Capture the Universe astrophotography contest!

I’m very excited to announce a new contest: Capture the Universe, an astrophotography contest sponsored by Discover Magazine and Celestron Images!

Entering is pretty easy: all you have to do is read the rules, register, and then upload an astrophoto you took. The picture itself can be anything, from a highly processed deep sky shot taken with fancy-schmancy high-end equipment to a cool picture taken with any piece of Celestron equipment. I also happen to know that the judge likes not just pretty pictures, but ones that are clever and different.

How do I know this? Because I’m the judge! The Hive Overmind Discover Magazine asked me to be the sole arbiter for this contest, and I know what I like. Still, surprise me! Got a gorgeous shot of the Moon rising, the Sun setting, a planetary nebula using three-color narrow-band imaging, a satellite crossing a well-known object, or Saturn with its rings almost perfectly edge-on? Send ‘em in!

You might just win a very nice prize, like a Celestron NexStar 8SE, a sweet 8-inch ‘scope worth $US1399! Not to mention fame and glory, and getting name-checked right here on this very blog.

The contest starts today, June 1, and runs through June 30, 2009, so you have one month. Start snapping!