How did you get into astronomy?

[noakesy]

when i was young i like the stuff about going to the moon, my dad would tell things about it too, but as i got older i liked racing bikes, joined army 15yrs later ,became a civvy and carried on racing bikes. but about 2 yrs ago with not alot going in hobbys except music and playing the saxophone, i watched a prog on the discovery channel and BANG, i cant stop reading about the subject, got a scope then got bigger scope and end of last yr built my own obsy. starting astro photography this yr and cant wait.

[Catanonia]

Interest in computers all my life, then photography as always wanted to do it, then had money later in life.

Can't exactly remember what it was that triggered it, but a thread on a photography forum that someone posted a stacked image of a cluster and I thought, must try that with my Sony A700 and 500mm lens.

Well it progressed from there and I sold all my remote control helicopters and planes, swapped the early saturday mornings standing in a cold field witha bunch of RC anoraks for standing in my garden all alone at night in my anorak

[aimzta85]

I first became interested in Astronomy in 1997 when I was 12 years old and Hale - Bopp was in the skies. I was just fascinated and from that moment on I was hooked. I loved all the projects we had to do at school and always got my Mum to record any space related programmes for me. I'm really looking forward to buying my first scope within the next few months.

[Catanonia]

I first became interested in Astronomy in 1997 when I was 12 years old and Hale - Bopp was in the skies. I was just fascinated and from that moment on I was hooked. I loved all the projects we had to do at school and always got my Mum to record any space related programmes for me. I'm really looking forward to buying my first scope within the next few months.

Buy a good scope and a nice cheap EOS 450D and go the way of the imaging Jedi mate

Serious, good luck on the new scope and ask as many questions as you can before purchasing.

As with all things, you DO get what you pay for in this hobby normally and sometimes that extra 100 notes goes a long way.

[smoggy]

Always interested as a child, did physics at A-Level and then took physics with astrophysics at York University so could use their observatory and equipment whenever I fancied... and I fancied a lot =P

[eriwig]

Forgot to mention the impact of seeing Hale Bopp from four different countries in '97... Think I geeked all my friends out talking about it while we were travelling!

[Richard C]

For me it was the Perseid's in Aug 2010.

My girlfriend had gone away for a few days, my old Canon film SLR (30 years old) hadn't been used since college and there were some news reports mentionning that a meteor shower was peaking that evening.

Seeing as there wasn't any moon to wash the stars out I travelled to the nearest dark site and set up the camera with some ISO 400 film and took 4 rolls of 15 - 60 second exposures.

Saw loads, and got some half decent landscape shots but didn't realise until developing that I caught a Perseid in one of the shots I took (lens contained a little fungus, but it's definately visible...

Have been sky gawping since.

[rawhead]

I decided to look at Saturn through my birding scope for some reason.......

I was hooked!

[Andrew INT]

I joined the army in the late 1980’s. I started out by just learning some of the constellations in order to find north to assist with map reading. For me, Orion has always been a beautiful object to look at. I remember being on duty away from home (and rather scared at the time). Seeing Orion in the sky was my link home.

Later on in the mid 1990’s I was trained as a battlefield image analyser using military satellites to monitor locations. That got me hooked on the physics and maths side of things as well as stereoscopic photography.

When I went into civilian life and got married eight years ago, I got my first proper telescope. Orion’s M42 never fails to disappoint. I’m now pretty much hooked, and working towards an Astronomy degree through the OU which I hope to complete by 2014.

[skywatcher1701]

Well my dad was in the navy, and he showed me how saliors would have used the stars to navigate the seas in the old days, from where we lived he would show me the big dipper(ursa major),orion,cassiopeia but to name a few.

I got me first scope about 7 yrs ago, brought it out of a camera shop....i know what some are thinking!

Now have a nice little set up.............but i always want more toys

The Wife, she say........NO

[aimzta85]

Buy a good scope and a nice cheap EOS 450D and go the way of the imaging Jedi mate

Serious, good luck on the new scope and ask as many questions as you can before purchasing.

As with all things, you DO get what you pay for in this hobby normally and sometimes that extra 100 notes goes a long way.

Thanks

I've certainly got the question asking down to a fine art.

My budget at the min is around £150 although I am hopefully going to be able to up that in a few months to around £200 so will keep up the search till then.

[Altair]

My earliest memories urging me on were

Launch of Sputnick and sputnick shaped ice lollies!

The space race beginning

John Kennedys speech "to put a man on the moon by the end of the 60s"

These were exciting times.. and i was only 10 yrs old..

Best of all at that time was watching dear Patrick Moores "The Sky at Night" shown late on a sunday evening..at that time... it was the last thing i was allowed to watch on TV before going to bed to be ready for school the next day and i can honestly say I can still feel the sickness in my stomach going up to bed.. knowing i had to go to blasted school the next day!

How i hated school! When there were so much more exciting things to do!

[kidlands]

I had a very light interest in the cosmos as a youngster. Then it wained for a few years until I was about 30 when an ex girlfriend bought me a Meade 4.5" reflector for xmas. Then it wained again for a few more years then on the insistance of my new 'wife' I sold it to get a 10" Lightbridge sweeeeeeet.

[umadog]

Like Paul, I can't remember a time when I wasn't interested. I'm 32 now and remember seeing Saturn through my uncle's 50mm when I was 9. I know that was interested before then as I remember being boundlessly excited upon learning that my uncle had one of these magical instruments. I left observing for some years due light pollution and university, but it's never something that I've lost interest in.