Sky & Telescope July 2001 [antikvár]

The Great MythIt happened again: A speaker at a recent gathering of amateur astronomers got up and said, "This is the most expensive hobby you could have," and the old hands in the audience responded with a loud murmur of assent. I've heard this claim repeated often, and it always elicits the same reaction, so I know that many, if not most, amateurs agree with it. But it's wrong.Don't misunderstand I'm well aware that amateur astronomy can be a very expensive hobby. Just flip through the advertisements in Sky Telescope.You'll find a telescope priced at $39,995, an equatorial mount for $8,500 (tripod not included), and a CCD camera for $12,950. Lets see that's $61,445 so far, plus lax and fireight. Yikes!But you don't need such expensive equipment to enjoy the night sky. You can take delight in the annual parade of the constellations with nothing more than your eyes and this magazine's celestial calendars. Add ordinary binoculars, and you can examine the Moon's surface and view dozens of star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. Of course, most of us want to see more, so most of us end up buying a telescope. Although you can spend many thousands of dollars, you don't have to (which is good, since not all of us can afford to). There are plenty of satisfying performers priced about the same as a basic stereo system or television set.So describing our hobby as a budgetary black hole is not really fair. Worse, doing so can scare away beginners. Inevitably, when I show kids the Moon or planets through my premium refractor, I get asked, "How much does that thing cost?" I used to answer honestly: "$2,000." But I soon realized that this sent the wrong message, because the kids would say things like, "Oh, 1 guess astronomy's not for me." Now 1 still answer honestly, but differently: "You can get a decent telescope for less than the cost of a PlayStation 2." And now the kids reply, "Cool!"Enough, then, of what 1 call the Great Myth. If you have the money and want to buy lots of top-of-the-line gear, please go ahead. I've bought some myself, 1 believe it's been worth every penny, and I have my eye on more. But please don't go around telling people that amateur astronomy is the most expensive of hobbies, because a budding stargazer might actually listen to you and decide not to bother with it.(Besides, amateur astronomy really isn't the most expensive hobby you could have. That would be flying.)