The quest for perfection

As with any pursuit, amateur astronomers wonder, "What would perfection look like?" With amateur astronomy most people realize nothing is perfect, yet there is an underlying current of constant comparison of equipment to see what is the "best." I'm sure if you are an experienced observer you can tell the difference, however slight, between a high end eyepiece, for example, and a value eyepiece, maybe somewhere in the mid-range. But how much does it really matter? If a little coma, for example, bothers you that much, maybe you're looking in the eyepiece for the wrong things.

Connoisseurs

Like wine, some people have cultivated a finer sense of the subtle differences between high end astronomy equipment and the rest of it, which the majority owns and uses. The most prolific posters online often tend to be those who fall into the former category. The result ends up being a constant chase by the rest of the group to try to keep up with "the best," even if it sometimes really doesn't matter, or is even detrimental, to the enjoyment of the hobby.

Above: Diamond by Nikilok, CC by 2.0.
Right: Wine taster by William Lawrence, CC by SA 2.0, cropped.

I remember when I attended my first astronomer gatherings and star parties how I was a bit put off by the emphasis on discussing equipment versus what we were looking at in the sky. I gravitated towards those individuals who were quietly observing while others spent most of their time discussing this or that mount or eyepiece. Now I understand. I believe this is because a lot of technical and engineering people are attracted to a scientific hobby like amateur astronomy. It's also because people just tend to compare themselves to others. We're in competition even when we don't need to be. I guess it's in our DNA.

It's a different facet of the hobby that most of us do at some time partake, but often the main purpose gets lost in all the focus on equipment and the manipulation thereof. Truthfully, it's a lot easier to blog or v-log about equipment because there's an endless supply of material and it's easy to comment about it. I'm guilty of that myself. After all, that's what we use to do our observing.

Tell me what you want

It goes off the rails somewhat when someone is convinced they have to have something because others have it and they gush about how good it is. It's fear of missing out (FOMO), of course. I read about how great the new line of Houdini eyepieces are, and I try to find reasons why I should buy one. A new telescope is praised as such a great value that everyone should have one. You can't stop it, but you can resist it.

What do you really want out of amateur astronomy? For some, there's certainly a component about getting the best equipment, the largest scope in town, etc. I think the majority of us just want to observe the night sky because we find it fascinating and mindblowing. What do you need for that?

Above: Montparnasse trainwreck, 1895, Public Domain.

Now tell me what you need

Actually, very little. The most important thing is a clear, unobstructed sky, hopefully without a ridiculous amount of light pollution. That's becoming more difficult to find. Another thing is time. You have kids, you start school, you take a new job, and all of a sudden you have no more time for astronomy. Health. An understanding family. A safe place to observe. You can't buy your way past those hurdles.

You can, however, buy your way into dissatisfaction or disillusionment with the hobby. It's easy. You just bought this telescope, but now you're thinking a bigger one would show you more. Maybe you buy the bigger one and you're happy as a clam. 

But maybe later in the back of your mind you're thinking how much easier it was to observe with that little telescope, and you're sorry you sold it. So you buy another one to replace it. And another one because you don't have one of that type. And...

You're encouraged because you see all the online people with their ever-growing lists of equipment under every post they make. Your eyepieces are breeding in their box, which now no longer holds them all. 

Eventually nothing is enough, you give up, and you admit you're addicted to buying things. You've become a consumer more than an observer. But you comfort yourself with the thought that now you are an "expert," having tried most everything that's out there! You decide to start your own social media channel and monetize it all to buy more stuff.

By CusterDome, Public Domain

There's nothing wrong with wanting good equipment. It makes observing more enjoyable. It's when the reason for consuming is more about FOMO than it is about making the experience better for you that the problems arise. What can you do?

Dance with the one that brought you

Get out and observe. Try going out with just a chair and a pair of binoculars. Or even just a chair. Do you still enjoy that? Try taking your old small scope out and seeing what you can observe with it. Do you still know the constellations, or have they missed you? Get back in touch with what got you started in the first place. Do some outreach, if you're so inclined. 

When you do that, you'll get a lot more enjoyment out of that big Dob you bought because you're actually using it for what it was intended: to give you a great look at the sky. And maybe you can share that with others.

Dancing under the Moon by Yusuf Gönenli, CC by 2.0.