I love astronomy, and I wanted to become an astronomer since I was kid. I build web sites now.<p>I would love to do something about it. I would buy a telescope, but I rent an apartment on the 9th floor and I have windows only on one side of the room. I don't even know where to start. After work hours, I am working on my pet projects, and I would love to do something with astronomy.<p>Any suggestions?
Have you tried going camping? There's too much light pollution in cities anyway.<p>I come from Pune (India) and we were lucky to have a world class astronomy research institute a stone's throw away from my house. They often organised outdoor events for young people. Check it out - <a href="http://www.iucaa.ernet.in" rel="nofollow">http://www.iucaa.ernet.in</a>. They have some community projects like the Virtual Observatory which you might be able to do something with remotely (I think you can get loads of data). I know the director of the institute personally, so if you do find it useful and want to explore further, drop me an email (in profile).
Is there an open-to-the-public observatory anywhere near you? About a half-hour from where I live there is a small observatory with some reasonably heavy-duty telescopes, and areas to set up your own telescope, with monthly "guided tours" of what can be seen at each respective time of the year.