Tens of dollars!

[Poita]

This has been my favourite read/rant for a while now.

http://atelescopeinthecity.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/tens-of-dollars.html

[Screwdriverone]

Nice read Peter,

Certainly sums up the disenchantment I am feeling with capture and processing programs at the moment.....quite eerie really.

I've been ranting lately about the very content in that blog post, its good to know I am not alone in my frustration.

Cheers

Chris

[jjjnettie]

I loved it!!

"This is a hobby that is primarily enjoyed by a few tens of thousands of users almost all of whom are male and aged between around 41 and 67. "

This is my, and just about every other astro chicks beef, the "boys club" attitude.
And it's that attitude that makes women feel under valued in the astro community. But as with every minority group unless we voice our complaints rather loudy or recruit more women into the hobby, sadly it's just a case of "suck it up princess."

[Screwdriverone]

You are the poster child of Astrochicks, JJJ (well perhaps Karen Jennings too ;) )

Lots to be learned from you, as has already happened with me, you've helped me out a lot with advice, experience as well as tips and tricks.

I shall defer to superior experience regardless of gender.

I dont mind being told what to do by a woman anyway, hey, I AM married after all.....;)

Cheers

Chris

[casstony]

I think there are less girls simply because less girls are interested in the hobby, even though the hobby is populated by extremely handsome 41 to 67 year old men.

[jjjnettie]

LOL it's definitely not a girly hobby. LOL Chances of increasing the percentage of astro chicks is very small.
Yep, all the more handsome 41 to 67 astro dudes for us then.

[Shark Bait]

:) Oh well, only 39........

[Screwdriverone]

Hmmm, I'm 42 shortly, seems I am in the "zone"....:)

Cheers

Chris

[alistairsam]

but then there are so many attractive women scientists, some of them have a huge fan following as well !!
just need more amateurs though!

[erick]

Talkin' about me again?



And I hope that anyone who sees this happening, whether on IIS or at a camp will speak up immediately so we can reduce, if not remove, any such attitudes.

[ballaratdragons]

Much of what I know now about Astronomy I learnt from a lady Amateur Astronomer.
Karenza Burk is one of the most dedicated zealous Amateur Astronomers I have ever met. Her excitement is contagious and has you wanting it to get dark really fast so you can check out what she is talking about.

She is a good friend of mine too, so I get some of that infectious excitement for the sky whenever I see her. :thumbsup:

But now she is approaching her 80's its getting harder for her to observe. But her excitement and vivid descriptions are still contagious :)

[niko]

I've been doing my bit to bring more women astronomy - a new recruit at Snake Valley!

[JB80]

This is an interesting rant, and one touching on an area that I wanted to bring up but wasn't sure how or where to begin because I guess it has a number of determining factors. Lets face it amature astronomy, no matter how well marketed is never going to be a true mass-market venture but it does seem as if interest by the public can be boosted somewhat by little more than a major public television network taking a gamble that people are actually interested in such matters and may actually have a basic level of intelligence.

The reason I say this point specifically is because over the last two years astronomy has seen a huge boom in the UK which has been directly related to a couple of well placed programs on astronomy and a certain Prof. Cox.
So when I see a quote such as the following one I feel that this certainly doesn't need to be the case.......



You know, this may actually be true and yes a boom in interest by Joe public is not the same as a shrinking industry however they are directly related to each other. No?
If the industry is forced to expand or even speed up maybe they'll get the hint.

At the moment in the UK there is a entry level telescope and accessories shortage of sorts as well as unprecedented levels of interest amongst the groups and forums and it can pretty much all be put down to the "Stargazing Live" program that aired over three nights earlier in the year.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00mlr20
This has caught the industry and retailers completely off guard such has been the level of interest that's been stirred up and this can only be a good thing which in theory could lead to an expanding industry more so than a shrinking one.

OK, so I realise a specicfic regional boom in astronomy on a purely novice level is not at first going to cause manafacturers to make an automated ccd calibration system or create more affordable astro dedicated software etc... but this astronomy business a long haul pastime/dedication and the trickle down or up effect of increased numbers involved may take some time to become apparant.



I guess what I'm saying is that I'm seeing possibly the beginnings(or a reasonable how to guide at least) of astronomy possibly shaking the stereotypical image and with that will come more innovation in the industry if it sticks.
And "If it sticks" is a fair point too, there are a number of cynics/realists who seem to take the attitude of 'lets lay low until this blows over, because it will blow over'. Now surely this would be the wrong attitude to take, I feel it's best to embrace those who wish to learn and as mentioned it's for the benefit of all in the long run.

Now this brings me around to what has been bugging me, when growing up in Australia there was nothing to inspire me into astronomy. I'm too young to remember the Moon landings or Apollo missions, even the Shuttle was synonymus with what happened to Challenger and later Columbia. There was no memorable media interest or tv programs I can look back on fondly and unfortunately no inspirational people around me like others have found.

I can't imagine things have changed either in the 3 or 4 years I have been gone, but like I said earlier from what I've seen amature astronomy is not dead nor stuck in the water.
What I'd love to see for Australia as I'm sure most would is some dedicated long term free to air programming and possibly a similar annual show like Stargazing live and it's community outreach initiatives with some real star power(pun intended) leading the charge. I'd love my kids to have more options than I did available to them because without some kind of injection then yes, the situation for all those involved no matter what level they are at could very well be in danger of not having the expansion we would all like to see. But it's possible to turn it around.


So while my observations have probably come from a different starting point than the one in the blog I feel it is directly related in a way. Maybe the best way to address the issues is too start at the bottom and not be scared of new blood.
Sure it might be a niche market but there is no harm in expanding that niche.

Ooh wow, sorry about all that waffle. I got carried away, Im just bummed that what I've seen recently here could so easily be reproduced in Oz and it definitely has a positive infuelnce on many different levels.

:)

Then again.

[RobF]

Bah HUMBUG I say. I got into all this when I was 16 (ummm 32 years ago...), and back then the only "astro porn" was a single (well run) shop in town. No online forums, or stores websites to persuse, let alone ordered stuff across the pacific in a few days with relative ease.

Chinese mass production has given us fantastic mounts, mounts and cameras that amateurs 20-30years ago would have given both arms to get hold of (if they still had any arms :question:)

It probably is going to be a niche hobby for ever though I guess, but hey, I'm a nerd, and I think I prefer it that way. Now, I'm going back to thinking how I can market my own great astro idea (when I get one....) to make TENS of DOLLLARS!! (muhhaaaggahhhaaa!)

[Hagar]

Keep working at it Niko, youre doing fine.

[mill]

And a fine woman it is Niko :thumbsup:
We need more women in astronomy and less in "astrology" :eyepop:

[bert]

Hmmm..... I'm underage.

[barx1963]

We are expecting a mini bus full of female recruits next camp though Niko!:rofl:

[Poita]

That's alright, you don't look it :P

[Poita]

Brett and I have rants like this all the time, your imaging rant reminded me of it, so I thought it would help to know you're not alone.:D

[brian nordstrom]

:rofl: me to Chris ,, in the zone ? alright!!:hi: .
Brian.

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: Yep , two of my best astronomy friends in NZ are lovely ladies as well , :question: ,so it cant be all bad , now ? can it .. they are also so infectious when talking and doing astronomy , nice to be around them .
Brian.

[psu_13]

Wow. I was so surprised to find this thread here about my humble weblog post that I had to register just to say hi.

So, hi! And thanks for the interesting discussion about my little rant-let.

[RobF]

Hi Pete :welcome:

Good on you for signing up - and thanks for sending your "ripples" out across the internet to IIS :)

[SkyViking]

That's a rather funny read, but actually I really enjoy that this is a niche business. Taking a great astro image requires serious effort and skill, and is where science and art come together. It's not easy at all and I think it would be boring if it was.

[ZeroID]

Hmm, I'm in the 'zone' albeit near the wrong end of it :shrug:.
I agree, this is a niche hobby and requires a certain sort of commitment and patience.

My wife is an oddity in that she is very interested and knowledgeable about perfomance cars. Hence our last weeks excursion to the track so she could get some driving time at high speed. Motorsport is another hobby\sport that lacks in female participation, ignoring the race bimbos that sponsors throw in. (And I'm not trying to be derogatory about the girls but about the whole base 'sex sells' concept that is abused and exploited by the sponsors).

But that is the way of the world, we each have our own somewhat hormonal drives that predicate our interests and preferences. We should though, respect and value those of the other gender that share those same interests as it always brings another viewpoint to the school of thought. This applies to other cultures and races etc etc too of course.

As my wife says we should celebrate our difference AND our similarities.