Entries must comply with all terms and conditions in these Guidelines to be eligible to win the contest. All complying articles will be published on the Astronomical Society Blog, and the winners will be awarded valuable certificates.
Mandatory Guidelines for Entries:
The blog post must be longer than 300 words and must not exceed 1000 words. Longer or shorter entries will be disqualified.
It must be related to Astronomy. The writer may use any source as long as they are cited. (Links, attachments, bibliography, and URLs do not count towards the word limit.)
The post must be written in English, Sinhala, or Tamil.
The blog must include at least one visualization, and all visuals not belonging to the author must be properly cited.
The topic may be of the author’s choosing provided that it is related to Astronomy.
Judging criteria for the selection of the best blogs:
The quality of the content and its relevance to Astronomy.
The expression of ideas in a concise and specific manner.
The decision of the Judges will be final, and not subject to challenge or appeal
Requirements:
Each applicant may submit more than one blog post.
The blog post must be original.
Blog posts are to be sent in Microsoft Word format.
All visuals and other non-text elements must be attached separately.
One image (16:9 landscape ratio) must be specified as the featured image and will appear at the top of the article.
All sources must be cited using either Harvard, APA, or Chicago style.
Send submissions by e-mail to ascella.astrouoc@gmail.com, including the author’s full legal name, student registration number, faculty, year of study, email address, and phone number. No anonymous or pseudonymous entries will be considered.
Eligibility:
This competition is open to all undergraduate students from all faculties at the University of Colombo.
Current members of the board of officials may not participate.
Content from sources other than the participant must be clearly marked throughout the submission and properly cited.
The Astronomical Society, University of Colombo reserves the right to research and verify the eligibility of any entrants, and the decision of the society shall be final.
Prizes:
All articles complying with the above rules and regulations will be published in the official blog of the Astronomical Society of the University of Colombo. All participants with a complying article will receive a certificate of participation. The top three winners will receive a valuable prize.
Jury:
A panel of expert judges will grade each post in the blog series of Ascella – The Astronomy Blogging Competition. The decisions of the judges will be final and shall not be challenged or contested.
Other rules:
The Astronomical Society, University of Colombo reserves the right to reject an entry in its sole discretion if the content of the blog violates the policies, procedures, or guidelines of the Astronomical Society, University of Colombo, or, in the sole discretion of the Astronomical Society, University of Colombo, is inappropriate or unsuitable for publication by the Astronomical Society, University of Colombo.
By entering the Contest, participants agree that they release the Astronomical Society, University of Colombo from any claims based on the contest, and grant the Astronomical Society, University of Colombo the following rights to their entry: permission to link to their entered blog post from the Astronomical Society, University of Colombo website, email newsletters, and social media channels. Ownership and authorship will remain with the participants.
The winners grant the Astronomical Society, University of Colombo the right to the winners’ names and photos (if needed) and information about the winners in connection with the announcement or promotion of the Astronomical Society’s work.
The privileges and immunities of the Astronomical Society, University of Colombo shall be preserved, and shall not be waived, by these terms, or by conducting the contest.
Failure to comply with these rules may result in disqualification from the competition. Participants agree to comply with and be bound by the decisions of the Astronomical Society, University of Colombo, which are final and binding on all matters pertaining to the competition.
The Astronomical Society, University of Colombo will only publish blog posts that meet all the requirements of these Guidelines.
The Astronomical Society, University of Colombo reserves the right to edit any blog posts to comply with its editorial and other policies and guidelines.
The blog entry should not knowingly contain any untrue statements or material that is defamatory, deceptive, fraudulent, or intentionally misleading. The blog entry will not knowingly invade any right of privacy or infringe upon any statutory or common-law copyright or otherwise violate the rights of any third parties. If the Astronomical Society, University of Colombo determines that there is such “defamatory, deceptive, fraudulent or intentionally misleading” or infringing content after the blog post is published, the blog post will be taken down and the prizes (where relevant) forfeited.
Deadline:
Contest entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. IST on Saturday, October 31, 2020