Looking for a distraction from the new cycle? Looking for a way to hone your astronomy skills during a recession without spending hundreds or thousands of dollars? Look no further, as here are 5 ways to hone your astronomy skills during a recession and any economy climate.

1. Observe The Night Sky From Home Or Walkable Nearby Area
   Observing the night skies from home or nearby park is a great way to use your gesr without having to pay a lot of money. Plus, it gives a great opportunity to learn about how to better use ones gear. For example, we have a few different telescope lenses that we have taken the time to better learn how to use in regards to focusing on different astronomical targets such as the moon and planets. Although light polluted skies hamper the ability to do astronomy on deep sky objects, observing at home through any method or from a nearby park or area that one can walk too is a free way to do astronomy. Another benefit of this method is that observing from home means that one can observe without having to worry about travel home, as one would simply return their gear inside when done.
   
2. Join a new online community and network
   A recession can be very stressful for all, as recessions mean hard economic times. However, that does not mean that it cannot be a great time to make new friends and join new communities and network. There are a plethora of communities that one can join and become a member of for free, such as forums, or chat servers. Some great examples of this are reddit.com/r/astrophotography, the cloudy nights forum, astrobin, and numerous discord servers. Here are a few other options https://blog.feedspot.com/astronomy_forums/ for those looking for inspiration.
   
3. Learn How To Better Use Free Or Already Purchased Astronomy Software
   With money being something that people are more sensitive about during a recession, a great activity is to use already purchased or free tools better. Tools such as Registax or others at this website, not having to spend extra money on new tools is a benefit and the extra time available to help improve your astronomy. Whether it be re-editing old photos, using a new software to find objects in the sky, or anything else, a recession provides an opportunity to become more skilled without added costs.
   
4. Learn more about space objects of interest
   Instead of spending time and money on gear, why not spend time learning about the astronomical items in the sky such as Jupiter, lunar craters, or quasars. There are so many great resources available from reputable websites such as NASA, Wikipedia, ScienceDaily, Library Of Congress, space.com, National Geographic, planetariums, and much more. These resources can provide the free resources to help one learn how to observe these objects, learn more about these objects, and expand existing interests.
   
5. Plan Future Astronomy Trips/Finding New Astronomy Locations
   Although a recession isnt a great time to take trips, because a recession means economic decline, it is still a great time to plan trips. Sites such as CosmosPNW and cleardarksky can provide inspiration for new locations. Taking this time that you would otherwise use to commute to an astronomy location in the area, the time can be spent researching new locations and finding new opportunities. Knowing what one wants to observe, when to observe, and how much to spend can lead to finding new locations and lead to planning new trips and sites.
   
6. Bonus: Find and consume new media such as documentaries, podcasts, and free online video media
   There are so many free audio and visual resources that are available on websites such as Youtube, Soundcloud, Discord, and more. With the rise of free platforms such as Youtube, it allows for the posting and creation (economy) of creators who create content about space and astronomy that one can watch. Podcasts are a great way to listen to your favorite topics from your favorite creators.
   

Let us know what you think about these options. Was there something that we missed or something you hadn’t considered? Let us know below and make sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram. If this article was interesting, make sure to view our other articles such as unique astronomy sites or other Top 5s.