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It's not as easy, finding this hobby, as some might expect. Or perhaps, I'm not very adept at it. I had to search high and low, and long and hard to find something that captured my interest. Now, I play softball when the season comes around, and I play racquetball every other day with some friends of mine at the local gym (it's forcing me to wake up around 5:30 am, which has taken some getting used to) ... but I don't consider those "hobbies". Those are activities, and healthy ones at that, that I enjoy doing ... but they don't quite have hobby status to me. For me, a hobby is something that you can do with friends or alone, and you'd be fine either way.
I think I finally settled on my first hobby: Astronomy*. I remember the few times growing up that I was able to really view the night sky; when we escaped the light pollution of NYC when we went on vacation into upstate NY. I'd track satellites, gaze at the moon, try to find as many constellations as I could. I thought it was cool, but never really pursued it. Well, I want to pursue it now. But, I'm trying to be practical about it. As much as I'd love to jump in feet first and buy myself a nice telescope in the $1-2K range, I think that's a bit over the top. Especially if after a couple of tries, I find out it's not for me. So, I'm starting out small. Fortunately, a local college has an observatory and a couple of assistant/associate professors who teach astronomy there. In talking to one of them, they confirmed my thoughts that I should start out with a pair of good binoculars. That was the recommendation from Sky & Telescope. A good pair seems like it'll run me close to $100. I have a tripod so the price will be reduced somewhat. Then with a good field guide, I'll be ready to go. The local college also has an astronomy club, so I should be able to supplement my star gazing with the telescopes that others bring. That'll also allow me to gather data on what telescope, should I continue on with this hobby, that I would like to buy as well.
In the meantime however, if anyone is an amateur (or professional) astronomer, any and all comments/suggestions are more than welcome.
*I'm fascinated with the idea of being able to view the rings of Saturn (see picture below), and the Space Station from where I stand. Maybe even the Space Shuttle. The picture at the top of the blog entry was taken by an amateur astronomer. It's a truly inspiring photo.
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