(meteorobs) Re: Why don't more amateurs get it? (Meteors, that is.)
Robert Lunsford
lunro.imo.usa at cox.net
Thu Sep 20 16:33:42 EDT 2007
Lew and All,
There have been many fine comments on this subject and I really have nothing
earth-shattering to add.
I would like to commend Robin Gray for his attempts to introduce the sky to
his kids. Don't feel bad that they didn't take the bait as the competition
for kids attention is higher than ever. It difficult to compete with the
vast array of technology offered these days. I ask my kids to come outside
and see something through the telescope and you would think I was giving
them some sort of torture. Good Lord, pulling them away from their computer
or video games is just too much to ask!
John Bortle also made some pertinent points that struck home with me,
especially the need for instant gratification. In days gone by there was a
natural progression of first learning the constellations, then using
binoculars to develop skills of finding celestial objects, and then if you
were still bitten by the astro-bug, building or buying a telescope. Today
there are people using go-to scopes that don't know Aquarius from Virgo.
Eventually most of these scopes end up in the closet or are sold at a garage
sale.
There are a lot of people who like seeing meteor showers. Many of them will
make the effort to drive to dark skies. I know because my site is full of
them during the Perseids each year. Most of them bring the kids in order to
introduce them to another part of nature. Unfortunately most of them are
gone by 1am when the show starts to get good. I guess nature is cool as long
as it occurs during civilized hours.
I also found Wes Stone's comments interesting that even astronomy
enthusiasts find proper meteor recording tiresome and would rather
participate in useless group counts. You definitely have to be dedicated in
order to produce useful results. I feel the ratio is much lower than 1 per
100 for meteor observers. A real shame is that the dedicated meteor observer
is rarely more than a "flash in the pan". During the lifespan of meteorobs
we have seen numerous "dedicated observers" fall off the list or simply
burn-out. There are very few of us left and we are not getting any younger.
That is the scariest thought to me. Besides becoming a society of
"old-timers" there is no one in the younger generation waiting to take our
place. I'm trying my best to spread the word that meteor observing is both
fun and scientifically useful but I often feels that it falling upon deaf
ears. John Bortle seems be correct in the fact that society in general is
changing its attitudes toward hobbies.
On a lighter note I want to share a story that shows that technology can be
useful, even in meteor astronomy. On the morning of the recent Perseid
maximum it was getting light and I was packing up my gear. A mother and her
two kids drove into the viewpoint to see the show. I gave them the bad news
that the show was almost over but they they might see a bright Perseid or
two before it became too bright. They watched for 15 minutes or so and the
mother and her oldest son had seen two meteors. The youngest son was
distraught that he missed them both. It was now so bright that the odds of
seeing anything was remote. I pulled out my video camera and replayed some
of the action captured through my intensified camera earlier that morning.
The child was thrilled and the mother grateful that I took the time to share
this with them. Now I thought that was very cool and something beyond my
wildest dreams just ten years ago.
Clear Skies!
Bob Lunsford
----- Original Message -----
From: <Lew.Gramer at noaa.gov>
To: <meteorobs at meteorobs.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2007 6:08 PM
Subject: (meteorobs) Why don't more amateurs get it? (Meteors, that is.)
>I just finished watching Timothy Ferris' hour-long PBS (US publicly
> supported television) special, "Seeing in the Dark", based on his
> well known and beautifully written book of the same name.
>
> I really enjoyed his view of amateur astronomy and it's many joys.
> I also enjoyed seeing Barbara Wilson, Steve O'Meara and others
> who I've met over the years, sharing their passion for the hobby.
>
> Ferris spent considerable time talking about amateurs' increasing
> contributions to the SCIENCE of astronomy... He spent much of his
> one hour in fact presenting many tools - from computer-controlled
> scopes, to CCDs - that amateurs use to contribute to science. And
> he even filmed O'Meara describing his elation when he discovered
> the spokes of Saturn's rings many years ago, *visually*.
>
> All of this... and Mr. Ferris did not once mention meteors... Not the
> profound, serene simplicity of basking in a beautiful night sky with
> the unaided eye. Nor any mention of the central, almost dominant
> role we amateurs have played in the science of meteors either!
>
> Somehow, in this on-air paean to all things amateur astronomy,
> Mr. Ferris just did not GET IT. And thousands (maybe millions?)
> of other potential future amateurs who view this program won't
> probably ever "get it" either, as a result.
>
>
> During this relatively quiet period of mid-September, I wanted to
> put a question to our forum: why is it, that something so simple,
> so easy, so beautiful, so significant, and so FUN, simply fails to
> capture the imagination of most newcomers to astronomy? Why
> aren't ALL our fellow amateurs out there with lawn chairs, before
> they even pick up their first pair of binoculars? What is missing?
>
> I look forward to hearing others' views...
>
> Clear skies all,
> Lew Gramer
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