mission:

It is the purpose of this web site to convey excitement about science in general and astronomy in particular. In this site you'll find how-to's in the form of various tutorials and articles, as well as a place for amateurs to congregate and share ideas via discussion boards and an email list. All of this is provided with the hope of giving some insight into the wonderful universe of "amateur astronomy". This site has been targeted for all levels of the amateur astronomer, and it's hoped that all people who peer with curiosity at the night sky will find something of interest here!

site map:

You can get to a complete site map and website search utility by going here.

awards:

the @stro pages is privileged to announce that we have received these Internet website awards!

The Critical Mass Award	Dr. Matrix Award for Science Excellence
3/22/2000	6/20/2000

What is COELVM NOSCITARE, STELLARVM SOMNARE?

This is Latin for "observing the heavens, dreaming of the stars". Thanks Tom for the translation!

recommended browsers:

This site has been tested and certified to work satisfactorily with Internet Explorer v.4.x and 5.x and Netscape Navigator 4.x. Download the most current version:

or

It has also been tested (lightly) and found to work with Opera 3.60 as well.

screen resolutions:

This website was constructed for 800x600 screen resolution, but it has been tested to work on resolutions including 1024x764 and 640x480.

screensaver installation:

The screensavers provided by the @stro pages are intended for installation on Windows 95/98/NT systems and have been tested and found compatible with Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0. Windows 95 testing is still pending. To install the screensavers follow these directions:

• .zip format: Download and save or open the .zip file by either left-clicking the hyperlink (compatible with most browsers) or right-clicking the hyperlink and selecting File/Save As (also in most browsers). Zip compressed files result in smaller file sizes and quicker downloads for files, but you must have a decompressor capable of handling .zip files. You can download WinZip if you do not already have a suitable decompressor. The zip compressed version of the screensaver downloads contain the same .exe file that you'll find in the instructions for the .exe format. Follow the install instructions for the .exe version after downloading and extracting the .exe file from the .zip file.
• .exe format: Download and save or open the .exe file by either left clicking the hyperlink (compatible with most browsers) or right-clicking the hyperlink and selecting File/Save As (also in most browsers). The .exe format of the screensavers contains a fully self-contained installation program that should install the screensaver automatically. Follow the prompts. Reasonable attempts have been made to insure that the .exe format is virus free.
• .scr format (intended for expert users): Rather than using the self-extracting executable you can download the .scr file directly to your Windows system subdirectory, usually the c:\windows\system or c:\winnt\system32 directory and configuring it from with the Display Properties dialog. If you are unsure about where to put it use the .exe format.

If you still need help with installing our screensaver(s) please feel free to contact us regarding your problem. Remember to provide a thorough description and explanation of your problems and/or questions.

known issues:

• 01/03/2000: Browser - Internet Explorer 3.0. It reports the year in the date script on the main index page as 19100. No fix available as yet.
• 01/03/2000: Browser - Internet Explorer 3.0. Menu text colors are not displayed properly. Only known fix is to upgrade to version 4.0 or better (see links above).
• 01/26/2000: The entire site structure was changed and many links or images may be broken. Please report them if you find any problems. It would be much appreciated!

polling:

The polls & voting utilties on this website are for entertainment purposes only. They are not scientific in nature and are not necessarily indicative of public opinion.

bug reporting:

If you find a bug, typo, or misspelling on this web site PLEASE let the webmaster know! Remember to include the webpage link that contains the error, your best description of the problem and/or how to duplicate the problem that you found. THANKS!

navigation icons explained:

	Important or urgent note		Article, news item or tutorial
	Urgent article or news item		Star party or other event
	General note		Checklist item
	Multimedia video file		Calendar item
	Multimedia sound file		Image or photo
	Calculation utility or equation		People or clubs
	Link to an open discussion topic		Self-explanatory
	Recommended book		Required form field you must fill in
	Printer friendly version of the web page		Points to an external link, or list of external links*

meet Roger:

If you're interested read a little bio about the @stro pages webmaster...