Amateur Astronomy and the Pipe Smoker

[BarrelProof]

I didn't realize that camera telephoto zoom lens enabled such great shots. You must have some great photos of birds.

Are you participating in the annual Great Backyard Bird Count?

Strangely with the milder winter in the northern states and Canada I've been seeing a lot more Robbins this winter than normal in So. Louisiana and they're staying longer than usual. They have definitely extended their stay this year.

Of course. We do the GBBC, the CBC, and who knows what else!

I’ve got a few good ones.

 

[swampgrizzly]

Thanks for sharing.. This photo is outstanding. It reminds me of some of John James Audubon's posed bird paintings.

 

[BarrelProof]

View attachment 203546

I was out taking photos of birds one day in the fall and got this picture. I’ve been semi-interested for a couple of years, but still haven’t pulled the trigger on a scope. I live in a place where darkness coincides with seriously cold temperatures and wind. I am going to New Mexico this spring and plan to do a little night sky watching, however.

This week, I pulled the trigger in typical fashion. Bring it on, night sky.

 

[tenton]

Been doing amateur astronomy for about 40 years. Scope is a Portaball 8" f6 with a homemade solar filter watching the Oct 14th eclipse.

 

[Wet Dottle]

Well, I did try the hobby a couple of years ago, but never got much into it. Here is my original purchase:



I upgraded it a bit since then, mostly Baader filters and oculars and a new focuser, but never got too exited about it. Now it mostly resides in the basement, together with a pile of other equipment from similarly botched hobby attempts. Comes out a handful of times a year, when the mood trikes...

 

[MartyA]

I'm late to this thread, probably because I'm late to this forum. I'm a long time amateur stargazer. I've been lucky enough to live in the last house on a dead end street on the edge of a very small Iowa town. In years past could see a lot of fine structure in the Milky Way, and see the dimmer constellations such as Eridanus just my stepping out of my house. Astronomy was important to me. (Still is.) My life has been far from serene, and the night sky gave me an incredible escape... After a little while under the stars, I'd come back in ready to face the next day. My ability to sail away into infinity probably saved my life a few times.

Recent years have seen an explosion of incredibly ignorant, blinding, poorly designed, light pollution. My view of the night sky is now a washed out ghost of what it used to be, and that's taken a toll on me. I've compensated somewhat by sitting outside with a churchwarden pipe and reading OLD astronomy books, and fading into the past for awhile... That's led me to joining this group.

Aside from various binoculars, which I love, I'm pretty much a one telescope man. I bought my Celestron 8 in 1977, and now after 47 years, I'm still using it. At least on nights when I can drive a ways out of town...
These pics were shot in 1985 and 2007, but I'm still using the same scope and wearing the same coat.
Marty

 

[Snook]

Very cool. I loved astronomy as a kid. It sadly didn't carry over to adulthood, but I'd be interesting in getting back into it! How/when did you get started with the hobby?

 

[MartyA]

Very cool. I loved astronomy as a kid. It sadly didn't carry over to adulthood, but I'd be interesting in getting back into it! How/when did you get started with the hobby?

I've been interested as long as I can remember. I didn't learn the constellations until I was out of high school though. I grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, which wasn't quite as blighted with light pollution back then, and I was in the habit of taking late night walks. After a while, I began to recognize my own star patterns, and I realized I could finally DO this! I pulled out the old planisphere I got in 1957, bought a copy of Menzel's Field Guide to the Stars and Planets, and had one of the best times of my life while the night sky all fell into place. Of course then, one starts to realize there are deeper things to see and pulls out his dad's elcheapo binoculars, and after awhile, one needs a telescope...
Marty