Astro Burn Out - who has it?

[glend (Glen)]

I certainly have astro burn out, there is no other explanation. July and August have been a disaster, bad flu dragged on for a couple of weeks, and nothing i did in the observatory turned out as planned. I am making fundamental mistake after fundamental mistake, and frustration builds with each night with nothing to show for my effort. Yes, imaging can drive us all nuts sometimes but i am turning it into an art form. Stupid mistakes like forgetting the correct spacing on the refractor and wasting time going through the whole setup process again. I locked the door on the observatory tonight and i swear i am not going back in there, or even think about it till spring.

[StuTodd]

You aren't alone, and I think that is good to remember.

I've been doing asteroid occultations for a few years (amongst other things). Getting an image of the correct star is even a mission fraught with "sods law" scenarios...clouds, incorrect star fields, The Sky6 software being generally sh@#e, the video capture dongle not talking to the USB hub etc etc...it actually becomes a pain rather than a pleasure.

Remember Glen, you are never alone!

Stu

[Atmos (Colin)]

I am finally picking up my new mount next week. Lately I cannot be bothered taking my EQ6 out and fighting with it, knowing I have something so much better coming!
Some nights it works perfectly. Other nights there are just lots of random errors that crop up. If I didn't have my DDM60 arriving I would probably have a lot more enthusiasm as I wouldn't be expecting my new baby

It totally does hit all of us. One good thing to do on nights of (I cannot be bothered) is moving into a much easier field... Wide field astrophotography! Only takes a rough polar alignment to do 120s exposures with a 50mm lens PE and lack of guiding becomes a non issue at ~34"/pixel

[Shano592 (Shane)]

Luckily, Spring is next month, Glen.

I think we all go through it. I don't have your setup, but when I have tried imaging in the past and it has bombed, I go back to visual, while trying to work things out.

Saying that, I did box everything up for 18 months... bad weather plus a heavy workload meant my attention was elsewhere, and I didn't miss it. But since unboxing everything a couple of months back, my interest is as high as ever.

[Shiraz (Ray)]

well you can take some heart in knowing that the work you did in helping get the ZWO1600 software sorted out benefited a lot of people - thanks Glen.

but yes, burnout/lack of enthusiasm does hit regularly - eg when everyone else seems to be getting at least a bit of clear sky, or when unexplained gremlins turn up in previously reliable systems....

Hang in there. Regards Ray

[GTB_an_Owl (Geoff)]

nothing a trip away and a few ports won't fix Glen

geoff

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by GTB_an_Owl

nothing a trip away and a few ports won't fix Glen

geoff

Or a trip to go and buy more port.

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

I've had a break for the last year and a half.
After 9 years of being outside every clear night (excluding a few nights around full Moon) I really had had enough.
But I found out the other weeks at the doctors that my burn out may have been self inflicted.
I'd taken myself off a certain medication that I really should have been taking resulting in extreme fatique and "can't give a tossitis."
Now I'm back on my meds I'm ready to get back into into it, with a brand new second hand mount and a big list of stuff to image.

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

I'm not saying that you guys should go on Hormone Replacement Treatment to try to get your Astro Mojo back, but the ladies on the forum, of a certain age, might consider it.

[Dealy (Kev)]

Yep, I'm going through that now myself.

I just can't be bothered. A few small problems that probably won't take much effort to overcome are all it takes for me to find something else to do for the night.

I'm a bit happier to hear it's not just me, well not happy but you know what I mean.

[The_bluester (Paul)]

I am sort of hitting the opposite. "Lack of astro" burnout.

Just about every night for as long as I can recall where I would be in a position to set up (I just do visual) have been clouded out. The last time I had my gear under the sky was at the first SVAC this year!

[MortonH]

Have a break by doing visual only for a few weeks.

[xelasnave]

My legs take the shine out of everything add in old age well its the pits.
I am trying to find something to rev me up but so few options.
Might just do some Moon observation which I have not done for ages.

[croweater (Richard)]

I bought a nag T6 and Baader zoom months ago and haven't looked through either due to weather and shift work. The gloss has gone out of the purchases and I haven't even got to use them yet. Pretty frustrating.

[Kunama]

My wife has Astro-Burnout..... Every time I start talking about anything to do with Astro, or when I buy a piece of equipment (which is quite often), she gives a grumpy look, rolls her eyes and leaves the room......

I managed to cheer her up when I got her little scope autographed by her favourite astrophysicist.....

[LewisM]

Yeah...even sold one of my favourite scopes, but quickly got a replacement that is significantly shorter and lighter.

I'll never give it up, just go LONG periods of not "astronomising"

[el_draco (Rom)]

43 years... and still waiting. How do you get bored looking at the universe...

[N1 (Mirko)]

Guys, get a hobby. It will take your mind off life's hassles, be they self imposed or otherwise.

[LewisM]

NEVER get tired looking up...do all the time, even taking a leak (2nd story lavatory with big window looking east). Just get tired dragging out all the equipment seeing I have no observatory (well, not here, but 5 hours drive away I do).

[MortonH]

My SV66ED sits on a camera tripod and is always ready to go. The other night I took it out on the balcony for a few minutes before going to bed.

I find a few minutes of starlight (or moonlight) is a nice way to finish the day.