About
Editorial policy
How SnapCosmos sources, verifies and corrects its content. In short: every number traces back to a primary source, and when we're wrong we fix it in public.
In short
SnapCosmos is a small independent site, not a newsroom. Articles are drafted with the help of modern language models and then edited before publishing — we don't pretend otherwise. What we do commit to is this: the numbers on the page — dates, times, magnitudes, distances, positions — are based on primary sources (NASA/JPL, NOAA SWPC, ESA, IAU, USGS, peer-reviewed literature), and live astronomy values are computed with an open-source ephemeris you can inspect. We don't accept paid links, guest posts, sponsored content, or affiliate placements sold as recommendations. When we're wrong, we fix it and say so.
Principles
What we do
- Base every quantitative claim on a primary source and link to it.
- Compute live values (sun, moon, planets, twilight) with the open-source astronomy-engine ephemeris.
- Write for a curious beginner, not a specialist. Define jargon on first use.
- State uncertainty plainly. If a forecast is soft, say so.
- Update evergreen pages when the underlying science or dates change.
What we don't
- No clickbait headlines. "Comet of the century" is banned unless it actually is.
- No unverified numbers. If we can't trace it to a source, we don't publish it.
- No sponsored content, paid links, or affiliate placements sold as recommendations.
- No dark patterns — no cookie walls, no consent traps, no fake urgency.
- No stock photography passed off as observation. Illustrations are labelled.
Source hierarchy
Not all sources are equal. For any factual claim, we work down this hierarchy — Tier 1 first — and cite what we actually used, not what looks impressive.
| Tier | Examples | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — Primary | NASA/JPL Horizons, NOAA SWPC, ESA, IAU Minor Planet Center, USGS, peer-reviewed journals. | Preferred for any quantitative claim. |
| Tier 2 — Established secondary | Sky & Telescope, timeanddate.com, in-the-sky.org, university observatory pages. | Fine for context and cross-checks. Not used as the sole source for numbers. |
| Tier 3 — Community | SpaceWeatherLive, aurora chaser forums, amateur astronomy clubs. | Useful for anecdotal detail. Never the basis of a factual claim. |
The full endpoint list and refresh cadence for live data lives on Data Sources.
Refresh cadence
| Content type | Update cadence | Review policy |
|---|---|---|
| Live data (score, weather, aurora, ISS, sun/moon) | Recomputed every page load | Continuous — algorithms audited quarterly |
| Time-sensitive articles (meteor showers, eclipses) | Reviewed each season | Full rewrite when dates or predictions change |
| Evergreen articles (guides, explainers) | Reviewed at least once per year | Updated whenever a source is superseded |
| Policy pages (this one, privacy, terms) | Reviewed twice per year | Updated whenever practice changes |
Corrections policy
Every material factual correction is dated and appended to the bottom of the affected article, along with a one-line summary of what changed. Trivial typo fixes are made silently.
Correction note format:Correction — 2026-02-14: The article originally stated the Perseid peak was on August 11. It is August 12–13 UTC. Fixed and re-checked against IMO 2026 shower calendar.
Spotted a mistake? Email snapcosmosplus@gmail.com with the URL and what looks wrong.
Independence & conflicts of interest
SnapCosmos has no investors, no advertisers, no sponsors, no affiliate programmes and no institutional backers. It is not a media outlet owned by a parent company. There is nobody to please except readers.
SnapCosmos has no financial relationship with any equipment manufacturer, tour operator, data provider or observatory. If that ever changes, the affected articles will carry a disclosure at the top before the first paragraph.
Read more on the About page.