The Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year Competition for International Students

Entrants can submit
up to 10 images for the chance to win cash prizes, their winning image
displayed in an exhibition at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, a year’s
subscription to BBC Sky at Night magazine
and a copy of the Astronomy
Photographer of the Year 2017 publication.

The Insight
Astronomy Photographer of the Year is a competition, so by entering you agree
to the following competition rules.

a) Organiser

• The
  Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition and exhibition are
  organised and owned by the Board of Trustees of the National Maritime
  Museum, Park Row, Greenwich, London, SE10 9NF. The Insight Astronomy
  Photographer of the Year 2017 competition and exhibition are organised by
  the Royal Observatory Greenwich. The National Maritime Museum and the
  Royal Observatory Greenwich are part of Royal Museums Greenwich (‘RMG’).
• The
  Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is sponsored by
  Insight Investment.
• The
  Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is open to anyone
  except those involved in its organisation and employees (and their
  immediate family) of Royal Museums Greenwich, Insight Investment, BBC
  Worldwide Limited and Immediate Media Company. Judges (or their immediate
  families) of the competition are also restricted from entering the
  competition.

b) How to Enter:

• Entries
  to the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017 competition open on
  Monday 27 February 2017 and must be received by midday (BST) on Friday 7
  April 2017 (the ‘Closing Date’).
• The
  Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is hosted on the
  Royal Museums Greenwich website and all entries must be submitted online
  via the entry form.
• Entrants
  must be over the age of 16 on the Closing Date of the competition. (There
  is an exception for Robotic Scope Image of the Year. This special prize is
  open to entrants of all ages.)
• The
  consent of a parent or guardian is required for any entrant under the age
  of 18.
• Entries
  must be submitted to a category or a prize in accordance with the
  guidelines of that category or prize. See sections 4 and 5 for more
  details.

c) Submitting images
and eligibility

• Entrants
  may submit up to ten photos in total to the Insight Astronomy Photographer
  of the Year 2017 competition.
• By
  submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to the competition Rules, and
  warrants that they are the copyright owner of the image. The entrant
  agrees to indemnify the Promoter against all costs and claims by third
  parties arising from breach of this warranty.
• (i)
  Group entries are permitted. Groups must nominate one person to represent
  them in communication and submit entries on behalf of the group.
  (ii) Group entrants must indicate they are representing a group in the
  entry form.
  (iii) The entrant representing the group in communication warrants that
  they have the written consent of all the copyright holders to enter the
  image and may be requested to provide evidence of this.
  (iv) In cases where a school group is being represented, one student or a
  teacher should do the submission on behalf of the group.
• By
  submitting images via this website you confirm to the Royal Observatory
  Greenwich that each image:
  (i) was taken and processed by you, or by a group of which you are an
  active participant
  (ii) is your or your group’s original work, or
  (iii) does not infringe the copyright or any other rights of any third
  party (particularly in relation to the use of robotic telescopes)
  (iv) does not contain any obscene or defamatory content or material
  (v) was taken after 1 January 2016.
• Unnatural,
  digitally enhanced, composites are eligible for entry to the competition
  but the judging panel may ask about your processing method if your photo
  is shortlisted. Please provide details of digital enhancements and
  composites in the image description.
• The
  following images are not eligible for entry in to the Insight Astronomy
  Photographer of the Year competition:
  (i) Photos taken before 1 January 2016.
  (ii) Photos that have previously been entered in previous years of the
  Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.
  (iii) Photos that use a substantial amount of data from an image which has
  been submitted to a news agency or picture agency.
  (iv) Photos that have previously been submitted to or picked up by a news
  agency, picture agency or any media outlet for distribution.
  (v) Images incorporating data from professional research observatories,
  facilities and archives (other than publicly available robotic telescopes)
  are NOT eligible for entry into the competition.
• Using
  data from before 1 January 2016 is permitted, as long as a substantial
  (greater than 50% of the total exposure time) portion of the image is
  created using data captured after this date. If data used in an image was
  captured before 1 January 2016, please state roughly what percentage of
  the total data it constitutes.

d) Insight Astronomy
Photographer of the Year – Categories.

• There
  are eight categories in the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year
  competition. Each of these categories will have one winner, one runner-up
  and one highly commended award. Each of the eight category winners will be
  put forward for consideration to receive the overall winning prize and
  title of Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017.
• Images
  can be submitted to the following eight categories:
  (i) Aurorae.
  (ii) Skyscapes.
  (iii) People and Space.
  (iv) Our Sun.
  (v) Our Moon.
  (vi) Planets, Comets and
  Asteroids.
  (vii) Stars and Nebulae.
  (viii) Galaxies.

e) Special
prizes

1. There
   are two additional special prizes in the Insight Astronomy Photographer of
   the Year competition. Images submitted for these prizes may not also be
   entered in a category. The prizes are:
   (i) The Sir Patrick
   Moore Prize for Best Newcomer: For newcomers who have only
   been practicing astronomy photography since January 2016 and have not
   entered the competition before. Any astronomical subject may be depicted.
   You may enter other images into the categories, but this is your chance
   for recognition amongst newcomers to astronomy photography. The judges
   will give special consideration to those using simple and inexpensive
   start-out kit, so please state this in your photo description. This will
   help them to better assess the overall standard of your imaging.
   (ii) Robotic Scope Image of
   the Year: For images taken using a robotic telescope. See
   below for further details.

f) Robotic Scope
special prize

1. This
   special prize is open to entrants of all ages.
2. Images
   must be captured by a robotic telescope and processed by the entrant(s).
3. For the
   purposes of this competition, a robotic telescope is considered to be one
   that is operated via the internet and is publically available to all, such
   as Faulkes, Slooh, NSO, Global Remote Telescope Network (GRAS),
   LightBuckets, Liverpool etc. Please clearly specify the name, type and
   location of the robotic telescope that you are using, along with any other
   relevant details. If you are uncertain about whether the telescope you are
   using qualifies as ‘robotic’ under this definition, please contact the
   competition organisers for clarification.
4. No
   images taken by robotic telescopes will be allowed into any of the eight
   categories or the Sir Patrick Moore for Best Newcomer prize.
5. If you
   use a robotic telescope, you must ensure that you are the owner of the
   photographs or have the permission of the telescope owner to enter the
   photographs into the competition. Terms and conditions vary between
   robotic telescope facilities and it is your responsibility to ensure that
   these entitle you to enter your images into the competition.

g) Shortlisted
entries

• To make
  sure that your photos are eligible for the competition shortlist, please
  ensure:
  (i) you have completed the relevant online application form, supplying as
  much detail as possible about your image(s) in the relevant fields
  (ii) you have a high-resolution version of your photo available that can,
  as closely as possible, be reproduced at 300dpi and a minimum 15cms width.
  This is to ensure that your image can be reproduced in the exhibition and
  for promotional purposes, should it be awarded a prize.
  (iii) your photo does not have a copyright line, name or any watermarks
  featured anywhere on the image
• If your
  photo is shortlisted, we will contact you on 27 April 2017 via the email
  address you provided and ask you to complete
  the following steps by midday (BST) on 9 May 2017:
  (i) supply a high-resolution version of your photo, that can be reproduced
  at 300dpi and a minimum of 15cms width, by logging into the entry form and
  uploading it to your account. This must be exactly the same image as the
  one originally entered, albeit a larger version. No retouching or altering
  of the image is permitted after the image has been shortlisted.
  (ii) supply any missing information about your image, if needed.
  (iii) for entrants to the Sir Patrick Moore for Best Newcomer prize,
  reconfirm that you have only been practising astronomy photography since 1
  January 2016.
  If you do not upload
  your high-resolution file(s) by midday (BST) on 9 May 2017, your photo(s)
  will be removed from the shortlist.
• If you
  have not been shortlisted you will be notified during the week commencing
  1 May 2017.
• The
  full shortlist of images will not be revealed until the announcement of
  the winners on 14 September 2017.
• If you
  are shortlisted, please help us to build excitement around the awards
  announcement by treating your inclusion in the shortlist as strictly
  confidential until the press release about the shortlisted images is
  issued.
• A press
  release about the shortlisted images will be issued in July, featuring
  only a small selection of the full shortlist and we cannot guarantee which
  images will be selected for use by the press.
• Photos
  shortlisted in the competition must not be submitted to a news agency,
  picture agency or media outlet until six weeks after the opening of the
  Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2017 exhibition (exhibition
  opens to the public 16 September 2017).
• All
  shortlisted entrants will be invited to the awards ceremony. Shortlisted
  category entrants who are notified that they have placed as a winner
  within their category upon receiving their invitation must keep this
  information confidential until the night of the awards ceremony.
• All
  shortlisted entrants will receive a complimentary copy of the Astronomy
  Photographer of the Year 2017 publication. No cash alternative is
  available.

h) Copyright and use
of images

• The
  Royal Observatory Greenwich is a charitable body dedicated to supporting
  public understanding and education of science. The images submitted to the
  Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition serve as key
  resources to promote astronomy photography in practice and in order for us
  to do this we need to be able to use your image(s) in certain ways.
• Entrants
  will retain copyright and moral rights in their submitted images. In all
  instances, the copyright holder will be credited, wherever practicable,
  when the image is used and published by RMG and its sponsors. We will use
  your first and last name as supplied during the entry process. Although
  RMG will always supply the correct information to third parties (for
  example to press / media), it cannot accept responsibility for any credit
  line errors or omissions by these parties.
• By
  entering, all entrants grant RMG a non-exclusive, irrevocable worldwide,
  royalty-free licence to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, and publish any
  image entered into the competition:
  (i) in exhibition displays, in relation to both the Insight Astronomy
  Photographer of the Year 2017 competition and exhibition and related
  future exhibitions and displays (including as part of touring displays).
  (ii) in promotional, press, marketing materials, including social media,
  to promote and publicize the competition and exhibition, as well as future
  related exhibitions. This may include publication in the BBC Sky at Night
  Magazine or its promotional calendar, in international and national media
  publications and online. Your contact details may be shared with the
  Museum Press Office, should additional information be required.
  (iii) as part of RMG educational programmes or digital media, in order to
  introduce and promote the understanding of astronomy to a wider audience.
  (iv) in any RMG publications about the competition, exhibition and future
  related exhibitions. These may be produced by RMG, or under license to a
  third party (who reserves the right to further sub-license such
  publications) in all editions, languages, territories and media, for which
  you will receive a free copy of the first UK print edition that your image
  appears in (limited to one copy per entrant, regardless of the number of
  images).
  (v) for use in planetarium shows developed and distributed by RMG.
  (vi) for any other marketing, promotional or press purposes at the sole
  discretion of RMG, in relation to the Insight Astronomy Photographer of
  the Year competition and exhibition and more generally to promote the
  understanding of astronomy in general terms as RMG sees fit.
  (vii) for brand licensed products (including but not limited to calendars
  and stationery) for a period of ten years.
  (viii) in merchandising for a period of ten years. Should your image(s)
  feature in any such merchandising you will receive a one-off payment of
  £50.00 per image.
• In the
  instance that entrants are shortlisted, entrants grant the sponsor Insight
  Investment a non-exclusive, irrevocable worldwide, royalty-free, licence
  to use their shortlisted images for non-commercial use, including (but not
  limited to) to promote and market the competition and their sponsorship.
• Any
  commercial usage not covered by Clause (3) or Clause (4) would be agreed
  with the individual photographer on a case by case basis.
• Royal
  Museums Greenwich is committed to processing information in accordance
  with the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998. Images will be stored securely in
  appropriate file formats on servers belonging to Royal Museums Greenwich.
• Please
  do not submit your contribution to the competition if you do not wish to
  grant these rights.

Scholarship Link