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I think it's fair to say we have seen a decline in interest in many scientific hobbies since the heady days of the 1960's through 1980's.
Halley's Comet was a strong draw card, but the changes brought about by the lack of maths/ science teaching, easier purchase of ready made telescopes etc. and the general lack of DIY and any dedicated rigorous application of effort to astronomy has had a significant impact.
I know only too well the problems of getting novices interested in Spectroscopy. For every 100 "interested" beginners, the number of active participants a year later is <10 and this drops to around +/-2 after three years.
I'm continually grateful to the members on the Astronomical Spectroscopy forum, about 900 at the moment for their ongoing support and contributions to ProAm research.
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