Help Wanted: Join APOD Image Chasers Group

[RJN]

Did you ever want to help APOD out? One thing APOD could use, on occasion, is the explicit rights to use an image that is floating around the Internet. Sometimes, it is very difficult to find an image copyright owner and secure permission to use that image, for free, on APOD. Many times, to find such information takes time, Internet savvy, and even luck.

One recent example of this was a quest to find the copyright owner and secure image permissions for a image taken of the space shuttle Endeavour launching. A discussion of that is here: http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=23693 . Here is another: http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=22839 . And another: http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=20712 . And another: http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=20036 . So there is a precedence for this kind of chase on the Asterisk, with some images being found, and others not.

To help out please go to the bottom of this Asterisk page and click the "Subscribe topic" box. You will then get an email whenever anyone makes a new post to this topic. I plan to do this next when I see an image for which I request tracking help. I think this will be a better plan than before, but time will tell.

I ask that people joining this "Image Chasers Group" adhere to several rules. First, as always, be polite. If turned down -- so be it. Next, please post even trivial or incremental progress you have made here in reply to this post. This may reduce the amount of redundant work that other APOD image chasers may be doing, and possibly point fellow chasers in the direction of the true bottleneck(s). Next, don't post someone's private information on the Asterisk if it looks like they want that information to remain private. Rather just post here that you found such information. Last, never offer to pay for an image.

The ultimate goal is to have the real image copyright owner send RJN an email (at email address nemiroff at mtu dot edu) explicitly granting APOD the right to post the image to APOD. Sometimes, an image will lose its appeal -- "go stale" -- if this process takes too long. A good intermediate goal is to just post a link that enables RJN (or JTB) to send the image copyright owner an image permissions request on behalf of APOD.

Unfortunately, APOD offers no compensation for your efforts. Anyone who helps will gain the relatively useless gratitude of the APOD staff, and possibly the once removed but usually anonymous gratitude of the many APOD readers who are able to enjoy a cool image because of your efforts.

- RJN

[Celestial]

Beyond compensation, there are intangible benefits to granting permission, especially if done, as stated, relatively soon after the image is published elsewhere. In my opinion, a photographer gains a certain prestige for being featured in this forum, which will tend to increase the merit of having taken the picture in the first place.

I say this because when I see individual work here, I admire the photographer as much as the photograph. And then there is receiving credit and having your work prominently displayed where otherwise the most technically advanced and fascinating astrophotography usually gets displayed....really, the intangilble benefits far surpass any monetary compensation one may receive, I think.

[RJN]

Help is requested in obtaining permission to use this image on APOD:

Click to view full size image

The image was found on this web page:
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climat ... racine-wis

Another image that I would like permissions to use is:

Click to view full size image

found here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... treet.html

Thanks for any help anyone can be!

- RJN

[owlice]

According to Wikipedia, the first image is in the public domain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Roll-Cloud-Racine.jpg

The second is a composite: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picture ... -2011.html

And here's a story about it and his Flickr site, but I don't see an email there.

[geckzilla]

. . .

And here's a story about it and his Flickr site, but I don't see an email there.

If you have a Flickr account and are logged in, there is a small envelope icon on his photostream you can click to send a "Flickrmail" which I am sure will also alert him via his email address.

[RJN]

Following some links, I stumbled upon this intruiging image:

on this page: http://reneesilvana.blogspot.com/2011/0 ... grade.html .

Upon investigating tartigrades, they seem like cool enough extremeophiles to be highlighted on APOD. Can someone help me get permission to use the above image? If not, can someone find another really cool image of a tartigrade -- cool enough to anchor an APOD? Thanks for any help you can be.

- RJN

[bystander]

http://www.sciencephoto.com/email/search
http://www.sciencephoto.com/terms.html
info@sciencephoto.com

[RJN]

Thanks, bystander! Unfortunately, it looks like the Science Photo Library people are in this as a business and so will likely not "give" away reproduction rights to that image. I have found that on some occasions, though, the actual photographer that took an image for one of these commercial photo houses can be found, and this person will let APOD use the image for free. For example, Science Photo Library appears to be selling usage rights to many public domain images taken by NASA -- many that have even appeared on APOD! So if a person knew about NASA availability or APOD, they might not pay SPL to use those public images. So perhaps the same is true here -- if we can find the photographer of the copyright owner of that image, maybe we can contact them and ask if they will let APOD use it for free. Surely, it seems to me, asking SPL if APOD could use the image for free would be a waste of time, as this would undercut their business model.

- RJN

[Sullij]

APOD may want to review and contact these kids. This is great, Similar to Powers of Ten. Already gone viral.

Made by a couple of teen as a sci project puts the scale of astronomical object into a visual perspective. You will need flash player installed to view it.
http://htwins.net/scale2/
You may be able to see this one without flash player and it gives the story about the authors.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/page/s ... l-15573968

[bystander]

APOD may want to review and contact these kids. This is great, Similar to Powers of Ten. Already gone viral.

Made by a couple of teen as a sci project puts the scale of astronomical object into a visual perspective. You will need flash player installed to view it.
http://htwins.net/scale2/
You may be able to see this one without flash player and it gives the story about the authors.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/page/s ... l-15573968

http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=27272

[Sullij]

APOD may want to review and contact these kids. This is great, Similar to Powers of Ten. Already gone viral.

Made by a couple of teen as a sci project puts the scale of astronomical object into a visual perspective. You will need flash player installed to view it.
http://htwins.net/scale2/
You may be able to see this one without flash player and it gives the story about the authors.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/page/s ... l-15573968

http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=27272

Thanks bystander, didn't know.

[Beyond]

Following some links, I stumbled upon this intruiging image:

on this page: http://reneesilvana.blogspot.com/2011/0 ... grade.html .

Upon investigating tartigrades, they seem like cool enough extremeophiles to be highlighted on APOD. Can someone help me get permission to use the above image? If not, can someone find another really cool image of a tartigrade -- cool enough to anchor an APOD? Thanks for any help you can be.

- RJN

Hi RJN, here's a black and white picture of a tartigrade from the Antarctic. They may have other pictures.

There may be enough information here to get a release to use it. http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/2177-we ... guins.html
Look around the site a bit. There's more about tardigrades when you scroll down. And you may see or link to something else you like.

[jessy27]

RJN,
That is a great pic, don't really know what a tartigrade is but it looks like something out
of Alice in wonderland.