I got in a conversation once about the difference between being a Geek and being a Nerd. We came to the consensus that a Geek was someone that really liked something and or enjoyed doing that activity. Where a Nerd was someone who also enjoyed something but took a more academic approach to it. I believe that anyone who has ever looked at the sky and really appreciated it is a Geek Astronomer. Those persons that you have seen in movies with the back yard telescope.
But that is only where it starts. As the Geek Astronomer marvels at the colors of the Ring Nebula or the craters on the Moon, the Nerd Astronomer can't help but wonder how these phenomenon happened. They are the ones that will wonder why do some of the stars in the sky not twinkle and how come I can't see my favorite constellation all year round. Therefore the Nerd Astronomers are the ones that go out and find the answers to these questions.
Now this is not to say that the Geek Astronomers are any less than an Astronomer because we all started out as one. To quote one of the my favorite films "I was looking for an answer. It's the question. It's the question that drives us. It's the question that brought you here. You know the question, just as I did." And that questions is what drives me. So I take this class in hope that I will better learn what an Astronomer does and hopefully by the end I will know some of these words.
