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The information we collect in the user registration process is stored in a database on
our servers. A subset of this information is then sent back to you in the form of a
cookie file. This file is
saved on your computer and then sent back to us every time you connect to
AstronomyDaily.com. This is how we know
who you are for the purpose of customizing our pages for you.
The exact information stored in our user database is as follows:
| user id |
A one-up number assigned to each user at the time of
registration. It is used to index the database and ensure that
there are no duplicate entries. |
| email address |
Your email address is your user name - one that is less
likely to be forgotten than a made-up name. We send an activation email to
this address when you sign-up to help prevent registrations by spammers or
spam robots. It will be requested if your cookie file is ever lost or deleted, or
if you login from a different computer. The email address together with the
birth date field allow us to verify your record in the database and send you a
new cookie file. |
status,
method,
expiration |
Your current subscription status (trial, active, expired, etc),
the payment method you used (PayPal, Credit Card, Check, etc.) and the expiration
date of your current subscription or trial are used internally to manage
subscription bookkeeping. Your actual credit card data is not part of
this database. It is stored on a separate, secure server and deleted completely from the system once processed. |
| first name or nickname |
Your first name or nickname is used in a welcome message on the home
page.
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| birth date |
Your birth date is used like a password. It is combined
with your email address to verify your record in our database. Because we store no information that identifies you
personally (like your last name or address), there is no need for a more
secure password. If someone else were to correctly guess both your user name and birth
date, then a cookie file with your approximate lat/long and time zone would be sent
to them and all of the astronomical data they see would be customized for your
location rather than their own.
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| cell phone number |
If you sign up for wireless access, we will ask for your
cell phone number. It is used to find your "home
location" information in our records based on the phone number of the device you are using
for access. |
date registered,
last visit,
number of visits |
The date you first registered, the date you last visited,
and the number of times you have visited are stored for our own traffic analysis
purposes and are not stored in a
cookie file. The main use for this information is to rate the popularity of the web
site for use in setting advertising rates. |
latitude,
longitude,
time zone |
Your lat/long and time zone are used to create nightly star charts for
your location, show correct rise and set times, calculate your local
sidereal time, and similar functions. The method of selecting your
lat/long combined with the "rounding off" that we do results
in a location accurate enough for these calculations, but nowhere near
accurate enough for someone to find out where you live. Generally, the location we save
is within about 60 miles (96 km) of your actual location. Your time zone is not
requested during the registration process; it is determined from the
clock setting on your computer. This value is checked and re-set
every time you connect in order to handle the wide variety of
daylight saving times methods in use throughout the world. |
| weather station code |
This is a 3-4 character code that identifies the weather
reporting station you selected during the registration process. It
is used to obtain nightly weather
forecasts. The
service which provides this information bases their forecasts on
reporting station codes, they do not have the ability to generate a forecast based on lat/long. |
As mentioned above, a subset of the user registration information is saved in
a cookie file on your computer. The cookie file is sent back to us every
time you connect to AstronomyDaily.com or view any of our pages. Here is the information stored in the cookie
and how we use it:
| user name |
We receive your email address/user name when you first connect to
AstronomyDaily.com. We look it up in our database, update the
"last visit" date, and increment the "number of
visits" field. |
| dst check |
The date we last checked your time zone settings. We use
this value to periodically check your time zone to see if it might have changed
due to daylight saving time or summer time. If it has changed, we update your
cookie file with the correct time zone and reset this date. |
latitude,
longitude,
time zone |
By storing your lat/long and time zone in your cookie
file we have it readily available for calculations on any of our pages.
Otherwise, we would have to look up this information in the database
every time we needed it and it would take longer to generate our pages. |
Any questions related to privacy or data use may be directed to
webmaster@astronomydaily.com.
Requests to be removed from the user registration database should be sent to
removeme@astronomydaily.com.
Be sure to include your user name and date of birth.
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