Announcing a New Comet ISON Photo Contest!

Universe Today is proud to announce that we are partnering with OPT Telescopes and SpaceWeather.com for a brand new Comet ISON Photo Contest, with over $10,000 in prizes to give away!

Comet ISON is one of the most anticipated sky events for years, and already astrophotographers have been busy trying to capture images of this comet. But as it gets closer to the Sun, hopefully it will become even brighter and visible to more people – not just the astrophotographers with the really great equipment!

This new photo contest features several different chances to win some great prizes, thanks to OPT Telescopes, the folks behind this contest. There will be a popular vote on Facebook with winners of first, second and third places, as well as images judged by a panel of experts with three winners in that category as well.

And so its not just about having great equipment.  “It’s about the overall image and it can be in any ‘style’ at all,” says OPT Telescopes. “We’ve seen some amazing submissions shot with DSLR’s and point and shoot digital cameras in the past, and encourage everyone, regardless of skill level or equipment owned, to participate.”

Who can participate? Anyone aged 13 years and older who has a valid email address.  (Employees of OPT, Universe Today and Spaceweather.com are not eligible for entry.) Images must be the original work of the contestant.

The contest begins today, November 1st, 2013 and ends midnight December 31st, 2013. Winners will be announced by January 7, 2014.

There are two ways to enter:

1. The first is through Facebook on this OPT Telescope page.  Entrants are required to submit their date of birth, email address, real name and technical information about their image and location captured, as well as “liking” OPT Telescopes on Facebook.

Your image will become part of OPT’s Facebook gallery. One image, per day, per entrant is allowed.

2. If you’d rather not go through Facebook, you may submit via email to this address. Emailed entries are also required to list date of birth, and information about their image in regard to equipment used and location captured.  All emailed submissions will be manually entered onto the OPT Facebook gallery to participate in the popular vote. Again, one image, per day, per entrant is allowed.

We also encourage those who enter to also upload their images to Universe Today’s Flickr Group page, so more people can see your images! We also feature many of the images uploaded there in our articles.

What are the prizes? As of November 1st, the prize donations are still rolling in!  We now have over $10,000 in astronomy gear to give away to the winners of this contest.  Final prize packages will be announced November 5th.  So, stay tuned.

See this page for complete details and rules.

Good luck and we can’t wait to see all your images!!