She is an Astronomer.....

[Astro_Baby]

Hey Karen - cool robot as Avatar - Huey, Dewey or Louie I wonder ? Did you cry at the end of 'Silent Running' I wonder ? I blubbed super bad.

[Doug]

Astro Baby

Did your Dad work for NCIS and was his your sir name Gibbs :-)

[Astro_Baby]

Nope - sorry - whats NCIS ? National Crime Intelligence Survey ?

[stolenfeather]

I am of the female gender and have always been interested in the stars. I guess this stems from my overall wonder of the natural world. I like to unearth fossils, am an active birdwatcher, hike (last year I hiked the Grand Canyon), camp, kayak and yes,.. I do LOVE my telescope!

Yeah, yeah,.. I paint my nails and regularly apply lipstick as well.

My husband calls me "his little astronomer". He calls me his "little rose petal" and his "angel" as well so don't make a big deal out of the name. My telescope was his present to me as well as my Barlow lenses. He comes out to see what I am viewing when I show excitement but usually comments with, "That little dot,.. that's what you're excited about?".

It's OK,... I am never that enthralled in his selection of movies either.

Isabelle

[Karen]

Its Dewey. The only droid left at the end, all alone in deep space with a watering can . Those droids were so cute.

[Astro_Baby]

Awwwww

[astroimpulse]

Out of all the hobbies I've had and all the forums I've frequented...I was instantly made aware, when joining here, that there was a healthy female percentage of members. To be fair...mostly very experienced ones at that.

Made me think this was a pretty evenly spread hobby...which I prefer. Got my own boys club (me) so it's boring when you're in a male dominated hobby.

I can't imagine the wonders of the universe appealing to one sex more than another. Maybe it does...but it's not the impression I get

[eriwig]

Nope - sorry - whats NCIS ? National Crime Intelligence Survey ?

Naval Criminal Investigative Service Sort of like CSI but with more humour, better characters and better storylines

Amazing series! I'm in awe of Abbey's lab and the super geeky stuff she gets to do every day

Just waiting for season 8 to pick up again from the break they have randomly taken in the middle of showing it on sky...

[shaula]

I was brought up to be curious about stuff.

I am curious about history, literature, science, astronomy, music, nature, geology, philosophy...blah, blah, blah...

The thought of being interested in just one thing is frankly tedious to me.

ps I am also very interested in girl stuff. Make-up is lush. But it never stopped me having a scale extric when I was little.

pps It was probably getting tipsy on a sunlounger in France, under a glorious night sky that got me into this hobby.

Hey Lulu, I was thinking about you last night (not lke that!!) did you see that Horrible Histories won best comedy? Just reminded me of you & that bloomin catchy tune that fella did - I cannot say it or I'll be humming it for the next year!

[PortableAstronomer]

In the Netherlands we have a TV show called "Help, my man has a hobby". It's all about households where there is some guy who has a passion for something or other and the 'other half' cannot stand it.

I haven't seen an episode on astronomy addicts yet, maybe because you need dark skies for that.

Back to the main topic though, maybe it is something to do with the preference of many men to do observing in isolation , and it's that solitude that does not appeal to many women. Strangely I have never wanted to do observing or imaging on my own. I think many men go observing/imaging on their own because they have no choice, particularly if their local astro club has members who prefer not to come to observing sessions.

[Macavity]

I understand the interest in personal testimony. With 50% females starters in my 70's undergrad scientific degree course, I lament the premature departure of about half of them. But at least the few of them that remained are now "heads of science"... albeit in private schools.

If I listen to male OR female Astronomers, I hear the (slightly stereotype. LOL) story. An INTERESTED parent - For us old uns, usually a DAD! Not necessarily a "gender neutral" home, but one where (nerdy?) hobbies were tolerated, if not encouraged.

The debate re. female takeup (persistance!) in "male" hobbies and professions will doubtless continue. I'd LOVE to know the solution. For pure chauvenistic reasons, I'd've far preferred to share a (particle physics) night shift with FRAGRANT women, than "smelly old blokes". I have come to cherish my own sex tho'...

Twee it might be, but I think "She is an Astronomer" ain't so bad?

Where's the female Brian Cox? | Alom Shaha | Science | guardian.co.uk

Or more seriously, things like:

Celebrating women in particle physics March 8th!

[Nightjar]

I too have always had an insatiable curiosity about the world around us. Like a few other posters I've always loved maths, physics, geograph, technology etc and read as much as I can on these and other subjects. I've always been drawn to astronomy and getting my first telescope was a turning point - the start of an addiction ...

Maybe the group observing is a safety thing ? I prefer to spend all night quietly observing on my own but going miles out to a dark site alone is of course out of the question. Thank goodness for Astronomy Societies' group observing nights.

The membership of my local society seems to be only about 20% female. I've often wondered why - it's a really friendly amd welcoming group. We've noticed at outreach events that about half of all visitors are female, so the general interest is there. It seems to be the really tecchie side of things where more boys seem to call the shots - you know - motors and cables equations and gadgets and so on. I love that all that lovely shiney kit too. When I bought a big new diagonal I cradled in my hands for ages, just marvelling at its weight and quality. Like holding your new born son but better.

My other half varies his support level between 'tolerant' and 'disbelief'. "You spent how long just looking at the moon ?" sort of reaction. But he sometimes carries the telescope outside for me. Colleagues are far more interested, but then I work with mostly men, in IT, in a space-related field.

Women friends can be difficult. I find it impossible to join in their conversations which are usually about Coronation Street or X-Factor. I don't watch TV. Gossiping's OK, but they lose me on fashion too. ( My idea of well-dressed is about buying stuff from Millets to keep you warm outside at 3am). I think they pity me. But I've seen Io transit Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, and 2 magnificent fireballs and they haven't.

Astronomy's a wonderful hobby because you can simply get on and enjoy it in any way you want to. For me it's usually a case of struggling with disobediant telescope until it wins, then settling back on a sunlounger for a night under the stars with a bottle of Pinot Grigio.

Julia

[eriwig]

I find it impossible to join in their conversations which are usually about Coronation Street or X-Factor.

Thank god I'm not alone in finding conversations about soaps completely mind-numbing! While I do quite enjoy x-factor for the sheer comedy value (not my style of music at all) I simply can't understand how people get so involved in something that is at best poorly written (and acted!) fiction...

[astroimpulse]

Thank god I'm not alone in finding conversations about soaps completely mind-numbing! While I do quite enjoy x-factor for the sheer comedy value (not my style of music at all) I simply can't understand how people get so involved in something that is at best poorly written (and acted!) fiction...

More often than not you hear people talking about soap characters as if they were personal family or friends. Not just women...blokes too! But they don't talk half as emphatically about the real people in their lives! lol

I'm lucky because my other half hates soaps as much as me. Miserable things lol

[Astro_Baby]

Cant stand soaps, x-factor etc - what scares me is how many intelligent people I work with who watch that tripe !!!

I seldom watch television and I am very selective about what I watch.

Sorry Eriwig that includes NCIS

I must be the odd girl out here - I do love makeup, heels, handbags, fashion (though you'd never guess it seeing me in a field at 3am ) I also like to observe alone. Just me and the cosmos - I think of it as communing with the infinite.

[Rosanella]

She is an astronomer - God how I hated that phrase from the International Year of Astronomy - it sounded like She is a Nurse/Secretary/Something Girly and should get back in the kitchen and leave telescopes to the men grrrrrrrrr.

...

Anyway - unreconstructed feminista here and I just wondered seeing so many new starters who were women what got you girls into this hobby ? How do your other halves see it ? Do they have an interest themselves ?

Just feminine curiosity really Alright I am nosey

I did find the title a little odd but I suspect the title was created to make a point, maybe....

How did I get into Astronomy?

Well, I've always had a passion for the Sciences since very early age (6 years or so...) , Astronomy being one of them. But when I was home-educating, my daughter about 4 years ago, and she expressed the desire to learn Astronomy, I had to brush up on the Math and the Physics resulting in awakening an old passion

My daughter has now moved on from wanting to be an Astrophysicist, but I'm still hanging in there. I call it 'escapism' It's a big place out there ...

[jonathan]

Its Dewey. The only droid left at the end, all alone in deep space with a watering can . Those droids were so cute.

Well I have a little man-cry at the end of that film every time I watch it, and I'm not afraid to say so.

ET chokes me up too.

In fact, I did a wedding DVD for someone from work recently and my supreme editing with the music brings a little man-tear of joy to my eye every time I watch it, partly because I really like my editing and partly because it works so well.

[Candice]

Hi

Im new to this forum, but have always been intersted in astronomy, just never did anything about it.

Good news is that I will get delivery of my first telescope tomorrow

Its a Skywatcher 130m , really looking forward to our camping trip and praying for some clear skies to give it a go

[tuc]

Good luck with your new scope, Candice.

AB, this is an interesting thread! I might be slightly off-topic too.

I am the only woman in my local astronomy club and there is one drawback to this. Usually, I prefer to observe alone. I have observed in a lot of spooky places, but I have my limits! There is one really good dark site that I won't go to alone--don't know why, it's just too creepy for me. Last summer the regular observing guys at the club would often email or call one another to set up an observing session at "spooky hollows." I was told that they're not comfortable inviting me because it's not fair to their wives.

Now, being as cute as I am , I can understand their wives' jealousy. But seriously, this kind of bothers me because the site has such a good, dark southern horizon, which is so hard to find here.

Unfortunately, no one in my personal life shares my interest in the night sky. Dragging him to the middle of nowhere and having him look at his watch every five minutes isn't really fun for him or me!

[eriwig]

AB my husband can testify to my love of all things girly (especially shoes and handbags) due to our ever reducing bank balance! (Oh! - and makeup... especially nail polish!)

I loev the fact that liking "Boys stuff" like technology and science and "girls stuff" like the above doesn't have to be mutually exclusive

Now I'm on the lookout for something functional and pretty to keep my EPs and filters in!

[AndyH]

I was told that they're not comfortable inviting me because it's not fair to their wives.

Seriously ?!?!?!?

I'm sorry, but that's total Bull manure .

What a bunch of plonkers. Dear-o-dear-o-dear.

Andy.

[shepsboss]

Hi, nothing to do with your post I'm afraid. Someone pointed me at your site, especially - So you want to buy a telescope? Fantastic advice for a newbie like me, can't wait for part2. I hope you don't mind but I have pointed some others, in the same position as me, towards your site. Invaluable advice, it really should be a sticky for all beginners who ask that question. Thank you for taking the time to pen the masterpiece.

[shaula]

Seriously ?!?!?!?

I'm sorry, but that's total Bull manure .

What a bunch of plonkers. Dear-o-dear-o-dear.

Andy.

I concur! What rubbish. Maybe theres a fellow sgl god locally that could offer to go with u.

[Astro_Baby]

No worries shepsboss - glad it was helpful to you.

[Rosanella]

Watch this by Dr Maggie Adering-Pocock. It's great!

Sorry I'm getting both excited and emotional about this....

Left-click here-->BBC iPlayer - Do We Really Need the Moon?