I think a really underrated hobby is amateur Microscopy, I don't know why its not more popular.
Looking at moss, pond water, microbes, tardigrades, paramecia, cells, plants, crystals, stuff around the house
You can get a decent microscope for like $250 and just get a smartphone mount to take high quality pictures/videos.
I feel like with astronomy/telescopes you spend a ton of money just to see a blurry blob whereas microscopes are way more bang-for-buck in terms of how much cool science stuff you can see for cheap.
Looking at moss, pond water, microbes, tardigrades, paramecia, cells, plants, crystals, stuff around the house
You can get a decent microscope for like $250 and just get a smartphone mount to take high quality pictures/videos.
I feel like with astronomy/telescopes you spend a ton of money just to see a blurry blob whereas microscopes are way more bang-for-buck in terms of how much cool science stuff you can see for cheap.