Re: FAQ
- From: pausch@xxxxxxx (Paul Schlyter)
- Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 07:42:48 GMT
In article <ebrgbl$r67$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Brian Tung <brian@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Robert wrote:
Hello, Can someone please post the FAQ for this newsgroup.
There is no unique set of FAQs for this newsgroup. Someone else has
posted a link to Starlord's collection. I also have one, a somewhat
more constrained list, containing questions I've seen asked a lot here,
at the link in my .sig, below.
--
Brian Tung <brian@xxxxxxx>
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.html
A number of years ago, there was a series of faq's for this newsgroup. The
links within it may be outdated of course, but anyway, here it is:
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(FAQ) Astronomical Calculations for the Amateur
[Last revised 18 Sept 2000]
[This FAQ is limited to questions about calculating planetary
positions and related problems of spherical astronomy. Other areas of
interest, such as calculations of telescope optics, are beyond the
bounds of this document].
Calculation of astronomical events is a vast field with literature
stretching back centuries, even to ancient times. This "frequently
asked questions" list is directed toward the amateur astronomer who is
looking for starting points. If you become familiar with the first two
books recommended below, you will be well on your way. You will, in
fact, have surpassed the author of the FAQ!
Of course, I invite your suggestions.
______________________________________________________________________
1. What is a good source of books and software?
2. What is the best beginner's book?
3. How much computer power does it take to perform these
calculations?
4. What is a more advanced reference work?
5. Are there any relevant periodicals for amateurs?
6. Where are online sources of algorithms?
7. Where are online sources of data?
8. What commercial and shareware programs are available?
9. How do I convert right ascension and declination to altitude and
azimuth?
10. What's the hour angle?
11. What's the sidereal time?
12. How do I predict the ocean tides?
13. How do I calculate the date of Easter?
14. How fast does that comet (or asteroid) move?
15. How do I find my longitude and latitude?
_____________________________________________________________________
1. What is a good source of books and software?
The Willmann-Bell (http://www.willbell.com/) printed catalog has a
large section on "Computational "Astronomy", as well as many other
astronomy books, atlases and telescope-making supplies:
Willmann-Bell Inc
PO Box 35025
Richmond VA 23235
Monday-Friday, 9AM-5PM Eastern time
800-825-STAR (order only)
804-320-7016
24 hour fax: 804-272-5920
If you have access to a good library, books under the subject
headings "Spherical Astronomy" and "Celestial Mechanics" would be
the places to start.
2. What is the best beginner's book?
Astronomical Algorithms by Jean Meeus, Willmann-Bell, Second
Edition 1998, $24.95.
Although it requires some study, this is the closest thing to a
"cookbook" approach I have seen. Better than that, it explains and
makes comprehensible many difficult concepts, and has many worked
examples and illustrations. It is not restricted to elementary
problems, but treats many advanced topics. No calculus is required.
Beginners face two obstacles before they can calculate anything
useful: (1) they must learn to convert between civil and
astronomical dates and times (a task made more difficult by the
fact that the Earth's rate of rotation is variable), and (2) they
must learn a number of translations between coordinate systems
(Sun-centered to Earth-centered to location-centered, as well as
ecliptic to equatorial to horizon) and the application of
corrections for precession and nutation and parallax. This is why
questions such as "How do I predict the location of the moon?" do
not have simple answers. You must know how to do (1) and (2) before
you can start on the moon.
The proper order of corrections and coordinate conversions had
previously been very confusing for me, but Meeus gave me everything
I needed to overcome these obstacles.
He covers the basics of time and coordinate transformations,
corrections for precession and nutation, and for the observer's
true "topocentric" location as offset from the center of the Earth.
For any given time, you can predict the positions of the Sun, Moon
and planets and derive all the normal phenomena of the almanac. You
can derive physical ephemerides (that is, the orientation of the
objects as seen through a telescope) for the Sun, Moon, Jupiter,
Mars and Saturn's rings. He provides both low-precision and
high-precision techniques for charting Jupter's four largest moons.
The Keplerian techniques of dealing with the orbits of new bodies
such as comets and asteroids are also given.
A software supplement was available for the first edition, but this
is no longer the case.
3. How much computer power does it take to perform these
calculations?
Modern personal computers, especially those with floating point
hardware, are very capable machines. Calculating the position of
all the planets several different ways, using Meeus' techniques,
takes my 68040 a small fraction of a second. Performance on a
PowerPC or Pentium would be stunning.
4. What is a more advanced reference work?
Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac, edited by P.K.
Seidelmann, University Science Books 1992, 752 pages, $65
(available from Willmann-Bell).
"Completely Revised and Rewritten", so make you sure you get the
1992 edition.
This explains how the data in the annual "Astronomical Almanac" is
produced. It is also a high-quality spherical astronomy text with
many references to the current research literature. If you've read
Meeus and want "more", this is the logical next step.
Note that it contains very few worked examples and the math is much
more advanced than in Meeus. Some of the chapters deal with issues
of the professional astronomer that will not usually concern the
amateur. Examples: plate tectonic motion can cause an observing
site to shift its position several centimeters per year. Ocean
tidal pressure on the continental shelves, and atmospheric pressure
above the continents, can cause elevation to vary by similar
amounts.
Note also that they use a different method of calculating planetary
positions than does Meeus.
5. Are there any relevant periodicals for amateurs?
Sky & Telescope magazine has an astronomical computing column.
Astronomy publishes programs from time to time.
Willmann-Bell sells back issues of Celestial Computing, "A Journal
for Personal Computers and Celestial Mechanics", dated from 1988
through 1992, edited by David Eagle. This is no longer published.
The Computing Section of the Association of Lunar and Planetary
Observers (A.L.P.O.) has a Computing Section and an electronic
journal called The Digital Lens:
http://www.m2c3.com/alpocs/
6. Where are online sources of algorithms?
Sky & Telescope maintains an archive of program sources which have
appeared in the magazine:
http://www.skypub.com/software/software.html
Unfortunately, these consist of uncommented BASIC listings.
Pseudo-code articles would be of greater use to those trying to
understand the calculations. Astronomy magazine provides a small
set of BASIC programs:
http://www.kalmbach.com/astro/Bytes/Bytes.html
Keith Burnett (kburnett@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) maintains an "Approximate
astronomical positions" web page containing algorithms and many
links:
http://www.btinternet.com/~kburnett/kepler/
http://www.stargazing.net/kepler/
Paul Schlyter (pausch@xxxxxxx) has a "Calculating Planetary
Positions" web page at:
http://stjarnhimlen.se/comp/ppcomp.html
Sites listed in the next topic also have software.
7. Where are online sources of data?
There are astronomical amounts of data online. Try these web sites
as starting points:
+ Astronomical Data Center home page
http://adc.gsfc.nasa.gov/
8. What commercial and shareware programs are available?
[Readers: I have not been paying attention to announcements of
these programs in sci.astro.amateur. Anyone who has such or knows
of same, please e-mail me the info and I will include descriptions
here. The emphasis is not on "planetarium" or charting programs,
but on ephemeris-generating software. Obviously, these categories
overlap...].
+ The freeware ephemeris program "ephem" for PC by Elwood
Charles Downey (and VGA `Watch' plots by J.D. McDonald) is
available at:
ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/astro/progs/pc/solar/ephem423.exe
(self extracting archive.) The same site carries many other
ephemeris programs also for other platforms.
(Nov 15 1997) There is a Web page for the Motif version at:
http://www.clearskyinstitute.com/xephem/xephem.html
+ (Dec 7 1995) Dave Lane, Nova Astronomics
(dlane@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) says
I have recently completed a freeware program which might interest
you. It's called the "Windows Ephemeris Tool" and it calculates
tables of positions (and other data) for comets and asteroids.
It's available at:
http://fox.nstn.ca/~ecu/ecu.html
+ (Jun 1 1996) Stephen Tonkin (sft@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) says:
I am very impressed with a program called ASTROWIN, sometimes
referred to as ASTROMEUSS (It uses Meeus' algorithms). It is
simple, fast and accurate. Text-only output. I use it a lot.
This is for DOS and Windows, and is on the web at:
ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/misc/astronomy/winmeuss.exe
Caution: there is another program called ASTROWIN for
astrology.
+ Willmann-Bell sells several software supplements which have
ephemeris capabilities. See their catalog ([1] above) for
details.
+ (Jan 31 1997) Bill Arnet (billa@xxxxxxxx) maintains links to
planetarium programs that can be found on the net at:
http://www.seds.org/billa/astrosoftware.html
9. How do I convert right ascension and declination to altitude and
azimuth?
Given the hour angle H of the object with right ascension RA and
declination DEC, and the observer's latitude LAT:
azimuth = atan2(sin(H), cos(H) * sin(LAT) - tan(DEC) * cos(LAT))
altitude = asin(sin(LAT) * sin(DEC) + cos(LAT)* cos(DEC) * cos(H))
where "atan2(x,y)" is C-library function equivalent to "atan(x/y)".
Bill Owen (wmo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) offers the following comments:
For the azimuth, it might be better to multiply both numerator and
denominator by cos(DEC). Granted that the answer should turn out
the same either way, since 0/something = something else/infinity,
but you'll avoid the overflow that would otherwise result when you
compute tan(DEC) near the poles.
Also, the formula you have here is zero when you're looking south.
Although there are different conventions, the most common one
reckons azimuth eastward from *north*.
Combine these nits, and the formula I use is:
azimuth = atan2 (-sin(H)*cos(DEC), cos(LAT)*sin(DEC) -
sin(LAT)*cos(DEC)*cos(H) )
10. What's the hour angle?
Given an object with right ascension RA and the observer's
longitude LONG, and the sidereal time at Greenwich ST:
H = ST - LONG - RA
where LONG is positive to the west and ST is represented as an
angle. If you measure longitude to the east:
H = ST + LONG - RA.
11. What's the sidereal time?
Everything seems to depend on something else, doesn't it? Better
get the Meeus book described in [2] above.
12. How do I predict the ocean tides?
This is not commonly done by amateurs. The Explantory Supplement
has a small section on the subject and the method seems quite
complex.
13. How do I calculate the date of Easter?
Many people know the formula:
Easter is the first Sunday after the first full Moon following the
vernal equinox.
Caution! This is "astronomical Easter", and it is usually but not
always the same day as "ecclesiastical Easter", which is the date
used by the churches and printed on calendars. "Ecclesiastical
Easter" is determined by a formula codified many years ago.
Here is the method published in the Explanatory Supplement. Perform
integer math and drop all remainders. It is valid for any Gregorian
year "Y":
C = Y / 100
N = Y - 19 * (Y / 19)
K = (C - 17) / 25
I = C - C / 4 - (C - K) / 3 + 19 * N + 15
I = I - 30 * (I / 30)
I = I - (I / 28) * (1 - (I / 28) * (29 / (I + 1)) * ((21 - N) /
11))
J = Y + Y / 4 + I + 2 - C + C / 4
J = J - 7 * (J / 7)
L = I - J
M = 3 + (L + 40) / 44
D = L + 28 - 31 * (M / 4)
"M" is the month number (3 -> March, 4 -> April) and "D" is the day
of the month.
There is a short BASIC program at
http://www.skypub.com/software/software.html
See also the informative Royal Observatory leaflet on Easter at:
http://www.rog.nmm.ac.uk/leaflets/easter/easter.html
There is an HTML Ecclesiatical Calendar generator at:
http://cssa.stanford.edu/~marcos/ec-cal.html
See also the Calendar FAQ at:
http://www.tondering.dk/claus/calendar.html
Tidbits: the pattern of Gregorian Easter days, one year to the
next, repeats in a cycle 5,700,000 years long. March 22 is the
earliest date of Easter, April 25 is the latest, and April 19 is
the most frequent.
14. How fast does that comet (or asteroid) move?
From Harald Lang (lang@xxxxxxxxxxx).
The current speed of a body like a comet orbiting the sun, or in a
hyperbolic or parabolic orbit, is:
2 * pi * sqrt(2/r - (1-e)/q) AU/year
where r is the current distance in AU to the sun, q is the
perihelion distance in AU, and e is the eccentricity of the orbit.
15. How do I find my longitude and latitude?
Here are some sites that give longitude and latitude information.
It has been suggested to me that the following precisions are
appropriate for the applications shown: 100 miles for most
skyviewing work, 2 miles for accurately predicting Iridium flares,
50 feet for occultation work.
+ United States
o Census TMS Home Page http://tiger.census.gov/
o Mapblast http://www.mapblast.com/
o National Atlas of the United States of America
http://www-atlas.usgs.gov/scripts/start.html
o U.S. Gazetteer http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/gazetteer
_____________________________________________________________________
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(FAQ) Buying a star FAQ
[Updated October 2000]
What you need to know FIRST!
This FAQ can be found on the web at
<<http://home.columbus.rr.com/starfaq/>
Table of Contents
1) Can I buy or name a star?
2) What do you get for your money?
3) How can I see the star I named?
4) Will astronomers ever refer to my star by the name I give it?
5) How do things in the sky get their names?
6) Come on! Why can't we do this, just for fun?
7) What else can I do?
8) How can I contact a star selling company?
9) Why do astronomers get upset about this?
10) So what are you doing to stop it?
11) Additional information
12) About this FAQ
This is the "Buying a Star" FAQ (Frequently Asked Question list) from
the sci.astro.amateur newsgroup.
This FAQ text is NOT copyrighted! It is public domain. Please
distribute far and wide. All I ask is that if you use it on your web
site, you link to the official site. If you distribute the FAQ in print
form, please retain the authorship information as well.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Can I Buy or Name a Star?
Question: Can I buy a star, or have one named?
Answer: No.
Question: But I heard there were organizations that would do this for
you. Isn't that true?
Answer: There are organizations that will take your money and send you
a certificate, but those documents have no validity and are not
recognized by anyone else. There are at least a half-dozen companies or
individuals who claim the ability to name stars. However, no private
company has ever been granted the authority to name stars by any
government, professional astronomical organization, or international
treaty.
Question: But the company says that these stars are "officially
registered" or "copyrighted" (with the Library of Congress or the U.S.
Patent Office). Doesn't that make them legitimate or official?
Answer: "Officially registered" can simply mean "registered with the
star-naming company." This does not mean that anyone outside of the
company will accept the list of stars and their "names" as valid.
"Official" is a word without much meaning under the law, and thus can
be used very loosely.
A copyright can be obtained for one's grocery list. A lot of printed
material is copyrighted each year, not all of it accurate or true. In
any event, the Library of Congress and the U.S. Patent Office do not
have the authority to name stars, and therefore cannot confer such
authority onto any private business or person. Some companies strongly
imply that they have such authority without actually saying it in so
many words. Fancy graphics, claims of a special "vault in Switzerland,"
celebrity "endorsements" and other techniques are sometimes used to
create this impression. Read very carefully what they promise (or more
importantly, what they do not promise).
Also, the people of the United States makes up less than 5% of the
world population. It's arrogant and ethnocentric to think that a
private company based in America (or even the U.S. Government) can take
upon themselves the right to name stars for the rest of the human
race.
Bottom line: The International Astronomical Union is the only
organization with the ability to name anything in the sky. It is part
of their official function. They get this right from international
scientific consensus and the mutual ascent of astronomers from
everywhere in the world. No private company has ever been given such
authority. The IAU does not name stars after people.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) What do you get for your money?
Question: What do you get for your money?
Answer: Not much.
Essentially, you get a colorful certificate and a sky chart showing a
tiny portion of the sky. For an additional (usually large) fee, you can
sometimes buy a copy of a book, self-published by the company, which
lists all the names of the people who have given them money.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) How can I see the star I named?
Question: I just named a star or received one as a gift and I'd like to
see it. How do I find it?
Answer: Seeing the star will be very difficult.
The stars "named" by these companies are almost never visible to the
unaided eye. They can be very hard to find, even with a large, computer
controlled telescope used at a nice dark location. Celestial
coordinates are usually included, but are often inaccurate or not
specific enough. The star charts provided for the customer are
sometimes just photocopies from a book, with a black dot circled in
red. Often the dot is hand-drawn on the map (making the problem of
positional error nearly impossible to overcome). For these reasons it
is very unlikely that you will ever see the star you "named".
Understand that no planetarium, observatory, university, or astronomer
is obligated to show the star to you. They don't get any of the money,
after all. If you should find someone willing to try to show it to you,
be aware that this person is doing you a big favor.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(4) Will astronomers ever refer to my star by the name I give it?
Question: Will astronomers ever refer to my star by the name I gave it?
Answer: Never.
The vast majority of stars simply have catalog numbers, and always
will. Astronomers (both professional and amateur) use these numbers
because they are easy to look up in databases or catalogs. There is
simply no good reason to name a star so faint it cannot be seen (unless
it has very special properties).
The companies that "name" stars do not distribute copies of their books
or lists to observatories or universities, so how would an astronomer
ever know about the name you gave it? Even if astronomers did get
copies of these lists, they would ignore them.
Finally, there is nothing to keep different companies from "naming" the
same star after different people. Indeed, one particular star selling
company on the world wide web states up front that they sell naming
rights to stars without checking to see if another company has already
sold them. In this case, which names should the astronomer use?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(5) How do things in the sky get their names?
Question: You say that I can't name a star, but many things in the sky
already have names. How do they get those names?
Answer: The names of astronomical objects are determined by the
International Astronomical Union (IAU). Usually, the only time an
object is named after a living person is when that person (or persons)
discover the object (e.g. Comet Levy was discovered by David Levy,
Barnard's Star was discovered by E.E. Barnard, etc.).
Planetary names come from Roman mythology. This also holds true in the
case of planetary moons, although many of the moons of Uranus were
named after characters from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer's Night's
Dream." These names are approved by the IAU.
Star names come to us via historical convention. Most of the stars that
have individual names were named thousands of years ago and were first
cataloged by Ptolomey in ancient Egypt. The names come from folklore,
mythology and location (such as Polaris). All stars are also given a
numerical designation based on the constellation in which they're found
and their relative brightness. The brightest are given a Greek letter
designation followed by the name of the constellation such as Alpha
Centauri, Sigma Draconis, etc. After the last letter of the Greek
alphabet (omega) is used, the remaining stars are given numerical
designations followed by the constellation name such as 51 Pegasi, 38
Ursa Majoris, etc.
Craters and planetary feature names can have various origins. For
example, the IAU has asked that the names of famous women (particularly
in the sciences) be submitted for naming features on the surface of
Venus that have recently been revealed by the Magellan probe.
The discoverers of numbered minor planets (asteroids) have the
traditional privilege of proposing a name for their discoveries.
Asteroids named after musicians Frank Zappa, Jerry Garcia and John
Lennon were all named by sympathetic discoverers. The IAU retains veto
power over inappropriate names.
Comets are named after the person or persons who discover them first.
Example: Comet Hale-Bopp was discovered at the same time by Mr. Hale
and Mr. Bopp. There are a few exceptions to this, like in the case of
Halley's Comet (Halley didn't discover it, he just predicted when it
would appear again, which verified Newton's laws of Motion).
Objects that were named prior to the formation of the IAU still retain
their names.
For more information on this function of the IAU, see the Royal
Greenwich Observatory leaflet, "The Naming of Stars" at:
http://www.rog.nmm.ac.uk/leaflets/name/name.html#
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(6) Come on! Why can't we do this, just for fun?
Question: Come on! Why can't we do this, just for fun?
Answer: It's your money. Just understand that you will be paying for a
"novelty" item that has no validity within the scientific community.
Still, if it is "just for fun", you might as well save money and print
out your own certificate. It will be just as valid. All you need is a
printer and some nice paper.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(7) What else can I do?
Question: So what else can I do? I want to (a): do something special
and romantic for my significant other, or (b): help myself and/or
others deal with the untimely death of a loved one.
Answer: (a): Flowers are romantic. So are chocolates (and they taste
better than that silly certificate would). Wine, a fine meal, a stay in
a fancy hotel, any of these would do nicely also. Truly, it is as they
say, "the thought that counts". (b): Again, this is a difficult case.
One might suggest (for example) a donation to an organization like the
American Cancer Society (if the child died of cancer), or M.A.D.D. (if
the child died in a car accident). Also, many public institutions like
observatories, zoos, and museums have fund raising opportunities where
you can make a donation in someone else's name. That person is then
honored with a plaque on the wall or an engraved paving brick in a
walkway. The advantage here is that your money goes to a good cause
which will be of benefit to everyone. In addition, it's a lot easier
for the family to go see their loved one's memorial brick than it is to
see one of those extremely faint stars.
If you feel you need to buy something astronomical for yourself or a
friend, get a subscription to one of the astronomy magazines like
"Astronomy" or "Sky and Telescope," a book, a planisphere or tickets to
a planetarium show. In this manner, you can connect with the universe
of astronomy and get some value for your money.
Other gift ideas: Membership in the International Dark-Sky Association
Membership in a local astronomy club, planetarium, or observatory Star
atlas Astronomy computer programs A pair of binoculars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(8) How can I contact a star selling company?
Question: I still want to do this. Can you give me names, addresses,
and/or phone numbers of some star selling companies so I can contact
them?
Answer: Sorry, no.
This FAQ is intended to help the public make an informed choice. It
isn't here to promote or assist the star-naming "industry". Also, to
name any specific companies here would be to risk a lawsuit from them
(seriously).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(9) Why do astronomers seem to get so upset about all this?
Question: Why do astronomers get upset by this?
Answer: Not all astronomers do.
Many feel that this is a simple case of "buyer beware," that consumers
need to think carefully about all of their purchases to avoid being
taken advantage of. Others strongly believe that star-naming is fraud
or (at the very least) deceptive and morally wrong (depending on the
specific star-naming company and the information presented in their
advertisements). Still others take a middle view, seeing this as a
problem, but a small one in the grand scheme of things and not worth
getting worked up over.
Opinions run from the indifferent to the indignant. Probably the best
that one can say about private companies naming stars is that it falls
into a "gray area" of the law. Bottom line, remember, is that no
private company or individual has ever been given the authority to name
stars.
Question: Who is really hurt by this?
Answer: That depends a lot on what you consider to be harm. The money
involved in any given "sale" is generally between $20 and $100. Some
people do not think that this is enough money to be really harmful.
Others disagree and believe that as long as the consumer thinks he is
really naming a star, he has been deceived and that this deceit has
caused harm.
It is also very difficult to put a dollar amount on the emotional
suffering of a person who discovers that the "memorial star" supposedly
named for a beloved relative was, in fact, not really named.
Whatever one thinks about the amount money involved, this practice can
cause problems for those who do not share in the profits.
Most observatories and planetaria, for example, get calls or visits
from people wanting to see the star they "named". Of course, the
institution could refuse to help them and just tell the truth, ("Sorry,
this certificate is in no way valid. No private company has the
authority to name stars.") but what if the star was "named" for a dead
child? Suddenly, one is placed in the position of either telling them
the truth and breaking their hearts, or going along with their request,
showing them the star, not saying anything, and becoming silent
partners with the star-namers. Many see this as an ethical dilemma. It
can be quite upsetting to the astronomer who has to deal with it.
Sometimes the people who pay to have a star "named" think that
astronomers or planetarians are somehow obligated to show them these
stars, and become angry if they cannot be found. After all, if the star
name is really "official," then the astronomer should be able to show
it to you, right? Then one is placed in a different sort of
uncomfortable situation. Sometimes nothing can be said or done to
mollify such a deceived individual. See
<<http://home.carolina.rr.com/nirgal/buyastar.html> for one such story
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(10) So What Are You Doing About It?
Question: Why do astronomers allow star-naming to continue?
Answer: That's a fair question.
Although many people believe that this practice amounts to fraud, there
are no specific laws against selling the "right" to "name" stars.
Therefore, it would be very difficult to force the companies involved
to stop. Astronomers are not police officers or prosecutors, and thus
do not have the authority to issue "cease and desist" orders.
There are various government organizations with the mandate to protect
consumers. The Federal Trade Commission is one. Every state has an
Attorney General, and many states and cities have Consumer Affairs
departments. These organizations could do something, but it appears
that for the time being star-naming is not seen as a serious enough
problem for much action to be taken. Only if a lot of people complain
will these organizations investigate.
What we *ARE* doing is Informing the public of the truth. As long as
everyone knows that you cannot REALLY name a star, and that the
certificate you receive is just a piece of paper, we will be happy. The
bottom line is allowing all consumers to make an informed choice. Many
astronomers and astronomical organizations have web sites devoted to
this issue.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(11) Additional Information
International Astronomical Union Official Statement
The IAU is the ONLY organization with the authority to name anything
in the sky. This authority was given to them by international treaty.
Their statement about the "naming" of stars is clear, to the point,
and can be found at: http://www.iau.org/starnames.html
IPS Official Statement
The International Planetarium Society is a group of planeraria and
professional astronomy educators from around the world. They have an
excellent OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON STAR NAMING at:
http://sunsite.unc.edu/ips/Starnaming.html
Royan Greenwich Observatory The Royal Greenwich Observatory leaflet,
"The Naming of Stars" is at:
http://www.rog.nmm.ac.uk/leaflets/name/name.html
A Star Naming Company is issued a Violation
In May of 1998, a star-naming company was issued a violation by the
city of New York for Deceptive Trade Practices. Read about it at the
NYC Consumer Affairs Office Web Site!
http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/dca/html/pressstars.html
Star Namers Turn on One Another
In October of 1999, a star-naming company filed suit in Illinois
Federal Court against another star-naming company. Read about it at the
Boston Globe web site. You'll have to pay a dollar or two for the
article, but it's worth a read (especially if you enjoy irony).
http://www.boston.com/globe/search/ Do a key word search for "New Round
of Star Wars" (the title of the article, published 5/1/2000).
A Personal Story
Jim Craig, one of the authors of this FAQ, has a personal story about
his experience with someone who "named" a star, thinking it was
legitimate. A classic example of one of the problems caused by this
practice. http://home.carolina.rr.com/nirgal/buyastar.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(12) About this FAQ
The information in this FAQ was written by Bill McClain
(wmcclain@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx), Jim Craig (jcc@xxxxxxx), and Bob Martino
(martino.6@xxxxxxx). It was updated and edited for the year 2000 (not
yet the new millennium) by Bob Martino. Jim Craig is the current
official keeper of the FAQ.
The information in this FAQ is presented so that the public will have
the knowledge needed to make an informed choice. We have tried to
present the facts clearly. Where we have presented our opinions about
the facts, it should be clear that this is what we are doing. We've
also tried to present a balanced view. The opinions expressed here are
not necessarily those of our employers. We claim full protection under
the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States as we
speak out about this practice. Read it at:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/bor.html
This FAQ is NOT copyrighted! It is public domain. Please distribute far
and wide. All I ask is that if you use it on your web site, you link to
the official site named above. If you distribute it in print form,
please retain the authorship information as well.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From (FAQ) How to keep sci.astro.amateur clean
What should readers of sci.astro.amateur do when inappropriate
postings appear? That depends on the type of posting:
* Kooks
* Wrong group
* Frequent requests
* Binary postings
* SPAMs, Excessive Cross-Postings, MAKE MONEY FAST
* Cross-posting
* Test messages
......................................................
* Binary postings
Binary messages should not be posted to sci.astro.amateur. Binary
messages are not permitted in any discussion group unless
specifically allowed by the charter. There is an alt.binaries.*
hierarchy which includes groups for software distribution, and
alt.binaries.pictures.astro exists specifically for astro images.
If someone posts a binary message to sci.astro.amateur, politely
ask them not to do that, perhaps including the relevant paragraphs
of this document.
Unfortunately, the binary groups are not available from all
locations. In that case the binary file should be placed at some
web or ftp site.
In any case, announcements such as "I've placed xxx at yyy, please
take a look at it" are appropriate to post in sci.astro.amateur.
Some system administrators will cancel large binary messages found
in discussion groups. A complete list of reasons for doing so is
contained in:
The Bincancel FAQ http://www.southcom.com.au/~geniac/binfull.txt
Announcements of these events appear in:
news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins
......................................................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(FAQ) How to keep sci.astro.amateur clean
[Last revised: 4 June 2000]
What should readers of sci.astro.amateur do when inappropriate
postings appear? That depends on the type of posting:
* Kooks
* Wrong group
* Frequent requests
* Binary postings
* SPAMs, Excessive Cross-Postings, MAKE MONEY FAST
* Cross-posting
* Test messages
I have included some additional newsgroup topics at the bottom:
* Moderation
* Usenet Rules and Etiquette
_____________________________________________________________________
* Kooks
These people claim to be alien contactees, or to have alternate
cosmologies, or they bear incoherent mystical revelations.
Possibly they are simply in the wrong group (see below) and will
move on if they are given a pointer to the right group.
Quite often, however, they will persist. The very best technique
for dealing with them: DO NOT REPLY. If you do, you will be
encouraging them to post again. Do not object, argue, flame,
challenge, or say anything at all. They are craving any sort of
response and if they do not get it they will eventually go away.
Repeat: DO NOT REPLY TO KOOKS. They have a psychological need for
your response and you should not give it to them. As difficult as
it is to believe, the right type of silence will keep a news group
healthy. (Zen censorship?)
If you MUST reply, do it privately via E-MAIL.
A reasonable person may suspect that some of these people are
mentally ill, that they really do hear voices and are sincere in
their advocacy. Please understand that taunting them is cruel and
that they are unlikely to respond to patient argument. Engaging
them in any way simply winds them up further. Undoubtedly they
need help of some sort, but few of us are qualified to provide it,
and sci.astro.amateur is not the appropriate forum in any case.
* Wrong group
If someone is simply in the wrong place, then briefly and politely
direct them to a better group. Relevant examples:
astrology alt.astrology
metaphysics talk.philosophy.misc
Velikovsky, "worlds in collision" talk.origins
aliens alt.alien.*
occult alt.paranet.*
conspiracy theories alt.conspiracy
SETI, seti@home sci.astro.seti
speculative physics, cosmologies alt.sci.physics.new-theories
gun control talk.politics.guns
space exploration, probes, NASA sci.space.*
* Frequent requests
These are not inappropriate to the group, but do increase traffic
and are a burden for those who would like to help newcomers and
others just looking for information.
FAQs (frequently-asked-questions lists) address this need. We
already have some good ones, such as "How to Purchase Amateur
Telescopes" and the "ATM Resource List", which are listed in:
(FAQ) Where is the sci.astro.amateur FAQ?
http://hotel04.ausys.se/pausch/saafaq/saa_faq_list.html
We need others, still unwritten, such as:
+ What was the Star of Bethlehem?
+ Does Glass Flow?
* Binary postings
Binary messages should not be posted to sci.astro.amateur. Binary
messages are not permitted in any discussion group unless
specifically allowed by the charter. There is an alt.binaries.*
hierarchy which includes groups for software distribution, and
alt.binaries.pictures.astro exists specifically for astro images.
If someone posts a binary message to sci.astro.amateur, politely
ask them not to do that, perhaps including the relevant paragraphs
of this document.
Unfortunately, the binary groups are not available from all
locations. In that case the binary file should be placed at some
web or ftp site.
In any case, announcements such as "I've placed xxx at yyy, please
take a look at it" are appropriate to post in sci.astro.amateur.
Some system administrators will cancel large binary messages found
in discussion groups. A complete list of reasons for doing so is
contained in:
The Bincancel FAQ http://www.southcom.com.au/~geniac/binfull.txt
Announcements of these events appear in:
news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins
* SPAMs, Excessive Cross-Postings, MAKE MONEY FAST
These are messages blasted to a large number of groups which the
offender DOES NOT READ. Therefore, it is POINTLESS TO REPLY to the
message by posting to the news group. The offender will never see
your reply.
If you want to reply privately by e-mail, that is your business.
Be aware that many such messages have bogus return addresses so
that you cannot reply. The best way to complain is to send e-mail
to the postmaster at the offender's site. For example, if the
message is from "nitwit@xxxxxxxxxxxx", then complain to
"postmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxx". Again, because the sender's address may
be bogus, you have to inspect the detailed headers to see where it
is coming from. And even those headers may be forged. It is a
problem: USENET was designed on the "honor" system, and some
people have none.
Copy the entire message, including all of the headers, and send it
to the postmaster, who will immediately understand the problem. (I
usually use the original subject line, prefixed with "(SPAM)"). I
often receive notes in reply, saying "That user has been warned"
or "That account has been canceled". However, I suspect many
complaints go directly to the bit-bucket.
There are groups for news of and comment on these abuses:
+ news.admin.net-abuse.usenet
+ news.admin.net-abuse.policy
+ news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins
+ news.admin.net-abuse.sightings
+ news.admin.net-abuse.misc
See also the very useful:
+ Net Abuse FAQ
http://www.cybernothing.org/faqs/net-abuse-faq.html
+ alt.spam FAQ (How to find out where a fake post or e-mail
originated from) http://digital.net/~gandalf/spamfaq.html
(Use of the word "SPAM" in this context, by the way, is derived
from an old Monty Python comedy skit).
* Cross-posting
I propose that posting to more than one group is a bad habit,
although consensus seems to be that it is not a breach of net
etiquette until the number of groups becomes too large (>20?). The
problem is that follow-ups to that message are also posted to each
group and huge snowballing flame wars erupt and rage interminably.
These flame wars are of no interest to the thousands (or even
millions?) of people who read the victim groups.
I post to only one group at a time. When following-up to a
cross-posted message, I always try to edit the header and post
ONLY TO THE GROUP WHICH I ACTUALLY READ. Readers of the other
groups will, sadly, miss my contributed wisdom.
* Test messages
Messages of the form "Test, don't read, please ignore" should not
be posted to any discussion group. If you need to test your
newsreader, there is a group specifically for that purpose:
alt.test
In fact, many geographic domains maintain *.test newsgroups, and
it is recommended that you use the one "closest" to you.
Many automatic mailers watch alt.test and will bombard you with
copies of your test message. To avoid that, include the word
"ignore" anywhere in your "Subject:" line.
_____________________________________________________________________
* Moderation
sci.astro.amateur is an unmoderated group. That means there is no
authority "in charge" of it and no way to prevent inappropriate
postings. The official charter used to create the group can now be
considered at best "advisory".
From time to time it is suggested that the group be converted to
moderated status, or that a new moderated group be formed. That
would mean that some person or group of people would first see all
messages and either approve them for posting or reject them. They
would act as group editors or "censors".
The advantage of moderation is that off-topic postings would be
reduced or eliminated.
There are several disadvantages:
+ Group participants would need to reach consensus on what is
on-topic.
+ Creation of a moderated group requires a formal proposal,
discussion and voting process. There is no guarentee that the
proposal would pass. Anyone with e-mail can vote, and some
people oppose moderation on principle.
+ One or more volunteers would need to serve as moderators, a
job requiring considerable time and resources. Ideally,
moderators approve postings continuously every day of the
year.
+ Moderation may slow down propagation of messages.
+ Some feel that moderation stifles free expression.
For more information on moderation and newsgroup creation see the
following documents:
+ How to Create a New Usenet Newsgroup
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/news/answers/usene
t/creating-newsgroups/part1
+ Moderated Newsgroups FAQ
http://www.swcp.com/~dmckeon/mod-faq.html
It is sometimes suggested that an authority be appointed to cancel
off-topic postings after they appear. This is called
"retromoderation" and the practice is controversial. It is being
done on some alt.* groups but I do not believe it would be allowed
in a sci.* group. The problem is that given the way Usenet
currently works, there is no way to certify that that the cancels
are being issued by a legitimate moderator as opposed to some net
abuser.
* Usenet Rules and Etiquette
Everyone who posts to Usenet should be familiar with these
documents. They have been maintained and widely distributed for
years and represent the consensus of informed opinion on how
Usenet works.
+ A Primer on How to Work With the Usenet Community
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/posting-rules/part1/
In brief:
o Never forget that the person on the other side is human.
o Don't blame system admins for their users' behavior.
o Never assume that a person is speaking for their
organization.
o Be careful what you say about others.
o Be brief.
o Your postings reflect upon you; be proud of them.
o Use descriptive titles
o Think about your audience.
o Be careful with humor and sarcasm.
o Only post a message once.
o Please rotate material with questionable content.
o Summarize what you are following up.
o Use mail, don't post a follow-up.
o Read all follow-ups and don't repeat what has already
been said.
o Check your return e-mail address and expect responses.
o Double-check follow-up newsgroups and distributions.
o Be careful about copyrights and licenses.
o Cite appropriate references.
o When summarizing, summarize.
o Mark or rotate answers or spoilers.
o Spelling flames considered harmful.
o Don't overdo signatures.
o Limit line length and avoid control characters.
o Do not use Usenet as a resource for homework
assignments.
o Do not use Usenet as an advertising medium.
o Avoid posting to multiple newsgroups.
+ Rules for posting to Usenet
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/primer/part1/
Advice for the Usenet beginner.
+ Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions on Netiquette
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/emily-postnews/part1/
Humorous advice. Essential reading.
+ Hints on writing style for Usenet
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/writing-style/part1/
Composition tips.
+ Advertising on Usenet: How To Do It, How Not To Do It
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/advertising/how-to/part1/
"Advertising on Usenet is a frequently misunderstood subject.
The purpose of this message is to explain some Usenet
conventions regarding advertising to new users and,
hopefully, spare everyone involved a lot of needless worry."
One-time, informational announcements of relevant commercial
products are not necessarily an infraction:
If you have a product or a message that is specifically related to
a particular Usenet newsgroup, and you want to let people know
about it, it's *usually* all right to post *one* notice about it.
Note the word "notice." A notice is a brief mention of the product
with information about how interested persons can find out more.
It's not a sales pitch. It's not an advertisement. It's not a "BUY
BUY BUY" sort of message. It's a notice.
You are encouraged to make such postings one-time-only. When your
polite informational notice starts getting posted every week,
people are going to start getting irked at you.
_____________________________________________________________________
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(FAQ) Where is the sci.astro.amateur FAQ?
[Last revised 8 Aug 2001]
We do not have a "frequently asked questions" list for the whole
group, but several periodic postings appear which are listed below. At
the end you will find the group charter.
How to keep sci.astro.amateur clean
This is a list of recommended "dos" and "don'ts" for newsgroup
participants, and suggestions on dealing with those who do what they
shouldn't. It is archived at:
http://hotel04.ausys.se/pausch/saafaq/saa.html
Purchasing Amateur Telescopes FAQ
This is a discussion of beginner's telescopes and other issues
written by Dennis Bishop (Starlord@xxxxxxxx). It is posted
periodically and is at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~hakaida/index.html
A hypertext version is at:
http://www.xmission.com/~dnash/nexus/saafaq/index.html
The text version is mirrored in the UK at:
http://www.aegis1.demon.co.uk/faq/telescope.faq
Amateur Telescope Maker's Resource List
This is a list of suppliers of mirror-making kits and materials,
books and publications, parts, etc. It is maintained by Bob Lombardi
(blombard@xxxxxx) and can be found at:
http://home.iu.net/~blombard/
Stephen Tonkin (sft@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) maintains a UK telescope
makers' supply list at:
http://www.aegis1.demon.co.uk/supplier.htm
Wolfgang Birkfellner (wbirk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) maintains a
similar list for Europe at:
http://unet.univie.ac.at/~a9003141
Amateur Telescope Makers Mailing List
There is no news group specifically devoted to telescope making, but
there is a mailing list moderated by Mel Bartels (mbartels@xxxxxxx).
Here is the list description:
This is the Amateur Telescope Makers group. Amateurs of all levels
are invited to participate.
The purpose of this group is to provide a forum to share
experiences, ideas and resources related to Amateur Telescope
Making. Typical topics include glass pushing, mount making, and
home observatories.
You may either receive individual e-mail messages, or about a day's
worth collected into a digest. I find the digest most convenient.
To subscribe to the many messages version, send e-mail to:
majordomo@xxxxxxxxx
with the following in the body (not the subject line) of the
message:
subscribe atm
To subscribe to the digest version, send instead the following to
the same address:
subscribe atm-digest
The last month's digests are available at:
http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~mbartels/atm-digest/
List archives are managed and indexed by Andy Steere
(andy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) at:
http://www.system.missouri.edu/atm/
The "ATM Mailing List FAQ" contains information about the list as
well as other telescope-making references and links:
http://www.jacksonville.net/~dcass/atmfaq/atm-faq.htm
http://www.aegis1.demon.co.uk/faq/atm-faq.htm (UK mirror)
Gadget, Accessory, and Thingy FAQ
Dave Nash (dnash@xxxxxxxxxxxx) maintains reviews of light pollution
filters, finders, solar filters and collimation tools:
http://www.xmission.com/~dnash/astrodir/gatfaq/gat-intro.html
FAQ for sci.astro
Maintained by Joseph Lazio (lazio@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) this is a
goldmine of information posted to sci.astro. It covers both amateur
and professional topics. A hypertext version is at:
http://sciastro.astronomy.net/
Calendar FAQ
This large FAQ is maintained by Claus Tondering (c-t@xxxxxxxxxxxx)
contains information about the Christian, Hebrew, Islamic, and
various historical calendars. It is posted monthly to sci.astro and
news.answers, and is archived at:
http://www.tondering.dk/claus/calendar.html
The IRC chat channels
An IRC chat channel, #sciastro, is at:
http://sciastro.net
Comments or questions can be sent to Susan Carroll (scarroll2@xxxxxxxxxxxx)
Another channel, #atm, deals with telescope making at:
http://w1.2534.telia.com/~u253400159/atm/
Buy-Sell-Trade Astronomical Equipment
The charter of sci.astro.amateur is silent about whether
advertisements to buy, sell or trade astronomical gear are allowed.
General usenet policy is to forbid commercial postings unless
specifically allowed in a group, but I don't think this includes
individuals selling their own property.
However, there are several network resources specifically designed
for those interested in doing so, and you will probably get a much
better response for your effort by using them.
In alphabetical order, here are the ones I know about:
* Astro-Ads (http://www.seds.org/Astro-Ads/)
To subscribe to an email version, send a message to
Astro-Ads-request@xxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the body (not the
subject line) of the message.
* Astro Classifieds (http://astroclassifieds.somewhere.net/)
* Astromart (http://www.astromart.com/index.html)
To subscribe to an email version, send a message to
astromart-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the body (not
the subject line) of the message.
* Astronomy's Classifieds
(http://www2.astronomy.com/astro/submissions/classifiedsredirect.s
html)
* Australian Astronomy Marketplace
(http://www.onthenet.com.au/~bortech/market.htm)
* ExploreSpace.com Online Classifieds
(http://www.explorespace.com/classifieds/class.mv)
* Free Astronomy Classifieds (http://Astronomy-Mall.com)
* Internet Telescope Exchange
(http://www.burnettweb.com/ite/ads.htm)
* Western Sydney Amateur Astronomical Group's (WSAAG)
(http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~ptitze/wsaag/adverts.html)
If you are trying to sell/buy astronomical related items, send
your ad and I will place it free of charge in the website. Note
this is for australian amateur astronomers only. Paul Titze
(ptitze@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
Astronomical Calculations for the Amateur
This FAQ is limited to questions about calculating planetary
positions and related problems of spherical astronomy and is directed
toward the amateur astronomer who is looking for starting points. It
can be found at:
http://hotel04.ausys.se/pausch/saafaq/astro_calc.html
Can I Buy a Star, or Have One Named?
The short answer is "no". The FAQ is archived at:
http://home.columbus.rr.com/starfaq/
The older "Buy a Star FAQ" can still be found at:
http://hotel04.ausys.se/pausch/saafaq/buystar.html
The American Meteor Society
....has a web page with articles and links at:
http://www.serve.com/meteors/
Meteors And Meteor Shower FAQ:
http://www.serve.com/meteors/faq1.html
Fireball And Meteorite-Dropping Fireball FAQ:
http://www.serve.com/meteors/faq2.html
Finding an Amateur Astronomy Club
....is a list of web sites containing club references. It is
maintained by Paul Below (aurorae@xxxxxxxxxxx):
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/aurorae/faq_club.htm
How Do I Pronounce ...?
The Astronomical League (http://www.astroleague.org/index.html) has
pronunciation guides for:
* Stars and constellations
(http://www.astroleague.org/al/astrnote/astnot07.html)
* Planets, satellites and lunar features
(http://www.astroleague.org/al/astrnote/astnot14.html)
The sci.astro.amateur charter
The original version was written by Ken Kirksey (kkirksey@xxxxxxxxxxxxx):
* What Is sci.astro.amateur?
sci.astro.amateur is forum for amateur astronomers to discuss
topics of mutual interest, with a focus on astronomical observing.
* What Are Suitable Topics For sci.astro.amateur?
Discussion in sci.astro.amateur includes, but is not necessarily
limited to, the following topics:
+ Observing
o Using the naked eye, binoculars, or telescopes
o The Moon, Planets, Stars, The Sun, Comets, Deep Sky
Objects, Constellations, et. al.
+ Equipment
o Choosing Telescopes/Binoculars
o Choosing Accessories (Finders, Drives, Eyepieces,
Filters, Observatories, etc.)
o Building Telescopes, Backyard Observatories, etc.
+ Astrophotography
o Traditional
o CCD
o Image Processing
+ Astronomy Software
o Planetarium Programs
o Deep Sky Programs
o Observatory Programs
o Educational Programs
+ Tips & Techniques for Amateur Astronomers
+ Literature covering the topics listed above
* What Topics Are Not Suitable for sci.astro.amateur?
Anything of a highly technical, theoretical, or cosmological
nature (G). Seriously, one of the major reasons that
sci.astro.amateur was created was that people were tired of wading
through all the black hole, origin & fate of the universe, Steven
Hawking | Carl Sagan is a twit, et. al. kind of posts to get to
the ones discussing the topics listed in this charter. While some
of the theoretical/cosmological topics may be of interest to some
amateur astronomers, discussion in sci.astro.amateur should be
pretty much limited to the PRACTICE of amateur astronomy. We'll
leave the heavy topics for sci.astro.
_____________________________________________________________________
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
----------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Schlyter, Grev Turegatan 40, SE-114 38 Stockholm, SWEDEN
e-mail: pausch at stockholm dot bostream dot se
WWW: http://stjarnhimlen.se/
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