Any amateur (or professional) astronomers here?

[girl gone mad]

I'm curious to know if there are any other astronomers in the late night crowd.

I guess I probably should have posted this a little earlier.

[benburch]

1. Amateur Astronomer and Telescope Maker here...

:-)

[girl gone mad]

3. Cool!

I figured there must be some here. Do you grind your own mirrors?

I actually need to buy a new telescope. I had to sell my 12" SCT and losmandy mount last year to raise some money. :cry:

I'm leaning towards buying a Dob, mostly because of the low cost. I live in a rural area, so a large aperature is no problem. Do you have any recommendations? I don't need anything fancy, just something to tide me over until I can afford a scope with better optics.

[drfresh]

2. amateur

took a class at the university and LOVED it.

stellar evolution, general phyics, einstein, gravitational lenses, Cosmic Microwave Background, big bang theory... good stuff there.

[girl gone mad]

4. :)

I actually have a degree in astronomy, though I never put it to much use. I knew there weren't many job opportunities for people without advanced degrees, but I loved the subject so much that I decided to stick with it.

Do you keep up with the field or do any observing? It sounds like your professor covered quite a bit.

[drfresh]

6. Now and then

So what do you do if not astronomy work? At least its a good hobby :)

I keep visiting space.com and keep up with the space/astronomy/physics news as much as I can, but I haven't gotten a chance peer through a telescope since the class. Hopefully soon...

And my professor was AWESOME, I'd say I squeezed as much knowledge out of her as humanly possible!

[steely]

5. Looking for a dob?

Orion, Meade and a few other make decent stuff - although if you're somewhat handy, you could try making one. I snagged plans from this site - I didn't grind the mirror, I bought it with a matched secondary for less than 200. http://members.aol.com/sfsidewalk/cdobplans.htm

[Orsino]

7. Former semi-professional.

No, not a real astronomer by any stretch of the imagination (degree in physics), but I got to teach the subject in high school. I no longer know my way around the constellations or nebulae, but I'm still a good planet-spotter.