How To Be a Frugal Astronomer
Written by Nancy Atkinson
These are tough economic times for almost everyone, including those of us interested in doing a little backyard astronomy. Even if you're a casual astronomer or have never done much observing, gazing at the stars might be just the remedy you need to take your mind off any financial woes. Brian Ventrudo, the editor over at One-Minute Astronomer has put together a list of 25 tips and resources that are almost entirely free to help you enjoy astronomy on a tight budget. It's a great list (it includes a tip to read Universe Today!), so check out Brian's article, and while you're there you should subscribe to his newsletter, too.
More about the One-Minute Astronomer…
I've subscribe to the One-Minute Astronomer for awhile now, but didn't know much about the background of the site. So I emailed Brian, and he told me that he developed the website and newsletter to fill a niche where people interested in astronomy can get short easy-to-read articles that help them learn more about astronomy and get more out of their hobby. "A lot of beginners and near-beginners get frustrated after a while and sometimes get information overload,"Brian said, "So my site helps them through by giving useful (usually!) advice and information."
The One-Minute Astronomer sends out two emails each week to subscribers, and as the name implies, it only takes a minute to read his great advice. That minute is a great "investment" for your interest in astronomy (to continue the economic thread here…!)
About the 25 tips for being a frugal astronomer article Brian said, "Many of my subscribers ask where they can find good free information, so I thought I'd put it all in one place for them. And it's timely with all the nastiness going on with the economy and markets."
Filed under: Astronomy
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November 21st, 2008 at 1:05 pm
You can be a super frugal astronomer if you live in Seattle. I finally found out that astronomy has been canceled here until further notice. Clouds, more clouds….haze….
November 25th, 2008 at 10:45 am
After looking over the list "25 Tips . . . " I sent the URL to all of my students/fellow astronomers in our community. The information is well worth looking over for anyone interested in the subject. Thanks to you both for 1) compiling the list and 2) publishing the list. R
April 14th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Check out the Frugal Astronomer website:
http://mysite.verizon.net/frugalastronomer/index.html
It has even more free resources for amateur astronomers.