Re: [ATM] the future of amateur telescope making and amateur astronomy

[James Gort <jgort@oxford-observatory.org>]

I agree with most of what's been said on technology.  And I think that 
most people currently in ATM'ing will be there for life, and take 
advantage of these new innovations.  The enthusiasm on the list is 
obvious.  So the "breadth" of ATM'ing and Amateur Astronomy is certainly 
there.

I am less optimistic about the "depth",  Will a new crop of kids coming 
along take up the hobby?  I know there's plenty of anecdotal evidence 
that "my son or daughter" is getting into it, or that Stellafane is 
going strong.  But what is the average age of Stellafaners?

Look at the evidence - The Amateur Scientist column is gone.  Gleanings 
for ATM is gone (in favor of a much dumbed-down S&T column, whose name 
escapes me).  45 years ago, I was active in the Adler Planetarium 
Telescope Making group.  That's no more.  And since the somewhat allied 
hobby of ham radio came up, I got my license 50 years ago (when I was 
10).  That wasn't unusual.  Many people in my elementary school and it 
seems like half my high school were hams.  What is today's population of 
hams in the schools?  I fear that ATM'ing may go the same route.  I'm 
not sure what can be done about it.  If I had to guess, it's partly 
societal (want things now, with little effort), and partly technology 
(it's no longer easy (or desirable) to build a nice 50-watt transmitter 
- it's all PCBs!), and I suspect technology (adaptive optics, etc.) will 
make home-construction of scopes and ancillary equipment more difficult 
in the future.

I know there's going to be plenty of arguments against what I've said, 
but I thought I'd raise this point.  I know many of you are doing what 
you can to help educate the next generation.  That's a good start.  For 
me, I picked up a teaching certificate a few years ago (I'm now retired 
as an astrophysics prof) to help "inspire" the younger ones.  I was 
surprised by what I saw at the elementary level.  In general (and there 
are many exceptions!!), there is a disdain for science.  Especially the 
do-it-yourself variety.

I sincerely hope I'm wrong in this assessment.  But if there's a grain 
of truth, I hope we can all work to jointly find a solution.

James Gort 
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