Rights & Attribution
SkyPicture is committed to clear, honest communication about content rights and usage restrictions. Every APOD page includes a rights badge that tells you what you can and cannot do with the content.
Understanding Rights Badges
- Allowed with attribution
- The image is in the public domain or is NASA-owned. You can view, share, and create cards as long as you include attribution.
- Source link only
- The image has third-party copyright. You can view the page and open the original NASA source, but downloads and cards are restricted.
- Restricted
- The content cannot be displayed or used on SkyPicture due to usage restrictions.
- Unknown rights
- Copyright information is missing or uncertain. We default to conservative restrictions: you can view the source but downloads are blocked.
- Unsupported media
- The APOD entry is a video or non-image content. You can view it on the NASA website but it cannot be displayed on SkyPicture.
Our Policy
- We always show attribution and a source link to the original NASA page.
- When copyright ownership is missing, third-party, or uncertain, we default to conservative restrictions.
- We never imply that SkyPicture sells, licenses, or commercially redistributes NASA/APOD imagery.
- We link to the original source so you can verify information directly.
NASA Media Usage Guidelines
NASA content (images, videos, audio) is generally not copyrighted and may be used for educational or informational purposes. However, the NASA APOD site sometimes features copyrighted material used by permission, which may not be used without the copyright owner's consent.
More at NASA Media Usage Guidelines.