Having done public sidewalk astronomy for about 3 years now, I have encountered many situations along this journey. Some of the experiences are pleasant, while some others are not so.
Speaking of which, I believe that my fellow sidewalkers have their own stories to tell. I thought it would be interesting to share mine since I am healing from a sprained back and a few nasty insect bites from the previous public outreach session.
1) I have been given the dirty look by onlookers because they don't understand what was going on.
2) Shouted at by the mentally unstable.
3) Kids manhandling my telescope while their parents stood by and watched the world burn.
4) Inquisitions by the ultra-religous individuals.
5) Suffered nasty insect bites/stings.
6) Sprained my back doing yoga-like positions to adjust a telescope while objects were at zenith.
7) Queue cutters.
8) Wacky conspiracy theorists.
Yeah, that's about all. That being said, I still love what I do. This blog update isn't about complaints, but rather, to show people that it isn't easy to do these astronomy sidewalks and to let future sidewalk astronomers be prepared for what they are about to face when they embark upon this selfless quest.
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| Itchy bite marks of an insect from the previous sidewalk session. This isn't the first time I've been bitten by such an insect. The itch typically lasts for 3-4 days before it subsides. |
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