What do you do in astronomy

[higginsdj]

Just want to glean a few stats about what people are CURRENTLY doing in the field of astronomy. If none of the catagories fit you then please post some comments. (Multiple selections are allowed)

Edit: Some clarifications....
'Pretty Pictures' means taking Astronomical Images for the purposes of producing a beautiful picture ie for it's aesthetic qualities.
'Serious' does NOT pertain to scientific contribution but states that you perform the action on a regular rather than casual or ad hoc basis.

Cheers

[ballaratdragons]

Pretty Pictures,
Just 'Touring' the Night Sky,
Public Outreach.

That's all for me :thumbsup:

[bird]

Hey Dave, I've looked carefully but none of those options seem to be right for me - I think you're missing the "Planetary Imager" category :-)

regards, Bird

[higginsdj]

Hi Bird,

Yep - good point. I take it you mean Planetary monitoring type activities as imaging alone could come under 'Pretty Pictures'

Cheers

[ving]

lol david, your view on pics is the same as mine obviously ;)
might stir up some tho with that sort of throw-away comment :)

i put all the professional stuff hehehe!!!
just kidding :P

[ispom]

- Just 'Touring' the night sky
- 'Pretty Pictures'
- Armchair astronomer

but one essential point lacks:
posting in astro forums :)

[Blue Skies]

I think you're exploring an important topic here, David, and trying to put your finger on the change that has been happening to amateur astronomy over the last two decades. From the early results I can see most people are there to enjoy the view - I tend to think of them as 'tourists' (it's just that their body stays in the same place while the view changes around them).

For myself I do a lot of outreach and education, indeed one of my jobs is working at the local planetarium, so education has steered a large part of my activities over the years. I also like to build telescopes, I don't think you have that option up there either? Without those interested in the instrumentation we wouldn't be able to do some of what we do.

I also feel that the rapid change to electronic imaging is slowing some people down i.e. the will is there but trying to work out how to make it all work can be a long process. Granted that meteor and variable star work uses the naked eye, for some people the electronica out there is very daunting.

[higginsdj]

Doesn't that come under Armchair Astronomer :P

Cheers

[bird]

Yeah, a lot of images which started out as pretty pictures are now showing up in material put forward for publication in journals etc by planetary atmospherics / dynamics types, made easier by the image databases around the place, eg ALPO.

With that potential use in mind it seems important (to me) to get images that are more realistic than pretty :-)

cheers, Bird

[mickoking]

I just look :thumbsup: clear skies to you all.

[MrB]

Cheers for the poll Dave, I've often wondered what the 'make-up' of the Astro community is myself.

I would also like to put my hand up as a glass-pusher!
Shame there wasn't an option for ATM, would have been interesting to see what percentage make some of their own gear.

Simo

[gary]

Hi David,

If there had been a selection for 'astronomical equipment manufacturer'
or 'engineering', I would have checked it,

Our Argo Navis telescope computer is in use by both amateurs and professionals
around the world and has been used to facilitate many of the activities you
outline above - from public outreach down to occultations.

Wildcard Innovations also contributed to the development of some of the software
used on the IRIS2 infrared imager and spectrograph for the AAO.

IRIS2 won the AAO the Institute of Engineers Engineering Bradfield Award
for outstanding engineering achievement in 2002 - the highest engineering
award in NSW. It also went on to win an Engineering Excellence National Award.
All testimony to the talent and skills of the many people that designed and built it.

Ever since Galileo crafted his first telescope and pointed it at the Moon,
a great deal of astronomy starts with the people who make the instruments.
These then make observation, measurement and analysis possible.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Managing Director
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.
20 Kilmory Place, Mount Kuring-Gai
NSW. 2080. Australia
Phone +61-2-9457-9049
Fax +61-2-9457-9593
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au

[Rodstar]

If this "survey" is intended to be used for a research purpose, there are unfortunately too many undefined terms for it to be of any use.

Before I voted I took the term "pretty pictures" to mean that the voter was indicating they liked looking at pretty astronomical images, such as visiting the Hubble website. If you are intending to include imaging in that category, the term is not only confusing, but unfortunately very value-laden.

And then there is the term, "serious". What does this mean? There are plenty of amateurs who take themselves very seriously, but who are not contributing a jot or tittle to science. Is a person only serious when they take astrometric measurements in sub-zero temperatures? When does a person who takes an interest in comet hunting convert from being non-serious to serious?

And then there is the problem, as many people have noted, that there are a host of very significant aspects of our Noble Interest which are entirely omitted, such as ATM-ing or double star observing.

Oftentimes the questions that one asks reveal more about the questioner than about those being surveyed.

PS. I apologise in advance if this post is a tad narky. I might just duck down the road and grab a few cold ones. I had better check that thread on favourite beers to see what surveyed as the most popular beer! :P :screwy:

[wavelandscott]

I think I will join Rodstar for that "cold one"...

I just like looking up and sharing the night sky with other people who want to look up...

[Terry B]

But it's not Friday yet:drink:

[Tamtarn]

Very well put Rod. I agree entirely and is probably the reason why I have not voted as yet, like many others it seems.

Enjoy the cold one.

David

[Rodstar]

Scott and David, I have the "cold one" at hand now....a long neck of Tooheys Old. Ahhhhh....suddenly everything is looking much better.

Terry, I have an annual holiday tomorrow, so let the long weekend roll on!!!

[Omaroo]

One of my major interests in amateur astronomy is the ..... hardware. I have an innate appreciation for the design and manufacturing execution of nice instruments, and enjoy owning and using them for the purpose they were designed. After talking with lots of people at various star parties I'm not alone. I'd like to get more over time, and gradually swap out what I have for the highest quality I can afford.

Just another category I guess.

Don't get me wrong...I really enjoy the view too. :)

Cheers
Chris

[higginsdj]

Hi all,

It's not intended for a scientific research paper but to guage what people are doing. Yes, some of the definitions could have been worded more precisely but I am quite happy for people to use their own interpretation/common sense.

Those who do something seriously know they are - those who have to ask probably aren't! But the intent is that serious does NOT relate to science contribution as such but an indication that they don't do it on an adhoc or casual basis.

Yes some areas were missed but as I said - if I missed it then post it! You may have guaged that that poll was biased toward the observing side of things.

Cheers

[higginsdj]

And what does it reveal about me :P (probably all true)

Cheers

[swede]

my wife borrowed Sam Neils "Space" from library for the family to watch.
god bless her.
Arm chair astronomer and every now and then the stargazer through night skies.It is too crowded these days in Ingleburn, 'lite-polution', can hardly define the milkyway on clear nights

[ballaratdragons]

Very good point Rod.
I took it to mean 'imaging'.

But I like to look at pretty pics on sites and in mags too, so I suppose I fit into all the 'pretty pictures' catagories :lol:

[avandonk]

I am into taking wide fields of the best quality possible with the resources of an 'amateur'. I also modify equipment to make it perform the way I think it should. I am in the process of working out how to collect faint meteor trail data. I would also like and do to search for transient phenomena but don't do it intensively. It is not about pretty pictures. I keep them under the bed. So I shall not mark any box.

I do have over thirty scientific papers as an author in an unrelated field in major journals. Again no box. Check Nature etc.



Bert

[Rattler]

Boo David,

A survey is not that easy to design and then implement. Covering all possibilities is near impossible. Still, the results thus far are interesting to see and the idea is one worth chasing down. Have you thought about recommissioning the survey as I think that those who visit this site would be more likley to complete a more complex survey than that presented? I would recommend a redesign if it is to be used in a paper to support an observation or a finding. {Happy to help}

Anyway, have fun with it and given you are looking at what people do in Astronomy as a hobby, it might be enough without any additional work! :)

Enjoy!!!


John.

[rumples riot]

With you Bird. Submitting images for professional analysis and trying to make them as realistic as possible.

[matt]

Not sure if there's a specific category for me in that list?

Like most people on this website, my interest in astronomy began at a very young age.That interest has waxed and waned over the years.

I've really gotten back into it in the least three or four years, but never lost 'interest' even during the 'quiet' times. Most of my 'doing' has been visual observing, but in recent times my attention has turned to ccd planetary imaging. With a little research and private experimentation, and with some much appreciated help from some of the kind members here at IIS, my imaging skills have progressed. I occasionally submit my images for professional analysis, when I can remember to e-mail them off:doh:

Most of the time I just do my 'thing' privately for my own enjoyment. I'll also occasionally share the result of my imaging endeavours here at IIS with the hope someone enjoys what I've produced, and might even be able to offer some advice on some way (small or large) that I may be able to improve my skills or technique.

My other real area of interest is writing, particularly as it relates to astronomy. Feature articles, reviews, short essays, profiles etc

I figured I may as well make use of 20 years of working as a magazine journalist and feature writer, newspaper columnist and radio commentator and combine it with my passion/hobby.

There are such a large number of talented and wonderful people working in astronomy and its associated fields, and like many of us here at IIS I am fascinated with what they are doing and how they go about it. There are also a lot of genuine characters and colourful identities in astronomy whose personalities and stories deserve to be heard/read, as much as the stories about the great work that they do. This would possibly surprise many people outside of the scientific community who have some fairly staid and cliched views on the sorts of people who work in the sciences.

I'm thrilled and honoured to be able to report their stories to the wider astro and non-astro community.

In recent times it has also been my privilege to be invited to join the editorial team at AS&T, and to be asked to be a co-presenter on ABC2's 'SkyWatch' program. In some way, I guess these roles would also qualify as 'Education and Outreach'?

I don't consider myself an expert. Far from it. Nor do I seek to attract any 'reflected glow' by associating myself with anyone through the pursuit of my literary passions.

The truth is that like many other people here I am but an enthusiastic amateur.

I have simply found a way to combine my professional life with my overriding private passion and hobby:)

And I must say it honestly gives me a great deal of satisfaction to communicate this great hobby to my fellow enthusiasts as well as to the broader non-astro community. I believe that whatever we can do to take astronomy 'to the masses' and broaden its appeal is a way of giving something back to a hobby which has given us so much pleasure over the years.

So, in a nutshell, I am a writer by profession and an amateur astronomer in my spare time.

There are a lot of pages which magazine editors need to fill...and radio/TV programs which need people capable of filling precious air-time.

Time to get crackin':D

[higginsdj]

Hi Matt, I'd classify that as Public Outreach - getting the stories behind astronomy (scientific or otherwise) out to all.

Cheers

[matt]

Hi David.

Thanks for the clarification.

I somehow managed to overlook 'Public Outreach' when viewing the extensive list of options. Oops!

I'll tick that option.

Thanks for the interesting survey:)