Is it the end of the amateur telescope?

[gavroche]

I have three of them and they are all in a cupboard and never used now. It is so easy now to go on Youtube and look at any planets and their moons close up, thanks to space exploration, that I don't see the need to go out and set a telescope that will give me very poor results compared to very clear photos from space crafts on or in orbit around the planets/moons,
I appreciate what professionals telescopes can do as they look deep into space to places we can't travel to but I think the traditional home telescope has had its day now.

 

[Rocky]

I still get a buzz from looking at the moon through my small telescope. It wasn’t long ago I could vaguely see Saturn’s rings and Jupiter’s moons in the same southern sky. Don’t get rid of your telescopes - there’s nothing like seeing the night skies with your own eyes.

 

[HMS_Dave]

Nothing can really compare through a screen. With my 6 inch Meade refractor my eyepiece and my eye balls can draw circles. A computer screen cannot as it uses a series of dots. Sure, high resolution helps, but look at dim stars on a picture through your monitor and you'll see... For me there is a child like awe i have when i look through. I can see Mar's surface thanks to probes and robots, but that doesn't stop me wanting to look at Mars through my scopes. I just don't get that buzz sitting on my arse looking at whatever it is i want to look at...

 

[Drago]

I dont think there will ever be a substitute for direct observation for real enthusisasts. Sure, many will sit inside and be looking at their screens, but their pooters will still be directing a telescope outdoors.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

It's always exciting to see Saturn's rings and the moon's topography through an amateur telescope... yes you can see them way closer up on screens, but it's so artificial in a way, they could be computer generated (or at least that's what my mind constantly tells me, even though I know that image is real).

There's something far more authentic about being out in the cold and seeing that light with your own eyes. It's magical, I don't think the amateur telescope has had its day yet.

 

[HMS_Dave]

It's always exciting to see Saturn's rings and the moon's topography through an amateur telescope... yes you can see them way closer up on screens, but it's so artificial in a way, they could be computer generated (or at least that's what my mind constantly tells me, even though I know that image is real).

There's something far more authentic about being out in the cold and seeing that light with your own eyes. It's magical, I don't think the amateur telescope has had its day yet.

The first thing i looked at was Saturn. Completely unbelievable to me. I remember seeing it on TV and in magazines but it don't really prepare you for seeing it for the first time. My first ever telescope it was a challenge to spot the cassini division in the rings, always a good test of the seeing conditions but also felt like an achievement with my small scope i used to have.

 

[stephec]

Computers might be able to simulate a lot of things, but it's not the same as doing it for real.

As an example, I played a game of snooker against the computer earlier, whilst I enjoyed it it was no where near as a good as doing it for real in the club.

 

[snorri]

I use my telescope for observing marine activities, but nowadays when I see a ship or marine structure in the distance with my naked eye I am more inclined to look on a website in order to identify it and get more information than the telescope can reveal.

 

[gbb]

I've never really been avid about astronomy, yet always had an inbuilt wonder of it all and I cant tell you how exciting it was as it dawned on me I could see with my own eyes the moons of Jupiter, four sharp pinpricks of light...through a simple (but good) birdwatching scope.
In the scheme of things, it's a moment of wonder and excitement, nothing more, it's simply you see something you never thought you would....but it was a special moment for me. The internet photos have their place of course but its 'normal'.

 

[MontyVeda]

I've looked at countless pictures of the moon's surface over the years and spent hours going all over the moon on Google Sky... but seeing it 'close up' through a telescope for the first time took my breath away ...it's 3D!

 

[Bazzer]

The night sky is a wonder in its own right.
From the joy of identifying a star or a constellation, through looking at the craters on the moon and on to the planets. Computer screens have there place, but so do eyes and reality.

 

[numbnuts]

Clouds comes to mind, that is why I got rid of mine

 

[PeteXXX]

Would it be comparable with Zwift etc. and cycling?

Pedalling away, looking at a screen, getting exercise, but without the real fun of headwinds, drizzle and potholes..

There is life beyond screens, and maybe even at the other end of a telescope 🔭 👾

 

[Randomnerd]

Computers might be able to simulate a lot of things, but it's not the same as doing it for real.

As an example, I played a game of snooker against the computer earlier, whilst I enjoyed it it was no where near as a good as doing it for real in the club.

How on earth can you play snooker on a computer? My mind is boggling. I cannot fathom it. How?

 

[stephec]

How on earth can you play snooker on a computer? My mind is boggling. I cannot fathom it. How?

It's a simulation, here you go.