Welcome to the Cloudy Nights Imaging/Sketching Contest!

Over the years, we’ve noticed we have some exceptional talent in our forums, and we’ve decided that we would like to show it off. Each month our readers will choose an overall winner, and that winning image or sketch will be displayed on the front page of the Cloudy Nights website until a new winner is chosen.

How to enter:

Please visit our forums and submit an image/sketch in the appropriate forum, each forum will have a "sticky" thread called "Imaging Contest Submissions".

Images may be submitted to the contest threads in the following forums:

• Beginning Imaging
• Film Astrophotography
• DSLR and Digital Camera Astro Imaging and Processing
• CCD Imaging and Processing
• Solar System Imaging and Processing
• Sketching

Moderators are listed by the forum name, and additionally their name or handle appears in green. Please contact them if you have any questions.

Each month, images or sketches (as applicable to the forum) will be submitted in each forum for users to vote on. The winners from each forum's semi-final poll will be entered in a site wide poll for our users to determine which image or sketch is the best of the group.

See the individual forums and moderators for additional details and questions.

Contest rules and prize awards are subject to change without notice.

Contest Rules:

1. Images submitted in a particular forum must reflect the focus of that particular forum.

Specifically:

• Entries in the DSLR forum must be images captured with a Digital SLR or digital camera
• Entries in the CCD forum must have been captured with a dedicated astronomical CCD camera
• Entries in the Film Astrophotograpy forum must have been captured with a film camera
• Entries in the Solar System forum must be of objects contained within our solar system
• Entries in the Sketching forum must be an image of a sketch
• Entries in the Beginning Imaging forum can be of any astronomical subject as long as they are captured with a camera of some sort and do not violate any other rules

2. In order to provide a level playing field and to encourage participation by novice imagers, entrants in the Beginning Imaging forum who win the semi-finals poll in the CN Imaging Contest a total of three (3) times - or who win in the finals regardless of the number of times they have won the semifinals - will have demonstrated sufficient proficiency at astrophotography to no longer be considered a "beginning imager". Such an imager will be considered to be a "graduate" of the Beginning Imaging Forum, and are encouraged to compete in the other imaging or sketching forums. The exception to this rule will be in the case of an entrant who wins the semi finals poll in Beginning Imaging as an uncontested entrant. An uncontested winner in the semi-finals will not have their win count toward their "graduation" as a beginning imager unless they also win the overall contest.

3. Entrants may submit an image for consideration in only one forum participating in the CN Imaging Contest. Entrants submitting images in more than one forum must choose a single forum to enter in or else all submissions from the entrant will be disqualified at the time of the creation of the semi finals polls.

4. All entries must be captured within the same season as the contest. For example, if the subject was Orion Nebula, than any photo captured during this particular winter (or period that it was visible) would qualify for the contest.

5. Please include the equipment used to take the image. Scope/Mount/Camera/Focal reducers/Barlows...whatever, as well as your name, the time / date and your location.

6. Entries are limited to absolute maximums of 102,400 bytes (100KB) in file size and 800 pixels x 800 pixels square. Entries that do not meet these criteria will be disqualified at the time of the semi final poll creation. It is the contestant's responsibility to ensure compliance with these limitations - although a moderator or administrator may alert a contestant to a possible problem in this area they are not bound to do so.

7. In order to provide a level playing field, links to any other versions of contest entries are specifically restricted and will subject the entry to disqualification if included. It is the contestant's responsibility to ensure compliance with this restriction - although a moderator or administrator may alert a contestant to a possible problem in this area they are not bound to do so.

8. There will be a separate sticky thread for Contest entries. Please do not post comments in the entries thread its just for these wonderful images you all will be submitting.

9. The equipment must be yours. Doesn't matter what it is. 20" RC, ETX70, 2" Tasco or an 8" TMB.

10. You must be the owner or co-owner and operator. You must setup, align, take the exposures and process them yourself. No pay by the hour rent-a-scope images will be allowed.

11. A given user can only win in the finals once every 3 months.

12. Voting for the individual polls posted in the forums will commence no later than the 5th day of the month. Sem-Finals (forum) voting takes place from the 5th through the 8th, finalist pictures / poll will be posted no later than the 10th, and voting takes place from the 10th through the 15th. Finally, the winners image should be posted to the front page by the 16th of each month.