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The proposed description of this site is quite weak and doesn't provide any real direction. Personally, I think amateurs (and their equipment) have to be explicitly included, because astronomy, perhaps more than any other science, relies on amateurs for observational data and other input. A great example is the list of observatories, many amateur, maintained by the IAU Minor Planet Center at cfa.harvard.edu/iau/lists/ObsCodesF.html - mine is code J58. While amateur astronomers represent a wide spectrum of interests, the top end certainly overlaps the professional arena. – Tim Long May 27 '10 at 15:36

I think the question of whether spaceflight and space exploration are on- or off-topic needs to be explicitly incorporated into the charter. The overlap between "people interested in astronomy" and "people interested in spaceflight" is very large, but not necessarily 100%. – Larry OBrien May 29 '10 at 18:37

There may be three populations of questions here, Professional Astronomy and Astrophysics, Practical Amateur Astronomy and Space Flight and Exploration. – Chris Rowland May 31 '10 at 7:37

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188 Example Questions (10 closed)

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up vote 21 down vote

added by WikiSpeedia hang-around May 27 '10 at 10:53

(2UCAC 27491914 by (80) Sappho: asteroidoccultation.com/2010_05/…) – WikiSpeedia hang-around May 27 '10 at 10:59

up vote 21 down vote

added by therefromhere May 30 '10 at 14:43

up vote 21 down vote

added by ChrisF May 31 '10 at 18:25

	Near duplicate: area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/51/astronomy/… – WikiSpeedia hang-around May 31 '10 at 22:25
	@Peter - not quite. That question asks about combating it in general, this one is about coping with it. Both could be valid questions though. – ChrisF May 31 '10 at 22:31

up vote 20 down vote

added by Aim Kai Jun 1 '10 at 6:53

Duplicate question area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/51/astronomy/… – dagorym Jun 1 '10 at 15:43

up vote 20 down vote

added by Corey, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jun 4 '10 at 19:58

up vote 12 down vote

added by delete Jun 1 '10 at 10:56

up vote 11 down vote

added by Robert Harvey Jun 1 '10 at 21:32

up vote 8 down vote

added by rlb.usa Jun 3 '10 at 18:21

Working with (and maintaining) the tools of your trade better be on topic. – Robert Harvey Jun 4 '10 at 4:58

up vote 6 down vote

added by juanformoso May 28 '10 at 2:56

	another reason why astronomy and physics SE's should be linked – Tobias Kienzler May 28 '10 at 6:06
	I think astrophysics is a legitimate overlap – cindi Jun 8 '10 at 17:12
	This question could also be asked at Popular Natural Sciences. – Tobias Kienzler Jun 23 '10 at 14:07

up vote 5 down vote

added by dagorym, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around May 31 '10 at 19:13

up vote 4 down vote

added by WikiSpeedia hang-around May 27 '10 at 15:03

Political activism is rather off-topic. – Tadeusz A. Kadłubowski May 27 '10 at 18:13

But light pollution only affects astronomers and stargazers, so therefore it is absolutely relevant. – Arlen Beiler May 27 '10 at 21:37

would probably be voted to close as too argumentative. but maybe meta-astro, then – Tobias Kienzler May 28 '10 at 6:04

up vote 4 down vote

added by Mehper C. Palavuzlar, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jun 3 '10 at 16:18

Another form for this question: Are there any extra telescope apparatuses to observe the sun? – Mehper C. Palavuzlar Jun 3 '10 at 11:52

up vote 4 down vote

added by rlb.usa Jun 3 '10 at 18:19

up vote 4 down vote

added by Arvinje Jun 4 '10 at 9:56

up vote 3 down vote

added by Kredns May 27 '10 at 4:10

up vote 3 down vote

added by Rog May 27 '10 at 7:21

This is probably more appropriate for area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/1265/… – Helen Jun 10 '10 at 18:49

up vote 3 down vote

added by dagorym May 28 '10 at 16:12

up vote 3 down vote

added by dagorym May 31 '10 at 15:07

up vote 3 down vote

added by dagorym Jun 1 '10 at 3:52

up vote 3 down vote

added by dagorym Jun 1 '10 at 18:14

up vote 3 down vote

added by Mehper C. Palavuzlar Jun 3 '10 at 11:57

@mehper Assuming you mean Earth-to-space communications, this is an interesting question in general, and I'd say vaguely on-topic here because astronomers don't just use telescopes in the visible spectrum; an understanding of other electromagnetic communications applications (especially those pointed at the Earth) may be useful. – sblair Jun 4 '10 at 23:14

up vote 2 down vote

added by Scott Wisniewski, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jun 1 '10 at 13:35

up vote 2 down vote

added by Kredns May 27 '10 at 4:11

	The question doesn't give a location...So it's too ambiguous – Scott Wisniewski May 27 '10 at 4:46
	The location would have to be part of the answer. It is answerable for somebody in any location - unlike the where can I buy X locally questions. – Martin Beckett May 27 '10 at 14:48
	The question is poorly worded but that doesn't make it off topic. The asker would either be encouraged to clarify the question (which in itself would teach them something) or the answer could explain why that is location dependent. Or, a member in good standing could eit the question to add the asker's location. Either way, this is core astronomy and could yield some interesting answers. Example, why stars are better observed near the meridian, diurnal motion, changing seasons, and so on. – Tim Long May 27 '10 at 14:54

up vote 2 down vote

added by juanformoso May 27 '10 at 13:34

up vote 2 down vote

added by Tobias Kienzler May 28 '10 at 6:08

up vote 2 down vote

added by WikiSpeedia hang-around May 28 '10 at 7:35

(Lunar occultations: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…) – WikiSpeedia hang-around May 28 '10 at 7:39

up vote 2 down vote

added by Larry OBrien May 29 '10 at 0:45

	I'm going with "too localised" for this one. – ChrisF May 29 '10 at 20:49
	But the problem is that this is the place to ask such questions. – Arlen Beiler May 31 '10 at 1:56
	Personally very interested in this being answered! If the site were to include "amateurs" like myself, having info on good places to start out with would help. – Charlie Jun 16 '10 at 22:50

up vote 2 down vote

added by juanformoso, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around May 31 '10 at 18:57

Although a good question - the answer will change with time as more moons are discovered. – Aim Kai Jun 10 '10 at 8:35

Are you serious? In any case, the answer can be updated or a new one will be added – juanformoso Jun 10 '10 at 11:27

up vote 2 down vote

added by Tim Long May 30 '10 at 12:36

up vote 2 down vote

added by dagorym May 31 '10 at 15:08

up vote 2 down vote

added by cindi, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around May 31 '10 at 18:58

closed as off topic by Bryan Anderson, Beska, Aim Kai, hayalci, Mehper C. Palavuzlar Jun 21 '10 at 13:36

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

	This belongs on the Physics stack exchange. – Bryan Anderson Jun 6 '10 at 17:15
	Physics, but without calculus? Maybe then also at Popular Natural Sciences. – Tobias Kienzler Jun 21 '10 at 12:22
	I think amateur and professional astronomers are interested in the history of astronomy. I'd be interested in hearing opinions on how important astronomy concepts and tools were developed and what theoretical minimum "prerequisites" (conceptual or technological) may have been. – Larry Gritz Jun 22 '10 at 18:48

up vote 2 down vote

added by rlb.usa Jun 3 '10 at 18:18

up vote 2 down vote

added by HRJ Jun 11 '10 at 7:03

Example question related to observations. – HRJ Jun 11 '10 at 7:03

up vote 1 down vote

added by Giorgi, edited by Robert Harvey Jun 22 '10 at 22:52

-1 for bad spelling. – Harry Gindi Jun 22 '10 at 22:05

up vote 1 down vote

added by juanformoso May 27 '10 at 3:20

Possible answers include life-cycle of stars, estimation, different kind of "star deaths", etc – juanformoso May 27 '10 at 3:21

up vote 1 down vote

added by Kredns May 27 '10 at 4:14

On the edge of the "what scope do I buy" area – Martin Beckett May 27 '10 at 14:45

"Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes" ... Will StackOverflow allow me to ask how to clean my keyboard? – herzmeister May 27 '10 at 20:55

@herzmeister I think that's a bad analogy if you're implying that this is off-topic (or that this proposal is too vague - which is certainly arguable). The main focus of StackOverflow is programming, not computer science. (also see superuser.com/questions/1331/… :) – therefromhere May 27 '10 at 21:19

Hey that's a great trick with the keyboard on superuser, thanks. ;-) Maybe there should be two sites here as well, StarsOverflow and SuperObserver. :-P – herzmeister May 28 '10 at 8:11

I would hope that observing and equipment maintenance questions are valid here. Surely the continuum from absolute amateur to professional astronomer is one of the joys of astronomy. To me, equipment questions are more "factual" and on topic than (to pick the next question I see) "Why is Pluto not a planet?) – Larry OBrien May 29 '10 at 0:27

show 1 more improvement suggestion

up vote 1 down vote

added by Scott Wisniewski, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jun 1 '10 at 13:34

another reason why astronomy and physics SE's should be linked – Tobias Kienzler May 28 '10 at 5:59

up vote 1 down vote

added by Rog May 27 '10 at 4:52

up vote 1 down vote

added by Gnoupi May 27 '10 at 5:35

up vote 1 down vote

added by Greg Hewgill May 27 '10 at 7:05

(disclaimer: I don't know anything about astronomy) I'd vote off-topic. If I were a professional (or amateur) astronomer or astrophysicist and I stumbled onto a site with questions like this, I wouldn't come back. – Anton Geraschenko May 27 '10 at 7:18

@Anton - Elitism is a good way to have a close community of dedicated people, but it's also the best way to have a very small community. I think that the way these site works allows for "elite" and "newbie" questions together. – Gnoupi May 27 '10 at 7:31

I am (was) a professional astronomer and i can live with this question - it's the what type of telescope should I buy or 'is my new XYZcompany 10" scope any good' questions that I don't like – Martin Beckett May 27 '10 at 14:43

Very valid. Finding interesting targets can be daunting when just starting out. – Rusty Jun 2 '10 at 4:41