By entering the Competition You hereby accept these Competition Rules, Terms and Conditions.

CONTEST PERIOD: ASTRO2021 : The Competition opens October 25, 2021, at 12:01 a.m. PST, and closes on November 29, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. PST (the "Contest Period"). Please note the entry deadline, as this date is final, and there will be no extensions provided. The system will automatically prevent entry submission after the deadline. Winners will be notified on January 18, 2022.

The entry fee for the Open competition is $15USD per image, and you may enter up to six (6) images in total.

All entries must be received by November 29, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. PST to be eligible.Each photograph must be submitted in JPG, sRGB colorspace, and cannot exceed 5Mb in size.

Entry must be the original work of the entrant and entrant must be the sole owner of the copyright of such entry.

You are eligible to enter more than one category, so long as the work submitted meets the category criteria.

Entry must be in keeping with the Sponsors’ image and may not be inappropriate or offensive, as determined by the Sponsors in their sole discretion, nor can it defame or invade publicity rights or privacy of any person, living or deceased, or otherwise infringe upon any person’s personal or property rights or any other third-party rights.

Entry fees may be paid by credit card only and must be paid online at time of completing submissions. If your submissions have not been paid for at close of entry they will not be included for judging. 

The Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to disqualify any entry they deem to be offensive, inappropriate, that is not in keeping with Sponsors’ image or that is otherwise not in compliance with the terms of these Official Rules. Entrant must have obtained express written consent to submit any entry that contains persons other than entrant or third-party elements not owned by entrant and, if requested to do so, produce such written consent from appropriate parties in a form and manner acceptable to the Sponsors.

By submitting an Entry, entrant acknowledges and agrees that Sponsors may obtain many Entries in connection with this Contest and/or other contests staged and/or promoted by the Sponsors, and that such Entries may be similar or identical in theme, idea, format or other respects to other Entries submitted in connection with this Contest and/or other contests sponsored by the Sponsors or submitted for other reasons or other materials developed by the Sponsors. Entrant waives any and all claims entrant may have had, may have, and/or may have in the future, that any Entry and/or other works accepted, reviewed and/or used by the entrant may be similar to his/her Entry, or that any compensation is due to entrant in connection with such Entry or other works used by Sponsors.

All entrants understand that any image submitted to the competition and subsequently shortlisted or awarded may be used by ASTRO2021 : The Competition, Save a Star Foundation and its Event Partners, for marketing and promotion purposes of the event only. You hereby grant Save a Star Foundation a non-exclusive, irrevocable license in each Entry throughout the world in all media for any use in connection with the Competition including but not limited to:• judging the Competition during the year of entry• displaying at public exhibitions showing ASTRO2021 : The Competition, and organized by Save a Star Foundation in perpetuity.• inclusion within the Website and/or an Awards catalogue in perpetuity• inclusion within any materials promoting of the Competition and / or any exhibition organized by Save a Star Foundation in the promotion of ASTRO2021 : The Competition in perpetuity• Sub-licensing the Entries to the press for reproduction in connection with the Competition and any exhibition for a period of 5 years• allowing viewers of the Website to view images on a computer screen, PDA or mobile phone, in perpetuity

Judging will be “blind” individual scores from the judges on the panel and will be averaged to produce single score for each entry.

By entering the Competition, You agree and acknowledge that ASTRO2021 : The Competition is permitted to receive Your registration data. All personal information will be used by ASTRO2021 : The Competition in accordance with it Privacy Policy

To enter, you must upload your image via the website: www.saveastar.net/astro2021, following the on-screen instructions carefully

ASTRO2021 : The Competition reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify and remove any entry that does not comply with the following requirements:• You are the sole owner and actor of each entry• The image presented for judging must be 100% photographic in origin, by use of a camera or similar device• You confirm that each person depicted into Entry has granted permission to be portrayed as shown, unless your jurisdiction does not require consent• Each Entry does not contain any infringing, threatening, false, misleading, abusive, harassing, libelous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic, or profane content• Each entry does not contain any material that could constitute or encourage conduct which would be considered a criminal offense or give rise to civil liability• You will accept the decisions of the judges, and agree not to contact any judge directly in relations to your entry/entries, or engage in attacks on the judges or judging process in any media including social media

Any photograph used by ASTRO2021 : The Competition shall carry a credit line. Any failure to provide such credit line shall not be deemed to be a breach, as log as ASTRO2021 uses its reasonable endeavors to rectify such failure within a reasonable period from the date of notice of such failure

ASTRO2021 : The Competition and its event partners assume no responsibility and are not liable for any image misuse by external third parties

ASTRO2021 : The Competition assumes no responsibility for any incorrect, inaccurate or incomplete information, whether caused by website users or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the competition, and ASTRO2021 : The Competition assumes no responsibility for technical, hardware or software failure of any kind, for lost network connections, garbled computer transmissions, other problems or technical malfunctions with regards to the competition.

In no event will ASTRO2021 : The Competition, its parent, affiliates, Event Partners, its officers, directors, representatives or agents be responsible or liable for any damages or losses of any kind, including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages arising out of any contestant’s access to and use of the Website,. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, everything onto Website is provided “as is”, without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, incidental but not listed to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for purpose or use or non-infringement.

You agree to participate in related publicity and to the use of your name and likeness for the purposes of advertising, promotion and publicity in connection with the competition without additional compensation.

All entrants must be ready to supply a high resolution image to verify the integrity of their entry

There are no alternatives available for prize winners. Prize recipients are responsible for any import taxes, or levies payable on receipt of prizes in your own country.

Winners will be published online at www.saveastar.net

No late entries accepted after the pre-advertised final entry period

Entry fees and prizes are quoted in US. ASTRO2021 : The Competition does not account or have any liability for any participants’ bank fees and charges that may be levied in currency conversion and currency transaction by the participating bank or institution.

ASTRO2021 : The Competition decisions are final. Right of rejection and or right of refusal are at the sole discretion of the event organizers and can happen at any time

Judges, sponsors, entry fees and prizes may be changed without notice up to the closing date of the competition. ASTRO2021 : The Competition accepts no responsibility for non-delivery of prizes from sponsors for reasons such as insolvency

All entries are subject to the laws of the United State of America.

Divisions:

• Nightscape Photography

• Astronomy Photography

Subdivisions:

Nightscape Subdivisions include:

• Milky Way

• Star Trails

• Comets/meteors

• Aurorae 

Astronomy Subdivisions include:

• Planets, asteroids, and comets

• Stars and Nebulae

• Galaxies

• The Moon, the Sun (solar images may be entered in this subdivision)

Potential winners will be notified by telephone, mail and/or e-mail by January 18, 2022 and will be required to execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and, unless prohibited, a Publicity Release, a W-9 Form and any additional documents that may be required by prize provider within fourteen (14) days of date of issuance. Noncompliance with this time period or with these Official Rules, or the return of any prize notification as undeliverable, may result in disqualification and, at the Sponsors’ discretion, the prize will be awarded to an applicable runner-up.

One (1) potential Grand Place Prize winner as the Nightscape Photographer of 2021, One (1) potential Grand Place Prize winner as the Astronomy Photographer of 2021. In the eight subdivisions (Nightscape Division Subdivisions: Milky Way, Star Trails, Comets/Meteors, Aurorae – Astronomy Division Subdivisions: Planets/Asteroids/Comets, Stars/Nebulae, Galaxies, The Moon/The Sun), there will be eight (8) potential Winning Photographs, eight (8) potential Photographs of Merit, eight (8) potential Special Mentions, and up to ten (10) potential Finalists that will be determined from among all eligible entries received by a panel of qualified judges, based equally on the following criteria: Adherence to Category, Technical Excellence, Composition, Creativity/Originality, Impact (“Judging Criteria”). The entrants who submitted the entry receiving the highest scores, as determined by the Judges in their sole discretion, will be the potential winners and finalists respectively. In the event of a tie for any prize, a “tie-breaking”round will determine the applicable winner or finalists from among those tied using the Criteria. The Sponsors reserve the right to not award any prize if, in their sole discretion, an insufficient number of eligible and qualified entries are received. Decisions of the Sponsors and judges are final and binding.

Grand Prize Winners in Each Division:

• Nightscape Photographer of 2021

• Astronomy Photographer of 2021

Each Subdivision will be Awarded:

• The Winning Photograph

• Photograph of Merit

• Special Mention

• Finalists (10)

Special Awards:

• Save a Star Foundation will name two ambassadors based on their answer to the question: Why is it important to you that we preserve and reclaim dark skies for future generations? 

Grand Prize Nightscape Photographer of 2021: One (1) Really Right Stuff Versa TVC-33 Mark 2 and BH-55 LR (MSRP $1,514); One (1) Irix Blackstone 15mm f/2.4 wide angle lens (for Canon, Nikon, Pentax) (MSRP $675); One (1) Adobe Photography Bundle License (MSRP $120); One (1) hotshoe mounted USB rechargeable laser (MSRP $70), One (1) Hahnemühle $150 Gift Card; One (1) PhotoPills license (MSRP $10; One (1) Tenba DNA 9 Black Messenger Bag (MSRP $130); One (1) Bay Photo 16 x 24” Metal Print (MSRP $100); Two (2) Aputure MC RGBWW LED lights (MSRP $180); One (1) Save a Star Foundation Member Bundle (MSRP $35);

Grand Prize Astronomy Photographer of 2021: One (1) Canon R (MSRP $1,800); One (1) Canon RF to EF adapter (MSRP $200); One (1) Astro Filter Set (MSRP $700), One (1) Irix Blackstone 15mm f/2.4 wide angle lens (for Canon, Nikon, Pentax) (MSRP $675); One (1) hotshoe mounted USB rechargeable laser (MSRP $70); (1) Adobe Photography Bundle License (MSRP $120); One (1) Hahnemühle $150 Gift Card; One (1) PhotoPills license (MSRP $10); One (1) Tenba DNA 9 Black Messenger Bag (MSRP $130); One (1) Bay Photo 16 x 24” Metal Print (MSRP $100); One (1) Save a Star Foundation Member Bundle (MSRP $35)

The Winning Photograph in each subdivision will each receive: One (1) PhotoPills License (MSRP $10); One (1) Hotshoe mounted USB rechargeable laser (MSRP $70); One (1) 24 x 36” photographic competition poster print of the grand prize and winning photographs from each subdivision (MSRP $41); One (1) SAS Member Bundle (MSRP $35)

Save Our Stars Nightscape Ambassador 2021 One (1) Adobe Photography Bundle License (Total MSRP $120.00)

Save Our Stars Astronomy Ambassador 2021 One (1) Adobe Photography Bundle License (Total MSRP $120.00)

Current total MSRP of all prizes: $8,326

Images will be disqualified for any of the following: 1. Where artificial light, that was not naturally part of the scene, is added to a scene, and made the focal point of the image, (i.e., Drones making light patterns, tube painting, etc.). However, incidental, ambient, or complementary light, such as low level lighting, is permitted. 2. Where artificial light was used in violation of local, state or federal regulations, rules, and restrictions. 3. Where misrepresentations are made through software manipulation. 4. Fantasy or dreamscapes are not eligible for entry. Note: RAW images may be required to prove image integrity. Images must be taken legally, following all local, state and federal regulations, rules, and restrictions. All images should be made while following ethical photography practices, including Leave No Trace. Special attention should be paid to causing no harm or distress to the natural environment, wildlife, or people. If artificial light must be used in an image, SAS favors LLL (Low Level Lighting). Visit this website as a resource for LLL best practices: lowlevellighting

Released Parties (as defined below) are not responsible for late, lost, garbled, damaged, incomplete, delayed, undelivered, or misdirected entries or photographs or for computer, technical, printing, typographical, human or other errors relating to or in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, inability to access any website associated with the Contest, errors which may occur in the administration of the Contest, the processing or judging of entries, the announcement of the prizes or in any Contest-related materials. If for any reason the Contest (or any portion thereof) is not capable of running as planned, including infection by tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, Sponsors reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest and, if terminated, at its discretion, determine winners from among all non-suspect, eligible entries received up to time of such action using judging procedure described above. By participating, entrant agrees (i) to be bound by the terms of these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsors and judges, which are final and binding in all respects, and (ii) to hold the Sponsors and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, prize suppliers and advertising and promotion agencies, and the respective directors, officers, employees and agents of the foregoing (collectively, the “Released Parties”), harmless against any and all claims and liability arising, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, out of or in connection with participation in this Contest, acceptance and use of any prize or Released Parties’ use of any of the rights granted herein. Sponsors may disqualify (and void all associated entries) anyone from participating in the Contest or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that such person is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception or other unfair practices, or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other entrant or Sponsors’ representatives or who is otherwise not in compliance with the terms of these rules. ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE SPONSORS RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND OTHER REMEDIES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES) FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.