My sister-in-law's mother used to watch the stars as part of an amateur assistance project. They had assigned galaxies for each participant to observe. She was a neat lady with such varied interests... Unfortunately, nobody else in the family shared her interest, and all of her equipment was disposed of after her death.
I guess we can all become part of the same tradition, from the comfort of our computer chairs. It just doesn't seem to have the same feeling of mystery/discovery to it.
I wonder what she used to think about when siting out at night just watching the stars...