Capture The Dark

DarkSky’s Principles for Responsible Astrophotography

The Capture the Dark rules, terms, and conditions are grounded in DarkSky’s Principles for Responsible Astrophotography. These principles were developed in collaboration with members of the global astrophotography community and formally approved by the DarkSky Board of Directors.

Together, these six principles guide how photography is used within the contest — ensuring ethical practices that celebrate the beauty of the night while actively working to protect it.

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Rules, terms, and conditions

Before submitting your work, please take a moment to review the contest rules. These rules are rooted in DarkSky's Principles of Responsible Astrophotography — a comprehensive set of guidelines we encourage all astrophotographers to follow. Our goal is to ensure that those capturing the beauty of the night are also helping to protect the nighttime environment and the experience of others.

We encourage you to familiarize yourself with both the contest rules and our guiding principles as you journey into the night and prepare your entries for this year’s contest. Our team of moderators will use these standards when reviewing submissions, and judges’ decisions will also be guided by them.

Thank you for adhering to the contest rules and taking active steps to ensure that astrophotography remains a powerful force for change as we work together to showcase, and protect, the beauty of the night.

1. Eligibility

Entries must be submitted through our Capture the Dark submission portal. Start by making an account.

Entries are open to participants worldwide.

Capture the Dark is free to enter.

Youth category is open to photographers aged 17 or younger at the time of submission. Youth must confirm they have a parent or guardian's permission.

Current DarkSky staff, DarkSky Board of Directors, and this year's contest judges are not eligible to submit entries.

2. Submissions

Each participant may submit up to three photographs per contest category.

Photos must be submitted in high-resolution JPEG format (maximum file size: 50MB).

All images must include metadata (EXIF data) to verify authenticity.

All entries must be submitted by June 30, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. PDT.

3. Image requirements

Allowed Image Types

Single Exposure – One image captured in a single shot.

Blend – Multiple images combined from the same tripod position, on the same night, using the same direction and focal length. Examples include:

Blue hour or moonlit foregrounds with a night sky.

Focus stacks to increase depth of field.

Tracked skies blended with untracked foregrounds (slight repositioning is allowed and must be noted).

Stacked – Consecutive images with identical settings stacked for noise reduction.

Tracked – Images using a tracking mount to compensate for Earth’s rotation. Blends from the same tripod position are allowed.

Panorama – Stitched from multiple images taken during the same night, from the same position, using the same focal length.

Prohibited Image Types

Composites, including:

Merging images from different locations or nights (except for the Deep Sky category).

Mixing focal lengths.

Combining daytime foregrounds with night skies.

AI-generated or heavily AI-assisted images that alter or generate scene elements.

4. Ethical & legal requirements

All entries must follow DarkSky's Principles of Responsible Astrophotography.

Images must be taken legally and in compliance with all local regulations, including any nighttime closures, access-restricted areas, or local light-painting restrictions.

Entries must not contain violence, explicit content, profanity, or attacks on individuals or organizations.

5. Judging

Entries will be evaluated based on:

Connection to the category

Technical skill

Composition

Overall visual impact ("wow factor")

Judging is blind. Watermarks are not allowed.

A panel of judges appointed by DarkSky International will select the winners. All decisions are final.

Winners will be notified via email in early August (TBD).

If a winner cannot be contacted after reasonable attempts, the prize will be awarded to the next highest-ranked entry.

Any attempt to influence the results will lead to disqualification.

6. Rights amd ownership

Participants must be the sole creator and copyright holder of their submitted images.

By entering, photographers retain full ownership of their work.

Licensing of approved submissions:

By submitting my photograph(s) to the Capture the Dark Photo Contest, I grant DarkSky International the non-exclusive, perpetual right to use, reproduce, publish, and distribute my submitted image(s) for promotional, educational, and advocacy purposes. This includes, but is not limited to, use in print and digital publications, social media, press releases, websites, exhibitions, and other outreach materials produced by or on behalf of DarkSky International and the event’s location sponsors.

I understand that I will be credited as the photographer whenever reasonably possible; however, failure to provide credit will not be considered a breach of this agreement.

7. Privacy and general conditions

Personal data collected will only be used for purposes related to the contest.

Participants may contact callie.blake@darksky.org to access, modify, or delete their personal data.

DarkSky International may update or cancel the contest, its rules, or schedule at any time if necessary.

Participation does not imply endorsement by DarkSky International of any entrant’s views, products, or services.

The name and logo of DarkSky International may not be used without written permission.

All participants are expected to follow DarkSky’s Principles of Astrophotography in their submissions and personal practice.

Questions? For questions about contest rules and submission, please contact engagement@darksky.org.