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People who have come to astronomy because of the advent of smart scopes, on the other hand, are attracted to the beauty of celestial objects and the joy of sharing the pictures they create. The device, the Seestar in this case, is a means to an end. It is supposed to “just work.” When they want to see the moon it should just show it to them with as little fiddling as possible. When it does and they get a nice sharp picture that makes friends and family go, “Oh, wow!”, it makes them happy. They’re not particularly interested in how the Seestar works, and they don’t get pleasure in figuring out why, when it doesn’t. These people tend to use Siril for post-processing, | People who have come to astronomy because of the advent of smart scopes, on the other hand, are attracted to the beauty of celestial objects and the joy of sharing the pictures they create. The device, the Seestar in this case, is a means to an end. It is supposed to “just work.” When they want to see the moon it should just show it to them with as little fiddling as possible. When it does and they get a nice sharp picture that makes friends and family go, “Oh, wow!”, it makes them happy. They’re not particularly interested in how the Seestar works, and they don’t get pleasure in figuring out why, when it doesn’t. These people tend to use Siril for post-processing, | ||
- | Those are bad generalizations because some people who use the Seestar have decoded the firmware and have written programs for session management and mosaics. Others have used the Seestar for esoteric scientific purposes such as variable star photometry, detecting exoplanets, and tracking asteroids. Others have made beautiful enlargements that hang on their wall and share their images online. | + | Those are bad generalizations because some people who use the Seestar have decoded the firmware and have written programs for session management and mosaics. Others have used the Seestar for esoteric scientific purposes such as variable star photometry, detecting exoplanets, and tracking asteroids. Others have made beautiful enlargements that hang on their wall and they share their images online. |
Where the tension comes is when someone complains their Seestar doesn’t work but it’s obvious they don't know how to use it. When they' | Where the tension comes is when someone complains their Seestar doesn’t work but it’s obvious they don't know how to use it. When they' | ||
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Community moderators need to take a more active role in curbing bullying and trolling. Clear guidelines and swift action against offenders can make the Facebook forums more welcoming and conducive to learning. | Community moderators need to take a more active role in curbing bullying and trolling. Clear guidelines and swift action against offenders can make the Facebook forums more welcoming and conducive to learning. | ||
- | ZWO needs to make it clear that while the Seestar is easy to use, there is a learning curve and some troubleshooting may be required. Regardless, better software QA and better technical support would go a long way toward mitigating the growing | + | ZWO needs to make it clear that while the Seestar is easy to use, there is a learning curve and some troubleshooting may be required. Regardless, better software QA and better technical support would go a long way toward mitigating the frustration exhibited on Facebook. |
Experienced users who visit Facebook need to realize that the Seestar forums are primarily populated by people who are new to astronomy and who are looking for an “it just works” experience. Helping to make their Seestar work and helping manage expectations needs to be job one. | Experienced users who visit Facebook need to realize that the Seestar forums are primarily populated by people who are new to astronomy and who are looking for an “it just works” experience. Helping to make their Seestar work and helping manage expectations needs to be job one. | ||
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The point of this long diatribe is to suggest we need to find a way to make astronomy accessible and enjoyable for everyone. By bridging the gap between expectations and reality and fostering a supportive community, we can ensure that the Seestar serves as a delightful gateway to the universe. | The point of this long diatribe is to suggest we need to find a way to make astronomy accessible and enjoyable for everyone. By bridging the gap between expectations and reality and fostering a supportive community, we can ensure that the Seestar serves as a delightful gateway to the universe. | ||
- | More people ‘looking up’ is good for us all. | + | More people ‘looking up" |