Terms of Use

Terms of Use

Status: draft, under review. Not yet in force.

Version 2026-09-draft. Mary Astronomy Foundation is being established; these

terms will be reviewed by a qualified lawyer before the platform opens to the

public.

1. Who we are

Mary Astronomy Foundation ("we", "us") operates remote telescopes and makes

observing time available through maryastronomy.com. We are being established.

We are not a registered charity, we do not hold 501(c)(3) recognition,

and contributions to us are not tax deductible.

2. Your account

You need an account to reserve telescope time. You must give a real name and a

working email address, and you must verify that address before you can make a

reservation. You are responsible for keeping your password to yourself, and for

what happens under your account.

Group accounts exist for schools, astronomy clubs and other organised groups.

They require an application and are approved by hand. A group's observing

entitlement belongs to the group; adding more members does not increase it.

3. Using telescope time

Telescope time is free and finite. To keep it shared fairly:

• You may hold one observation queued or running at a time, unless an

administrator has raised your allowance.

• A quiet period follows each completed session before you can book again.
• Solar observing is not offered at any of our sites, whatever equipment a

telescope carries.

We may refuse, cancel or reschedule an observation for safety, maintenance or

weather reasons. Weather is not something we control; see section 4.

4. Weather and cancellation

If conditions are unsafe during a slot you specifically booked, that reservation

is cancelled and you may book again. We do not silently move you to another

night, because that night belongs to someone else.

If you asked for the earliest available time, your request stays in the queue in

its original position and runs when the sky clears.

A weather cancellation does not use up your allowance.

5. Your files

Files produced by your observations are stored privately in your account for 30

days, after which they are deleted. We will warn you before that happens. You

may download anything you want to keep at any time.

Storage is subject to a per-account allowance. An administrator may raise it.

6. Publishing to the gallery

Publishing is optional and is always your choice. What happens when you publish

is set out in the Image Publication and Licence Policy, which forms part of

these terms.

7. Acceptable use

The Acceptable Use Policy forms part of these terms. Breaking it may lead to a

warning, a suspension, or the closure of your account.

8. Availability

We make no promise that the platform, any telescope, or any particular

observation will be available. Equipment fails, weather closes in, and sites go

offline.

9. Liability

To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect or consequential

loss arising from your use of the platform. Nothing here limits liability that

cannot lawfully be limited.

10. Changes

We will publish a new version of these terms rather than editing this one

silently, and we will tell you when a change affects you materially.

11. Contact

info@maryastronomy.com

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Open questions for legal review

• The governing law and jurisdiction are not yet decided and are deliberately

absent rather than guessed at.

• The entity's legal form and registered address are not yet settled.
• Whether and how people under 18 may hold accounts directly is unresolved. See

the Privacy Notice.