Your Astronomy Injuries?

[glend]

As I contemplated moving a 30kg box up hill to my observatory, I wondered how many of us have been injured in pursuit of this hobby. I am pretty sure my hernia was, at least partially, due to the weight of my 16" Dob during my dark site days (an overweight Labrador being the other contributor).
So this is a survey of sorts:

Have you been injured in some form through astronomy (physically injured only)?

[Rainmaker]

I got a nasty papercut once reading the Herald-Bobroff Atlas....

[gregbradley]

Most injuries have centred around financial injuries!:lol:

No physical ones though. But I suppose if I tried to lift my CDK17 by myself something might happen!

Greg.

[Nikolas]

Jammed the webbing of my hand between thumb and index finger placing the eq head onto the pier, Much sweating and cursing.

[Outcast]

Does wife hurling something at my head after latest astronomy related purchase count?

[RB]

Only if she scored a direct hit Carlton.

:lol:

Matt, that paper cut sounds savage.

:rofl:

[Startrek]

Bad lower back L5
Now use a trolley in Sydney to set up and building an Obs down the coast
Back trouble eliminated !!!!!

[Rainmaker]

It was worse, it was astronomical :shrug:

[RB]

Ohhh, the worst kind.... :doh:

[alpal]

My EQ6 mount seems to be getting heavier and heavier as I age.
I am worried that I'll do my back in as I set it up one day soon.

[redbeard]

Built a new pergola area and whilst extending to make it a bigger area, :) it was raised about 1 Besa block height with paving. :2thumbs: Telescope gets setup a few feet away from this on the grass. Before build, it was flat, can you see where I'm going.... Of course all lights are off whilst imaging, got up to stretch legs and strolled right into 1 Besa block height paving with shins and fell over onto paving. :ashamed: I swear, I only had 1 drink! I'm fine and only hurt a little, but more annoyed that I should of had at least 5 drinks to explain! :lol2:
Perhaps I should have built an Obs instead of the pergola! (What's that I hear in the background...?):family:

[glend]

Observatories have their own set of dangers!

[xelasnave]

I had what could have been a nasty fall off the patio but lucky me the rose bush broke my fall...
Alex

[leon]

I did pretty much what you did Damien.
During the day I built a sand pit for my Grandson, about 300mm high and filled it with lovely sand.;)

That night i was at the Observatory in the back yard and was finished for the night carrying home my 50mm lens in my hand.

As you I had forgotten about the recent sandpit build and in the pitch black walked straight into it.

Well the lens left my hand and flew over the assembly and i landed in it, a few chosen words later and all was well other than feeling a bit stupid there were no injuries, oh, and the lens cleared the lot and landed on the soft lawn, it too was fine.

Can laugh about it now.:lol:

Leon:thumbsup:

[alpal]

I just remembered-
I've seen someone walk into a telescope at night and knock it over.
The answer -
paint your telescopes white so they can be seen in the dark.

[alan meehan]

Had a nasty fall from a ladder putting up shade cloth and plastic to stop the neighbour behind me shinning there light over my observatory still pay for it buggered my facet joints in the lower back iam haveing injections to ease the pain in fact iam having one in the morning

[DavidU]

Severely bruised wallet.:lol:

[Zuts]

Me to, I have the misfortune of living 5 minutes from Bintel :)

[AG Hybrid]

This happened winter/spring 2017.

One night I had apparently neglected to tighten down a tripod leg correctly. On top of the tripod was an extension pier, HEQ5 pro and a new to me 150mm Mak-Cass getting its first light.
I could see my telescope slowly teetering and thought nothing of it. Darkness playing with my eyes - something like that. Then suddenly that lean gained some momentum and my rig resembled something similar to a tree falling down. Except the tree is made of steel and glass.

My first instinct was to put myself between the scope and the ground rather than attempting to pull on it. I essentially rugby tackled my tripod and scope. I saved the scope and mount. However, I heard a loud *click* in my left ear. I didn't know what that sound was ,I thought it might have been the mount or something. Running high on adrenaline that night, I didn't figure out what that *click* might have been until the next day.
I reckon I tore a tendon in my left shoulder. That *click* sound was a tendon snapping or stretching and letting go.

Took two years to heal my shoulder.

[leon]

I think maybe we should all give it up, :shrug:we might live longer:lol:
Leon:thumbsup:

[Crater101]

Does a badly bruised ego from getting the exposure completely wrong on the camera count? I've had a couple of those imaging the moon and some of the nearer planets.


Add to that the corns in the ear from the comments of the wife about how I'm getting to old to be doing this sort of thing at night, I should be more careful, I'm going to hurt myself carrying the gear...the list goes on (and on, and on).

[glend]

The original post suggested physical injuries. Your wife might be onto something, as eventually something will happen and then she will be right.

[notoriousnick]

You did the right thing - protected your astronomy equipment with your body :party: