AstroLeague First Light 2026

1. Competition format This is a free, skill-based deep-sky astrophotography competition. There is no entry fee, cash prize, random drawing, purchased vote, or membership-based scoring advantage. 2. Eligible work Submit one published image that you captured during the acquisition window and processed yourself. The subject may be any deep-sky object or field. Public survey data, undisclosed third-party data, generative additions, synthetic replacement, and identifying watermarks are not permitted. Material capture or processing assistance must be disclosed. 3. Evidence AstroLeague may privately request representative originals, FITS or camera headers, acquisition logs, processing disclosures, and equipment classification. Failure to provide requested evidence can remove an entry before finalization. 4. Judging At least three active judges independently apply public rubric version 2026.1. Entrant identity, membership, profile engagement, equipment tier, experience tier, and location remain hidden while scores are submitted. Judges must declare conflicts before evidence unlocks. 5. Awards Overall includes every verified entry. First-season requires a verified astrophotography start date no more than 365 days before submission. Accessible rig requires complete equipment classification totaling no more than $2,500 reference value. Urban skies requires a mapped minimum Bortle estimate of 7 or higher. Short integration requires no more than 10,800 seconds of accepted exposure. 6. Ranking and ties Scores are averaged. Ties break by higher average technical execution, then processing quality, composition, signal recovery, artistic interpretation, earlier submission time, and finally stable entry identifier. 7. Results and factual review Placements become public on the published results date. A factual challenge may address eligibility, conflict handling, arithmetic, or rule application—not ordinary disagreement with artistic judgment—and must be submitted within seven calendar days through the account support channel.