Originally Posted By: Bill S.
Another thought confuses the issue, but I think it is relevant to the discussion.

I don't believe that it is relevant but it's a subject that intrigues me.

Originally Posted By: Bill S.
Some time ago, if I remember correctly, when we were discussing the speed of light through water, and other media, we established that light travels at “c” through any medium, and that the apparent slowing results from the absorption and re-emission of the photons by atoms in the medium.

I question the decision that light travels through any medium at c. It is my understanding that it does not.

Originally Posted By: Bill S.
If this is the case, why are astronomers able to see the emission/absorption spectra of distant stars? Why are these spectra not converted into the emission spectra of the atoms in the lenses of their telescopes?

My argument is that the light from distant stars passes through the medium that is our atmosphere before it even reaches those lenses.

My reason for rejecting that subject's relevance is that the light emitted by OP objects that are moving away from us at superluminal velocities does not arrive here.