<p>This might be more a question for Academia.SE, but: I have tried this during two  different fellowships, and while it did work out, I cannot recommend it.</p>
<p>Due to family reasons, I stayed in my home country, commuting to neighboring countries every four weeks (the first place), and every second week (the second place). When at home, I had an office in my then-old, now-current university.</p>
<p>My experience is this: You really can't underestimate the value of daily chats at the coffee machine and during lunch, the possibility of just dropping by a colleague's office, and the group meetings and journal discussions. Despite what's possible online, when I was home I missed contact with colleagues abroad, and when abroad I felt somewhat alienated (in lack of a better word).</p>
<p>Because of my affiliation with my &quot;home&quot; university, I did have these things after all, at least to some extent. But if you mean staying at <em>home</em> home, in your apartment, then I think it will take quite some effort to be a &quot;part&quot; of the department.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T14:32:32.550Z
I understand perfectly well the importance of live communication with colleagues..It's true But what about productivity? In fact, all the results that an astronomer obtained at home can be obtained on his work computer with the same software? Or are things a little different remotely, and the astronomer is not assigned (or does he not set himself) too serious tasks while remote?
ayr
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T18:48:06.010Z
The 'chat at the coffee machine' adds to the productivity. It is, after all, a place to chat about the work as well - and get a new and fresh inspiration or approach or interesting paper recommendation from a colleague you might miss out otherwise.
planetmaker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T20:08:35.197Z
@dtn Yes, as planetmaker says, by "coffee chats" I don't just mean that they're important to thrive socially. They're very important scientifically as well. Both for problem-solving ("Oh _that_ error? I've had that, it's probably because…") and for getting involved in each others projects (⇒ co-authoring more papers).
pela
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-17T03:02:58.933Z
It is truth too. That is, the results obtained can be discussed with colleagues live almost instantly.
ayr
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T13:35:10.710Z
2024-04-16T13:35:10.710Z
pela
<p>My question today is addressed to those astronomers who have quite a lot of experience working remotely.</p>
<p>In general terms, the answer to the question includes the following elements: the range of tasks to be solved, the methods and frequency of interaction with colleagues, the frequency and necessity of visiting the office/laboratory/institute, the exchange of results and generalizing work on them, the degree of involvement in astronomical problems and activities in general .</p>
<p>This will help to understand whether an astronomer can fully work remotely?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T13:27:10.860Z
Some might suggest that all astronomers work pretty far from their study subjects…
Jon Custer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T14:12:10.877Z
@JonCuster I think everyone understands what we're talking about
ayr
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T16:14:52.823Z
This is clearly a matter of opinion. Also, a large fraction of  employed "astronomers" are actually teaching in physics/astronomy/maths departments and do not just get to work remotely.
ProfRob
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T16:35:55.523Z
@ProfRob Let's leave aside the teaching part of an astronomer's work (preparing courses, homework...this can be done at home). As for the research part. Surely an astronomer can take the tasks assigned to him (unless they are for a supercomputer) and do them at home (if he has a sufficiently powerful PC, programs and access to various programming languages). Am I right?
ayr
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T17:12:22.793Z
Few people access supercomputers in person, period. You appear to be wanting a particular answer.
Jon Custer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T17:15:43.337Z
@JonCuster By the way, in our organization, any employee who submitted an application could get access to the university supercomputer. Access is paid for by his department. And he can even get remote access from home. But there is a minus - his task will be done in the order of priority, because... there are other researchers with their own tasks. It turns out that even on a supercomputer you can work from home, if necessary.
ayr
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-16T22:32:58.627Z
@dtn for future reference, there is also [Academia SE](https://academia.stackexchange.com/) for questions like these. You can find a lot of questions about working remotely.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-17T00:34:03.240Z
It's possible: I've been doing it for 20 years.
John Doty
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-17T02:19:22.700Z
@JohnDoty could you tell me more? I would really like to know about your experience
ayr
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-04-22T19:00:31.353Z
@ProfRob I vote for reopening this question, because in our lab we had a theoretical astronomer who had been working remotely for 20 years prior to his retirement. Over this period, he published good papers and was active in the International Astronomical Union and the American Astronomical Society. I am aware of other examples of the kind (including one at NASA). So this question is not opinion-based. It has a clear answer, and the answer is affirmative.
Michael_1812
<observational-astronomy><astrophysics><cosmology><radio-astronomy>
Can an astronomer fully work remotely?
ayr
# Can an astronomer fully work remotely?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-04-16)

My question today is addressed to those astronomers who have quite a lot of experience working remotely.

In general terms, the answer to the question includes the following elements: the range of tasks to be solved, the methods and frequency of interaction with colleagues, the frequency and necessity of visiting the office/laboratory/institute, the exchange of results and generalizing work on them, the degree of involvement in astronomical problems and activities in general .

This will help to understand whether an astronomer can fully work remotely?

**Tags:** observational-astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, radio-astronomy
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Some might suggest that all astronomers work pretty far from their study subjects…  
> **username_0**: @JonCuster I think everyone understands what we're talking about  
> **username_2**: This is clearly a matter of opinion. Also, a large fraction of  employed "astronomers" are actually teaching in physics/astronomy/maths departments and do not just get to work remotely.  
> **username_0**: @ProfRob Let's leave aside the teaching part of an astronomer's work (preparing courses, homework...this can be done at home). As for the research part. Surely an astronomer can take the tasks assigned to him (unless they are for a supercomputer) and do them at home (if he has a sufficiently powerful PC, programs and access to various programming languages). Am I right?  
> **username_1**: Few people access supercomputers in person, period. You appear to be wanting a particular answer.  
> **username_0**: @JonCuster By the way, in our organization, any employee who submitted an application could get access to the university supercomputer. Access is paid for by his department. And he can even get remote access from home. But there is a minus - his task will be done in the order of priority, because... there are other researchers with their own tasks. It turns out that even on a supercomputer you can work from home, if necessary.  
> **username_3**: @dtn for future reference, there is also [Academia SE](https://academia.stackexchange.com/) for questions like these. You can find a lot of questions about working remotely.  
> **username_4**: It's possible: I've been doing it for 20 years.  
> **username_0**: @JohnDoty could you tell me more? I would really like to know about your experience  
> **username_5**: @ProfRob I vote for reopening this question, because in our lab we had a theoretical astronomer who had been working remotely for 20 years prior to his retirement. Over this period, he published good papers and was active in the International Astronomical Union and the American Astronomical Society. I am aware of other examples of the kind (including one at NASA). So this question is not opinion-based. It has a clear answer, and the answer is affirmative.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2024-04-16. Score: 11 | Accepted answer

This might be more a question for Academia.SE, but: I have tried this during two different fellowships, and while it did work out, I cannot recommend it.

Due to family reasons, I stayed in my home country, commuting to neighboring countries every four weeks (the first place), and every second week (the second place). When at home, I had an office in my then-old, now-current university.

My experience is this: You really can't underestimate the value of daily chats at the coffee machine and during lunch, the possibility of just dropping by a colleague's office, and the group meetings and journal discussions. Despite what's possible online, when I was home I missed contact with colleagues abroad, and when abroad I felt somewhat alienated (in lack of a better word).

Because of my affiliation with my "home" university, I did have these things after all, at least to some extent. But if you mean staying at *home* home, in your apartment, then I think it will take quite some effort to be a "part" of the department.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I understand perfectly well the importance of live communication with colleagues..It's true But what about productivity? In fact, all the results that an astronomer obtained at home can be obtained on his work computer with the same software? Or are things a little different remotely, and the astronomer is not assigned (or does he not set himself) too serious tasks while remote?  
> **username_7**: The 'chat at the coffee machine' adds to the productivity. It is, after all, a place to chat about the work as well - and get a new and fresh inspiration or approach or interesting paper recommendation from a colleague you might miss out otherwise.  
> **username_6**: @dtn Yes, as planetmaker says, by "coffee chats" I don't just mean that they're important to thrive socially. They're very important scientifically as well. Both for problem-solving ("Oh _that_ error? I've had that, it's probably because…") and for getting involved in each others projects (⇒ co-authoring more papers).  
> **username_0**: It is truth too. That is, the results obtained can be discussed with colleagues live almost instantly.  

---

