[Lvas] Saturday Night, 28 March 2009

[Fred Rayworth]

It finally happened that I had an opportunity to go out and observe. The last time I'd been out was 17 January, so pickings have been pretty slim!

 

It wasn't the best night to be out. It was "okay" but that was about it. As I drove out to Redstone, I could see a haze on the distant hills. Once I got there, it wasn't too cold, but there was an annoying breeze that gusted periodically throughout the night. It never got super bad, but a couple of times it blew my scope upright.

 

Overall, I was still glad and considered myself lucky to be able to go out. I accomplished a lot, including Roger's observing goals (except for the Virgo Diamond). I found 17 new Herschels and 19 new objects, total. As I was waiting for it to get dark, I also did a few double stars in Orion.

 

I just purchased a new green laser pointer and used it for the first time last night. As many of you know, I'm not much for doodads, but this thing virtually replaced my 50mm finder. I still have to look up the object on a star chart, and still have to find it in the sky, I just have an easier way to point at it. Since I can't stand Telrads, this little toy is a great find.

 

I will address the observing goals for Roger's list in separate e-mails.

 

I have to get on my soapbox for a moment.

 

Astrophotography. What is the first word out of 99% of all amateurs mouths? Yup, Astrophotography. And most of them can spout of the latest models of this and that camera, drive, platform, scope, etc. In fact, all night last night, 99% of the conversation was on, you guessed it, astrophotography.

 

I don't really have a problem with astrophotography itself, it's just that amateur astronomy is absolutely obsessed with it. As an observational amateur, I find myself in an extreme minority. I don't feel alone in that observation either. Maybe it is just the generational thing because back in the day, most amateurs couldn't afford a clock drive, let alone all the gear for film photography. So, anyone interested in astronomy was forced to actually look through an eyepiece.

 

I've seen a thousand photos of the ring nebula, and do you know what? They all look exactly the same! I've seen the ring nebula visually way more than that and you know what? I see something a little different each time. I have a sneaking suspicion that many astrophotography imagers are more interested in the process and the result than what they are actually photographing. I am generalizing here, but I've heard this type of attitude over and over again in conversations.

 

As I said, last night, 99% of the conversation was about astrohpotography. Since I didn't have GOTO or a camera, I was pretty much left alone for a good bit of the night. However, eventually a few people came over for a look and I was very happy to show them some deep sky fuzzies. However, when one asked me how I track things to take photos, I told him I'm strictly a visual observer. I had no interest whatsoever in astrophotography and never would. The reaction I got was as if I'd just dropped the f-bomb. THAT is the kind of attitude I see more and more in amateur astronomy.

 

As the night wore on, I may have won over a few people to visual observing, but I doubt my talking and showing is going to outdo the ad copy we're bombarded with in every S&T and Astronomy magazine.

 

Overall, I just glad there are people interested in the sky, and telescopes. I just wish there were more who were more worried about what they see in the eyepiece versus which camera to use on it.

 

This where I hope Roger's observing thread will inspire more people.

 

I'm done!

 

Fred Rayworth

 

 

 

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