Astronomy and Pipe Smoking Enjoyment

Greetings all. I’ve always enjoyed pipe smoking as a contemplative experience, and having recently become an amateur astronomer I find the two pastimes meld very well together. Few activities are as soothing to me as sitting under starry skies with a pipe full of FVF and looking at the Orion Nebula or our closest celestial neighbor with, or without, a telescope. Anyone else out there an amateur astronomer, and if so how do you enjoy the experience?

I enjoy looking at the night sky but only know the dippers by name.

The great winter constellation Orion is presently in the southwest sky, and its quite spectacular and easy to identify. Look for three bright stars in a row; that’s the belt. Below the belt are another three stars hanging like a sword; a pair of binoculars should show the cloudy looking region in the sword that’s the Orion Nebula. Around the belt are several bright stars representing the hands and feet of Orion, including Betelgeuse, a red giant that will in the not too distant future (astronomically speaking) will explode as a supernova. Enjoyable with nothing more than your eyes and a pipe.

I've enjoyed viewing the night sky off and on for many years. Via binoculars or my small refractor, the moon, sun and solar system objects were always a delight. Constellations and DSOs were more difficult as I mostly lived in highly populated urban areas with tons of light pollution. Still I did attend the occasional star party and saw quite a few nebula, galaxies and star cluster via monster sized reflectors (light buckets).

I never mixed tobacco and telescope viewing as I read long ago that nicotine is very bad for night vision. The smoke is also bad for optics.

But smoking a pipe under dark summer skies and contemplating the words of Carl Sagan ("We are all made of star stuff") is a good experience.

I always wanted to get a telescope but trying to choose between the different types and prices, plus moving every few years and having to worry about it getting broken during a move. Maybe when I retire I'll finally pick one up. I do love astronomy and watching the night sky.

Astronomy is cool and I think pipe smoking naturally associates with it.

I was out this evening with a 72mm refractor looking at the waxing crescent mooon, nearby Jupiter and it’s Galilean moons, and a bit to the south the Orion Nebula and the Trapezium within. Beautiful sights despite poor seeing. I did take pains to separated myself from the scope while smoking my corncob, as is right and proper. All in all, a very pleasant time.

Buying your first scope can be very confusing, made more so by the sometimes questionable advice given by well meaning but often myopic amateur astronomers. The right scope is the one that best fits your own unique circumstances of budget, location, physical condition, handiness, and interests. The best scope is the one you’ll use.

A common mistake is to underestimate the importance of the mount, which is after all the foundation upon which everything else depends. I won’t lie; a good mount isn’t cheap and a cheap mount isn’t (usually) good. My advice would be to, like tslots, attend several star parties, look through multiple scopes, and try to imagine how they might fit within your lifestyle. There will be those that are too large, too small, and perhaps some that are just right.

Ask questions - lots of questions. Folks who volunteer at star parties are there to share their their passions and interests with you, and you’ll usually find they’re exceedingly generous with both.

Need to take it up again, I haven't had an evening under the stars with a pipeful for a good long while.

I have to admit I used to teach some amateur astronomy for Boy Scout events. I was terrible. Hopefully in later life the guys learned something because they didn’t from me.

UkuleleDude67 said:

I have to admit I used to teach some amateur astronomy for Boy Scout events. I was terrible. Hopefully in later life the guys learned something because they didn’t from me.

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There’s no bad astronomy teaching under the night sky and we amateurs get plenty wrong, but as long as everyone is having fun it’s all worth it.

I was showing a youngster Saturn through my 72mm refractor at a star party my wife and I volunteer at and her mother mentioned that they’d gotten her a 102mm celestron from Costco for Christmas. Her daughter asked if she’d be able to see Saturn through her own telescope to which I replied, “Yes, only better!” She literally jumped with joy at the prospect.

My first USAF assignment following my commissioning in early 1969 was to the USAF's School of Navigation at Mather AFB, Sacramento, Ca. (Since closed). Part of our training back then included both day and night celestial navigation using, amongst other devices, a sextant! We had to know all 42 navigational stars, Polaris (the North Star, very important!!), the Sun & Moon, the planets, plus a large number of constellations. I still can find most of them! Well, those in the Northern Hemisphere anyway!! FTRPLT

Timbo said:

Need to take it up again, I haven't had an evening under the stars with a pipeful for a good long while.

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I envy you for your southern skies. You’ve got so many superlative clusters, nebula, and asterisms. Don’t miss them, and don’t forget your pipe.

The waxing crescent moon was in the Pleiades tonight, and it made for a beautiful sight. A bright crescent moon next to a field of bright bluish stars.

For those of us who are still learning, a waxing crescent moon is a moon that is increasing (waxing) it’s illuminated surface and that is less than half full (crescent). In contrast, a waning gibbous moon would be a moon that is decreasing (waning) it’s illuminated surface and that is more than half full (gibbous). The Pleiades are among the brightest and most beautiful of the naked eye open clusters visible in the northern hemisphere, and represents the seven sisters who were the daughters of the Titan Atlas and the oceanic nymph, Pleione.

Together they looked a bit like this through the scope:



Ten years aged Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake in a Missouri Meerschaum Shenandoah cob pipe made it that much better.

ftrplt said:

My first USAF assignment following my commissioning in early 1969 was to the USAF's School of Navigation at Mather AFB, Sacramento, Ca. (Since closed). Part of our training back then included both day and night celestial navigation using, amongst other devices, a sextant! We had to know all 42 navigational stars, Polaris (the North Star, very important!!), the Sun & Moon, the planets, plus a large number of constellations. I still can find most of them! Well, those in the Northern Hemisphere anyway!! FTRPLT

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I live under the flight path for Tavis AFB and where I hike is just about under where the C-5s drop their landing gear on their final approach. Before moving here my wife and I lived under a flight path of Davis-Monthan in Tucson; lots of Warthogs flew right over the house there. I used to do field work east of Yuba City and I remember watching U-2s on their return to Beale. Seems I was always near an USAFB, and I still am.

If you don’t mind me asking, what did you fly? I’ll take a wild guess and say you started on Phantoms?

We live part of the year in a light restricted town in SoAZ. The night sky here is beautiful. We love sitting in the hot tub at night watching the stars, satellites and occasionally the ISS fly over us.

Polyphemos said:

I envy you for your southern skies. You’ve got so many superlative clusters, nebula, and asterisms. Don’t miss them, and don’t forget your pipe.

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You're more than welcome to pop on down anytime Jim. And yes the night sky here is lovely, particularly out in the desert away from all the lights.

Getting ready for the solar eclipse scheduled for April 8th in our area of Western New York.

rj carpentieri said:

Getting ready for the solar eclipse scheduled for April 8th in our area of Western New York.

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Best of luck for clear skies!

For those who are in the path of the eclipse but who haven’t yet gotten solar glasses, the best are made by a German optical company called Baader. I use a Baader solar film filter on my telescopes.

Baader solar glasses are available through Amazon, but the glasses through Amazon actually come from Agena Astro. You can purchase directly from Agena Astro and save yourself a few dollars:

https://agenaastro.com/baader-solar-viewer-eclipse-glasses-2459294-5-bundle.htm

Polyphemos said:

I live under the flight path for Tavis AFB and where I hike is just about under where the C-5s drop their landing gear on their final approach. Before moving here my wife and I lived under a flight path of Davis-Monthan in Tucson; lots of Warthogs flew right over the house there. I used to do field work east of Yuba City and I remember watching U-2s on their return to Beale. Seems I was always near an USAFB, and I still am.

If you don’t mind me asking, what did you fly? I’ll take a wild guess and say you started on Phantoms?

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Flew the Phantom Jet for 18 years! Was at Davis-Monthan late 1969-summer 1970. My twin girls were born in the D-M hospital. FTRPLT