well, as did 'wonders of the solar system' earlier this year.

Most never post again and I suspect the shiny scopes they buy in a fit of enthusiasm get relegated to the loft and thence to ebay.

It woud be interestng to know what breaks the beginners enthusiasm but I'd guess its unrealistic expectations of what can be seen, the uk weather and astro imaging. So many people arrive with a shiny new DSLR and then find out that the cameras is the cheapest bit and you cant just take happy snaps of things and that its expensive, difficult and time consuming.

I try and say hello to everyone who joins because people welcomed me here (some of whom have now moved on) and it gave me confidence to get stuck in as a hobby. I was a bit dubious about what sort of reception a beginner would get......astro is by and large kind to beginners.

It woukd be interesting to have hard data on why new people pack it up very quickly so often though.

[daz]

I'll go with Mel's suggestion that their expectations are not being met when they get the shiny new scope.

Things like the Stargazing help in one respect - but not in others. It helps to encourage people into the hobby, but when you get the experts showing unrealistic expectations in imaging, then that doesn't help.

The overwhelming feeling they give is that you can buy a webcam, stick it in the scope and come up with eye-popping images of Jupiter or M42 very easily - when of course, every imager knows the pain of progress to get those images....

It would be very interesting to see that "I'm leaving because ..... " data

[dnel]

It woukd be interesting to have hard data on why new people pack it up very quickly so often though.

I would guess it's a hobby that takes time to get up to speed with, especially with there being only a limited period of time people have available to dedicate to it (i.e. night time and before bed). If you can't get yourself immersed in it quickly then other things will come along.

Still, it's good to give more people the initial exposure, even if this isn't the right time to get started maybe they will remember again in the future when they have time.

[swag72]

I moved out to Spain last year from the UK. I got a scope purely because I knew that I'd be able to see stuff out here with clearer skies. If I had stayed in UK, I wouldn't even have bothered trying with a scope due to the weather and that I am rather impatient. A few days with cloud and I would have been ready to pack it all in.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Astronomy is for life...not just for Christmas.

[Dangerous-Dave]

I think it's probably to do with the Stargazing Live thing on the TV - it's capturing a lot of imaginations !.

^^This!

Stargazing Live has been worth a million outreach events. I can't believe all the people complaining about the programme!

[Questions]

Astronomy is for life...not just for Christmas.

I agree, the weather here for the last few months has been awful but it doesnt dampen my spirit so hard, I know my scope will be with me for many years to come, so i try to see it as a long term part time hobby rather than getting evry star, meteor, eclipse ticked off the list now.

[moocher]

Brian Cox is a great bloke imho. My missus commented last night about how he explains things so even the stupidest people will understand what hes talking about. Dara`s surprised me... !!! Lets be honest anything that gets people into the hobby has to be a good thing...

Alan:D

[RikM]

I agree with A-B and daz. There are so many wonderful images floating about and starter scopes are so attractively priced but it turns out that what you see at the eyepiece is far far away from what many newcomers are expecting.

Rik

[Astro_Baby]

I suspect as well that a portion of people leaving comes from the fact you have to work at this hobby. You have to be prepared to learn stuff and have patience.

Lots of people are so used to stuff like mobile phones just working out the box, televisions which tune themselves in etc that they find it hard going with astro gear which requires (like other specialised hobbies) a lot of time and effort to get anything from. When you add in the fact that the shiny new telescope only shows faint fuzzy objects and not vast sweeping panoramas of color a'la the Eagle Nebula through Hubble people get turned off.

Imaging isn't my bag but I do understand the vast amount of time and effort the imagers put in ( and I feel a bit guilty now for never looking at their pics.....sorry guys . ) but look at how many posts we seem to get where people think all they have to do is plug their camera in to a telescope and hey presto instant NASA quality images.

I dont blame them because when I came back to ghe hobby I thoughg digital would have made it easier. It has I suppose in a small way but its still a tough old process. At least my expectations from the visual side were correct from expetience years ago and photography would have been nice but it wasnt the main motivator for me.

I havent seen any of the BBC events but I agree anything that maybe opens people up to the hobby is good. I just wish that we could have genuine astro people rather than gormless celebs presenting this stuff.

[Astro_Baby]

Ps Brian Cox is brilliant, he's so enthusiastic and it really shines through.

[Jimmy Stix]

Well I am a relative newcomer. I started back in August of 2010 and I don't mind admitting that it was indeed Prof. Brian Cox and his Wonders of the Solar System that got me going out and looking. It brought back lovely childhood memories of my late father too and cold nights in our back garden when he would show me The Plough, The Pleiades and Orion.

I have had tremendous fun with my 8x42 binoculars and a Planisphere teaching myself the night sky and finding again some of those things my dad showed me. Yes, most things are tiny but my expectations were tempered but there is so much "magic" to be had when you realise what you are looking at.

The Andromeda Galaxy for starters and the detail on our moon, even with binos.

I have now gotten a scope and hope to find lots more stuff but I know that there are limits to what I can do. However, I have lots to learn and that's what will keep me going out for many years to come. As long as I am able, I hope!

[SniffTheGlove]

I try and say hello to everyone who joins because people welcomed me here (some of whom have now moved on) and it gave me confidence to get stuck in as a hobby. I was a bit dubious about what sort of reception a beginner would get......astro is by and large kind to beginners.

.

Yes, I too was surprised at the amount of people welcoming me, I had more posts than I expected and this encourged me to post and also say welcome to others when I pop into the right board.

[Astro_Baby]

There ya go I am nice like that

[John]

^^This!

Stargazing Live has been worth a million outreach events. I can't believe all the people complaining about the programme!

I'm not complaining about it - darn good thing - maybe the hobby will become a little more mainstream now

[LukeSkywatcher]

There certainly is an influx of new blood here over the last couple of days. Its quite refreshing. Everyone is friendly with everyone coming in and its great to read so many "first light" reports etc from excited newcomers.

[JamesM]

I have to agree with Mel that as brilliant as the imaging is (...I am a fan and POW is something I always look forward to) it does unfortunately in part contribute to people's false expectations. Manufacturers and magazines also play their part too as they constantly show images that are not relevant to what you might see at the eyepiece.

Now I don't want to give the imaging folks here a hard time because I respect their dedication and for me, a lot of these images are in fact inspirational and keep me going when the clouds set in. What I would like to add here is that part of the problem in people fading away I am sure, has to rest at the feet of many (not all) astronomy societies who offer very little practical help for individuals who have difficulty with understanding their kit. A lot of societies contain very few people who actually do any observing and I personally would have been stumped had it not been for all you kind folk here answering my questions. However, no matter how good the advice this forum offers, it does make a difference someone actually standing next to you showing for example how to collimate your scope and this is where societies could pick up the baton - sadly they don't.

One solution might be that if new members were obliged to notify the area where they live in forum's public profile section, it could be possible (where numbers support this) to set up an amnesty type of event where people can bring along their kit and and have it checked over and any questions answered. I know there already exists an event of this type but clearly there needs to be more throughout the country.

James

[Astro_Baby]

Yup James - I'd agree...when I was restarting I called a society who told me in a loft sort of way 'oh we dont do observing - we do proper astronomy' hmmmm one wonders where 'proper' astronomy might be if noone was doing any observing to get the raw data.

Some societies do have the sort of people who would put you off for good.

I have often jumped in to help other beginners off the forum, collimatingpeoples scopes, sorting out their mount woes and even going along to help a complete newbie observe but I am a bit time limited.

The problem is societies are often geared to the needs of the advanced amatuer who is interested in hydrogen alpha imaging lines rather than catering for the beginners who sjut want to know how to see something with the new telescope.

I know thats a bit of a generalisation but it does seem to be true. By the way - Worthing AS have their own observatory. Sadly few people ev er seem to be their.

In part thats why I am kicking off the Surrey Observers Group, its not a society more of just a 'get together' for people to come along.

By the way - without wanting to sound elitist theres much to be gained from not being mainstream. Mainstream brings its own woes, I have seen it with another hobby, what begins as friendly folk trusting each other turns into geezers mooching around wondering what they can nick. It goes from people offering help to people asking 'whats in it for me' and from being able to leave your kit out at a star party to people spitting on your mirror when your not around to get back at some imagined slight online.

[RikM]

At Cotswold AS, where I am a member, we have plenty of people who would more than happy to help newcomers get started...sadly we don't seem to have any newcomers to help.

We have a couple of public observing events planned over the next couple of weeks, which might help but so far the weather forecast is stinking.

Rik

[tuc]

If I didn`t have access to a dark site and only observed in light polluted skies I think I would have given it up by now.

I know there are people who don`t mind observing in the city, but for me the `wow factor`is missing. Sad thing, that light pollution.

[John]

I suspect as well that a portion of people leaving comes from the fact you have to work at this hobby. You have to be prepared to learn stuff and have patience.

Lots of people are so used to stuff like mobile phones just working out the box, televisions which tune themselves in etc that they find it hard going with astro gear which requires (like other specialised hobbies) a lot of time and effort to get anything from....

I totally agree with this - I've sometimes felt a little patronising by suggesting that astronomy is not really a hobby of "quick wins" and that time spent at the eyepiece does, eventually, bring it's rewards but thats just how I've found it. I've been in observing with scopes for 30+ years now and it's really only in the last few years that I've worked out that it's the time you put in that teases the fine details out of objects you are observing.

It's not an "easy" hobby, either visually or imaging - it's actually pretty difficult and at times, infuriating. But when it goes right, you feel just great

[tuc]

I totally agree with this - I've sometimes felt a little patronising by suggesting that astronomy is not really a hobby of "quick wins" and that time spent at the eyepiece does, eventually, bring it's rewards but thats just how I've found it. I've been in observing with scopes for 30+ years now and it's really only in the last few years that I've worked out that it's the time you put in that teases the fine details out of objects you are observing.

It's not an "easy" hobby, either visually or imaging - it's actually pretty difficult and at times, infuriating. But when it goes right, you feel just great

Yes, and that`s my point too. I don`t particularly like that I have to drive to a dark site. But then I realize that so many other hobbies require hours of effort, or driving. For instance, in Canada, a person who belongs to a hockey club drives 1500 hrs/year going to games. So it's not so horrible to have to drive 40 minutes to a dark sky if I treat it like I'm going to an event.

[John]

... So it's not so horrible to have to drive 40 minutes to a dark sky if I treat it like I'm going to an event.

I'm feeling guilty now - my observing site is 1 meter from my dining room french windows