FAQ

How Do I Register?

Simply go to the Support Page and click the Become a Registered Imager? link. All you then have to do is fill in the form. Once completed you are a Registered Imager with instant access to the members’ area.

Will Registration Cost Me Anything?

No. It is absolutely free. All we ask you to do is respect the stated Terms and Conditions of Membership. Remember by becoming a member you have access to many more useful imaging resources!

I Cannot Get an Object Search to Work, Help?

The Object Search in the Public Area initially presents all the images in the ArtdeCiel ‘Common objects’ Database. You can then reduce the choice by selecting your preferred criteria. To do this you use the ‘pull down’ menus’, with each choice the list is narrowed down, this is known as ‘auto post back’. So for example if you want to find ‘All Objects in the Messier Catalogue in the Constellation of ‘Sagittarius’, you first select ‘All Object Types’, then ‘Messier list’ then ‘Sagittarius’, and the image grid below should show 15 objects in total.

The DSO Object Search in the Member Area initially shows no images. This is done because the DSO Database is huge and would take too long to display all the objects. You have to narrow it down to specific objects which meet your preferred criteria, e.g. ‘All Planetary Nebula’ in the Constellation of Puppis’, which are brighter than magnitude 8.

To select particular objects you use the pull down menus to narrow the results. It works on the principal of ‘cascading pick lists’, i.e. the choice in one pull down menu affects the choices presented in the second. For example if you select ‘ the ‘Messier List’ the choice of object types contains 7 options:  ‘Galaxy’, ‘Globular Cluster’, ‘Nebula’, ‘Open Cluster’, ‘Planetary Nebula’, ‘Star(s)’ and ‘Supernova’. If you then choose ‘Planetary Nebula’ the choice of constellations is then restricted to ‘Lyra’, ‘Perseus’, 'Ursa Major' and ‘Vulpecula’, i.e. those constellations which contain Messier Objects which are ‘Planetary Nebula’. 

So in order to find our stated planetary nebula, we first choose ‘All Catalogues’, then ‘Planetary Nebula’, then ‘Puppis’, then select minimum magnitude of ‘0’ and maximum magnitude of ‘8’, then ‘hey presto’ up pops the required objects, including those for which no magnitude assigned to them (for whatever reason).

Why Can I Only Download Low Resolution Images?

The Images in the main galleries are ‘copyrighted’ and the property of their owners. By only displaying images no larger than 1024 x 720 (‘image of day’) or less, we protect the right of their owners to make use of their high resolution versions of their images in whatever way they wish, whether it be for commercial gain or otherwise.

How Often Do You Change 'Featured' Pages

It is our aim to change ‘The Image of the Day’ as the name implies every day, whilst the other featured pages, i.e. astronomer, camera, object etc, we make it our goal to update them every 4 weeks.

How Do I Get One of My images into the Main Galleries?

The images in the Member Galleries are reviewed every month by our panel of moderators who select 10 of the best new images. A ‘Poll’ is created which members can vote on which of the ten should be placed in the public main galleries. The results of the Poll will determine which will appear. The three images which receive the most votes will be placed in the appropriate main gallery. The Winning Imager will be given the honor of becoming ‘Featured Imager’.