I KNOW i wont be missed.

.Some other urchin was on lately who thought he would see Uranus with the naked eye.

Which is possible from a dark sky.

It gets to around +5.7 so with a dark enough sky, and knowing exactly where to look its possible alright.

Paul
Fair play to you.
I have been watching these posts for about two years now with a kind of horrified fascination.I would not agree that the site should have the kind of social side to it that you refer to but I totally agree that there is a hard core of contributors to this site whose level of pursuit of this hobby is obsessive and compulsive.
The impression given is that to pursue astronomy meaningfully you have to spend every living minute thinking about it,spend ridiculous amounts of money on it,that you have to have every and any piece of new gear that comes on the market,that you sit around on bad nights waiting for breaks in the clouds and that you are somehow deficient if you let 5 minutes of clear sky go by without getting out.
I dread to think of the number of people considering taking up simple stargazing,with or without equipment,who have been put off by these fanatics.
I have little doubt that they will even take exception to the term stargazing,they see themselves as some kind of Astronomers.
I get no sense of the enjoyment and wonder to be got from just looking at the sky with affordable,acceptably good equipment or with none at all,plain and simply,WHEN YOU ARE IN THE MOOD.
There are people on this forum with equipment that would put you in the poorhouse,who not only do not understand what they have but who know nothing about the sky.The guy with the "11" CAT who had to ask how to find Mars springs to mind.What will someone like him do if he finds out that he is really not that interested after all.Some other urchin was on lately who thought he would see Uranus with the naked eye.
I have little doubt that the manufacturers of this gear must be having a quiet laugh to themselves at people in a climate like Ireland's spending the kind of money involved to perhaps get 50,at most,nights in the year when the the equipment can be used to anything approaching it's potential.
As far as I can see,what we have here largely is a bunch of equipment freaks who find expression in Astronomical gear.
Anyway enough said.
Once again fair play to you.

Jaysea, as stated by Albert, check out the beginners forum, around xmas times, and you will see people here give honest opinions.
I came here when deciding to get a scope, and with the help of the folk here i chose a modest 6"cat. and i was congratulated on a fine purchase here afterwards.

Anyway, if you know anything about astronomy, you will know that what you can see is dictated by your gear. the more advanced you get, the better gear you will want. if your a race car driver, you wont make do with driving a 1.0L polo around a track, you want the best you can afford to give you the best chance. likewise here. i can see plenty with my 6" and although plenty of people here have great gear much superior to my own, i am not made feel that my gear is inferior or i need to get what they have. in fact look at the images put up by such people, or the descriptions of their observing experiences, or all the help they give beginners like me and Paul when he was a member here. they dont flaunt the gear over you, they help you enjoy the fruits of having such gear and learn enough to one day warrant owning such gear if thats what you want.
So what if people spend a fortune on their gear. if its their passion then more power to them. that was a ridiculous statement to make.


With regards to your gripe with people only talking astronomy here.Seriously, what do you expect on a site called "irishastronomy". also, the rules in the forums clearly state whats acceptable, and the mods here are often quite lenient about what they leave up. many forums have a 3 strikes and your out rule.
you want to talk football, find a football forum, you want to discuss the finer points of ballet or whatever, find an associated forum.



And so what if people seem a bit "fanatical" here. What you call fanatical, others call passionate or dedicated.
also, without "fanatics" who throw themselves body and soul into their endeavors, where would we be, we would be a poor race as we would have no desire to explore, discover and grow.

Really, what you said is quite an insult to all the fantastic folks on this site.

Anyway, the web is a big place, so go find somewhere you are happy, and when you decide that place aint good enough for you, build your own forum ,and when your the only one posting there, with nobody to challenge you you'l prob be truly happy. Rudeness like that displayed in your post isnt needed so all the best.

Really, what you said is quite an insult to all the fantastic folks on this site.

Fully agreed with. I normally don't do these 'flame war' threads, but this goes right to the heart of why this great forum exists in the first place, on which I cannot ignore.

Paul, I feel that it would be a great loss to you and everyone else if you should retire from here, I for one have enjoyed many of your threads and questions. This is what this forum is about. If you think it's too serious here, go to any thread and see how many smiles there are posted.

Keith..

Just to add a simple point. I recently put up a post with a religious theme on the boards and it was debated to a point. Only after a day or two did anyone come and say it should be debated somewhere else. It was allowed continue simply because the Mods here are not in the business of jumping in and stopping people debating things. They simply stop people going off the plot. Im interesed in biology but what ya gonna do! Ive been coming to this site for a couple of years now and ive never seen any of the insulting behaviour that your talking about jaysea. As for the equipment thing. Everyone want to see more and the way to do that is get the best equipment you can afford.

Peace.

Jaysea,
That's a hilarious post, I nearly fell of the chair laughing :lol:
What I cant understand is why you kept coming back for the last 2 years.

A site that is set up for astronomy is going to talk about astronomy, I'm sure there are sites set up to discuss football, stamp collecting, car maintenance, and I can't imagine them talking about astronomy.

The people who contribute to the site are well meaning and have been nothing but helpful.

I agree with Fintan, I have met some great people since joining the boards
and the observing nights are a treat to look forward to. If possible try to get out to one, it will be an experience you won't forget.

But, if that's the way you feel, then I for one wish you success in whatever field you pursue.