One thing I've wondered, is how your job or other hobbies help in astronomy?
I know for me it's the fact that I'm vehicle restorer / motor trimmer that helps me.
I'm always having to think of ways to manufacture missing parts, and having to think outside the square to get the job done.
This helps me a lot when building telescopes.
This is my other hobby - see images.
it does help me a lot.
I'm a Snr.Network Engineer, so am well versed with computer hardware, software, as well as electronics as that was my other hobby.
all in all, it helps with sorting out astronomy software issues, program microcontrollers, evaluate various astronomy software, troubleshoot problems and so on as my interest is in astrophotography.
my interest in electronics helps immensely in assembling/designing/building motor controllers, dew heaters, optical encoders, wireless scope control and so on. and of course, the ability to print stuff at work doesn't hurt.
Last edited by alistairsam; 27-10-2011 at 09:40 PM.
I'm about to be stationed at a remote NT desert community for 6 months. So I guess work is helping me to spend my down time in one of the worlds best dark sites. I hope my 16" Dob will fit on the small plane.
Not directly but I've got\built plenty of computers and laptops and a heap of materials from works chuckouts that have built scopes and equipment. Currently their offcut new carpet tiles are going to be the floor in my Ob. dark charcoal fleck, rubber backed ... perfect !
All the struts and part of the ply on my Serrurier build is from work chuckouts. Fans, bolts, nuts, shafts, bearings ... it's better than any local hardware shop.
Mine did, when I had one (as job, that is). In my last position I used to go to a lot of big manufacturing companies. It was surprising how many people who work in industry are interested in astronomy and build all their own equipment (after all, they have all the equipment on hold to do so) Mind you, that isn't that surprising as lots of technical people are attracted to amateur astronomy.
I have met more amateurs in industry that when I worked for a optical company here in Perth. As a result, I was given (for nada) some great tubing for my pier. It is used cylinder tubing which has a nice thick wall for stability and also some 1" thick plate for the top and bottom. If I had managed to stay in that job a bit longer (made redundant due to GFC) I would also have had some access to machines so that I could have machined up the plates to fit the tube.
Also, I am a Machinist by trade and when I worked at it, about 25 years ago, I made my own equatorial mount for my first telescope. All the material used, except for caged and thrust bearings where scraps. I used a commercially available drive (as I have no electronic skillsd ) The company also allowed me to do my own machining, during company time, as long as I had no other jobs that needed to be completed. It sounds generous but isn't as I did a lot for that company.
One of the few parallels I can draw between work and my hobby is that in the same way that the basal metabolic rate decreases by 50% for every 7 degrees drop in body temperature, so does the electronic noise of a CCD chip!
Not a job, but I do honours next year so I would be based out in Wellington, NSW for an extended period of time while doing research. It's going to be great with clear dark skies
One of the few parallels I can draw between work and my hobby is that in the same way that the basal metabolic rate decreases by 50% for every 7 degrees drop in body temperature, so does the electronic noise of a CCD chip!
I retired a few years ago but was a teacher of computing studies and mathematics with a background in science.
I use computer programming to produce star charts and to do various searches and calculations associated with astronomy. The mathematics allows me to develop the algorithms that the programs are based on.
When I retired I would never have guessed that my previous skills would take me in new directions in another field ... astronomy.
I was a software engineer once... before sliding down the slippery slope into management and business It certainly helps with understanding image processing algorithms. I have also started playing with PixInsight scripting and hope to build some useful tools there.
My employer develops small devices for out-of-band management, so I have easy access to intelligent Ethernet/WiFi/3G/serial/USB widgets. This will come in handy if I ever get the opportunity to set up a remote observatory.
My job is in science but it doesn't help me at all with astronomy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Huginn
Not a job, but I do honours next year so I would be based out in Wellington, NSW for an extended period of time while doing research. It's going to be great with clear dark skies
Spare time during honours??? I think I hear an approaching shock. Man, your going to be as busy as a one-legged bloke at a butt kicking competition. And if your not you're doing yourself a disservice. BTW what's worth researching in Wellington?
Tempted to say that work just gets in the way of astronomy! I'm lucky to be self-employed so I can ameliorate the impact - most of my time is spent on the computer writing reports, so I can keep up to date with what's happening in the astro world without a boss looking over my shoulder. I can also spend time late for interesting astronomical events during the week without worrying about facing the dreaded bundy at some ungodly hour of the morning!
Time at home is interspersed with work-related travel, which can take me to flat horizons, or deep into the dark skies of the Alps (albeit usually without telescope). I also manage most times to schedule work in Central Victoria to coincide with the Snake Valley camps, hehehe.
But overall, work's a pain. Someone should just give me money and let me get on with astronomy!
Being my own boss helps as a farmer. The self taught skills of fixing things including welding has helped with building observatories and scopes; although perhaps a bit rough in some eyes.
Does my job help me in Astronomy? Well it certainly helps me in Astrophotography!
I'm a Geophysicist, specialising in Seismic Processing.
To reduce noise we stack multiple records as you do in Astrophotography. To get a doubling of the signal to noise ratio we need to add four records, as you do in Astrophotography.
To remove the effect of the signal passing through the Earth and increase resolution we apply deconvolution. To remove the effect of the atmosphere and increase resolution in Astrophotography you apply deconvolution.
In Seismic Processing we remove unwanted frequencies such as those from powerlines using a notch filter. To remove unwanted frequencies such as street lights in Astrophography I use a UHC-S filter which effectively notches the light spectrum.
As you can see alot of concepts are in both my work and my hobby!!
) The company also allowed me to do my own machining, during company time, as long as I had no other jobs that needed to be completed. It sounds generous but isn't as I did a lot for that company.
I can also spend time late for interesting astronomical events during the week without worrying about facing the dreaded bundy at some ungodly hour of the morning!
