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Re: (meteorobs) Watching For Fun
Robert:
Here!!! Here!!! All hands for you. What you had to say was right on the
money. When people "grow up", they seem to forget what it was to be young
and NOT have the knowledge that it takes. Today we must encourage our young
ones to advance. Your words are to the point.
Do people think that we would have StarShine today if not for the young
people? Do people think we would have female (I don't mean anything by
this) astronauts today if we never started out at all to advance ourselves?
If we do not surge forward, we will never go beyond our backyard...if even
that.
If a young child or beginner/amature (no matter what age) is interested in
surging forward, shouldn't we help that individual to excel? It took the
world to create the Hubble Telescope...no matter how many confrontations.
It is taking the entire world to create the International Space Station...no
matter how many confrontations. We cannot give up hope. If we don't
encourage our children to look beyond their noses and backyards, they will
soon cease to exist and become vegetables. Let them look. Let them
explore. Seeing is believing. Believing is doing. Doing is surging
forward.
Let's encourage our beginners/amatures with thoughts that even a $12.00 pair
of binoculars can one begin to see the world.
Thank you,
Starr Hernandez
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Lunsford <lunro.imo.usa@prodigy.com>
To: Meteor Observing Mailing List <meteorobs@jovian.com>
Date: Wednesday, July 21, 1999 8:32 PM
Subject: (meteorobs) Watching For Fun
>Apologies to the long time list members for bringing this up again!
>
>What is the wrong with watching for fun? It seems to me that a great
>majority of us started watching meteors just for fun, like watching the
>4th of July fireworks display in America. Do we count each rocket or
>firecracker? I don't think so!
>
>When we found out that we could make scientifically useful contributions
>(even with the existence of video cameras) a small number of us advanced
>to the next level and became seriously interested in meteor observing.
>To those who wish to still watch for fun and not count; that's great! Go
>out once or twice a year to see the Perseids or Leonids. Bring your
>children and neighbors out too! Those people provide the possibility for
>others to become serious observers. When the fun seekers start seeking
>knowledge it will be the AMS, ALPO, DMS, IMO, and NAMN that will be
>there extending a helping hand encouraging them to learn how to count,
>plot, and analyze their data while still having fun. If I was not having
>fun visually observing would you think I would drive 100 miles each
>morning to find dark skies? Not on your life!!!
>
>As for that kid with his 4 inch telescope, well like many telescope
>users we start out small and look for the fun of it. He may not be
>providing any useful scientific data but 10 years from now when that
>young adult is viewing Saturn with his 16 inch telescope and discovers a
>storm on the equatorial belt he will be glad that no one told him that
>he was wasting his time. Also recently there are 3 chaps named Hale,
>Bopp, and Hyakutake who were also having fun visually observing while
>satellites were busy discovering all the comets!
>
>Visual observing, whether naked eye or through a small telescope, will
>not wane in importance. I believe that it's great when anyone looks at
>the sky for any reason. The clouds, rainbows, and aurora may not provide
>scientifically useful data but they may be a stepping stone to bigger
>and better things!
>
>May I suggest a few more positive posts to this group encouraging people
>to look and watch? If not, then reading meteorobs may not be fun anymore
>:(
>
>Bob Lunsford
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