Terms of Service · OMI Astro

Last updated: October 3, 2026

These terms apply when you use omiastro.com or buy, rent or subscribe to anything from OMI OPTICS USA LLC ("OMI Astro", "we", "us"). By creating an account or placing an order, you agree to them. Please read them together with our Privacy Policy, Refund Policy, Shipping Policy and Subscription Policy.

Service provider: OMI OPTICS USA LLC, 3400 Cottage Way Ste G2 #16711, Sacramento, CA 95825, USA · contact@omiastro.com · Entity ID 202357011193

Part A — General

1. Eligibility and accounts

1.1 You must be at least 18 years old, or have the consent of a parent or guardian, to use our services and make purchases.

1.2 When you create an account you must give accurate information and confirm your email address. You can also sign in with Google.

1.3 You are responsible for keeping your password private and for what happens under your account. Tell us straight away at contact@omiastro.com if you think someone else has used it. We are not liable for losses caused by unauthorised access that results from you not keeping your credentials safe.

1.4 You can delete your account at any time on My Profile, once any active subscription has ended. See the Privacy Policy for what is deleted and what is kept.

1.5 We may suspend or close an account that breaks these terms.

2. Orders, prices and payment

2.1 All prices are in U.S. dollars. Products, services and prices may change, and availability is not guaranteed until your order is confirmed.

2.2 We try to describe products and prices accurately. If there is an error in a price or description, we may cancel the order and refund anything you paid.

2.3 Payment is taken at checkout through Shopify, using the payment methods shown there. Sales tax, where applicable, is calculated at checkout from your address.

2.4 By buying a subscription, you authorise us to charge your saved payment method each month as described in the Subscription Policy.

2.5 An order is confirmed when you receive our order confirmation email. If you do not receive it, check your spam folder or contact us.

3. Intellectual property

3.1 The content of this website — text, images, product descriptions, designs and logos — is owned by or licensed to OMI Astro. You may not copy, distribute or modify it without our written permission.

3.2 Images in our Gallery are the copyright of their credited authors.

3.3 Ownership of data you capture or buy is covered in Part B.

4. Acceptable use

You must not use our services for anything illegal; interfere with the website, the observatories or other customers; try to access accounts, systems or data that are not yours; or resell or share access to our services except as these terms allow.

5. Limitation of liability

5.1 Our services depend on weather, equipment, networks and third-party providers. Except as stated in these terms or our other policies, we provide them "as is" and do not guarantee that they will be uninterrupted or error-free.

5.2 To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential or punitive damages arising from your use of our services or products. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim.

5.3 Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under consumer protection laws that cannot be excluded.

6. Changes to services and to these terms

6.1 We may change or stop offering a service. Where this affects a rental or subscription you have already paid for, we will give you notice and refund any amount paid for the period we cannot provide.

6.2 We may update these terms. The version in force when you place an order applies to that order. We will change the "Last updated" date above when we make changes.

7. Governing law and disputes

7.1 These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California and applicable U.S. federal law.

7.2 If a dispute arises, please contact us first so that we can try to resolve it informally. If that does not work, either party may bring the dispute before the state or federal courts located in Sacramento County, California.

Part B — Services

8. Remote telescope rental

8.1 What you get. A rental gives you remote control of a specific telescope system at one of our observatories, through TeamViewer, for the period you booked. Remote observing is available from 9 PM to 6 AM local time at the observatory, during your rental period. We regularly provide calibration data free of charge.

8.2 Booking and payment. You choose a telescope, a start date and a number of months on the telescope's page. The first month is paid at checkout — even if your start date is later — and the following months are charged automatically each month, as described in the Subscription Policy. Each telescope page shows its minimum rental term. A one-time Setup & Tech-Support fee, shown on the telescope's page, is paid at checkout with the first month; it covers setting up the system for you and on-site technical support during your rental.

8.3 Rental dates. Rental dates are in U.S. Pacific Time. Your rental includes the whole of its end date (including that night) and ends at 00:00 Pacific Time the next day, when we remove your remote access.

8.4 Setting up access. After you pay, we contact you to arrange access. Your start date is confirmed in your order confirmation email.

8.5 Free trial. A 3-day free trial can be arranged before you book. Contact us to arrange it; trials are not booked through checkout.

8.6 Renewal and cancellation. To extend a rental, contact us before it ends. To end a rental early, use "Request cancellation" on My Subscriptions. Refunds are covered by the Refund Policy.

8.7 Your responsibilities. Use the telescope as described in our operating guide and follow our instructions. Do not change hardware settings, update the operating system or install software without our agreement. You are responsible for damage caused by improper operation.

8.8 Weather and equipment. Observing depends on weather, natural events and equipment. The observatory may close for rain, high humidity, thunderstorms or lightning, and we will email you when it does. We do not guarantee image quality or a success rate for observations. Before renting, you can look at sample images, ask us for samples, or arrange a trial. We are not liable for interruptions or lost data caused by equipment failure, network problems or other events outside our reasonable control.

8.9 Your data. Data you capture during a rental belongs to you, unless we have agreed otherwise in writing. It is delivered through cloud storage and kept there for 30 days (see the Privacy Policy). The telescope equipment and its software remain our property, or that of the partner observatory.

8.10 Partner telescopes. Some telescopes are operated by OMI+ Verified Partner observatories. The partner's terms for those telescopes are shown on their pages and apply alongside these terms; where they differ from these terms (for example on cancellation or governing law), the partner's terms apply to that rental.

8.11 Group rentals are arranged individually; contact us for details.

9. Customized imaging requests

9.1 How it works. You choose a telescope, targets and exposure settings on the Imaging Request page and pay the quoted price at checkout. We then image your targets as scheduling, weather and moon phase allow. You can follow progress on My Imaging Requests.

9.2 Pricing. The price is the per-minute rate of the telescope you choose multiplied by the total exposure time. Each frame shorter than one minute is charged as one minute. The price is fixed when you submit the request.

9.3 Weather. If weather or the moon affects imaging, we reschedule. We do not guarantee a completion date.

9.4 Delivery and ownership. We share the data with the delivery email you give us through cloud storage (currently Google Drive), where it is kept for 30 days. The data is yours exclusively — we will not sell or share it.

9.5 Cancellation. See the Refund Policy.

10. Deep-sky datasets

10.1 What you buy. A dataset is a set of calibrated and stacked master frames, delivered as a download. Open Datasets are the same kind of data offered at a low price for practice.

10.2 Downloads. After payment, your download is available on My Orders for 1 year, and you can create up to 20 download links. Each link works for 15 minutes. If you need more time or more links, contact us.

10.3 Licence. When you buy a dataset, including an Open Dataset, we grant you a personal, non-transferable licence to use the data to produce your own images.

You own the copyright in the images you process from the data, and may publish and use them for any purpose, including commercially (for example prints, publications and competitions).
You may not resell, share, publish or give away the data itself (the raw, calibrated or master frames), in whole or in part.
Please credit "Data: OMI Astro" when you publish an image made from our data.

10.4 Quality. Every dataset is reviewed before sale. If you find a defect we missed, send us a screenshot and we will repair the data, replace it with another target, or refund it.

11. Data subscriptions

11.1 What you get. A data subscription delivers the raw data a specific telescope captures, together with calibration frames, through cloud storage (currently Google Drive), for as long as your subscription runs. Delivered data is kept in cloud storage for 30 days.

11.2 Terms and billing. You choose a term on the Data Subscriptions page. Billing, pausing and cancellation are covered by the Subscription Policy.

11.3 Licence. The same rules as section 10.3 apply: you own the copyright in the images you produce, but you may not resell or share the data itself.

12. OMI Credits, gift cards and My Wallet

12.1 OMI Credits. You earn 2 credits for every $1 spent on purchases, counted after discounts and before tax and shipping. Gift card purchases do not earn credits. Credits are linked to the email address on the order; sign in with that address to see and use them.

12.2 Redeeming credits. 100 credits are worth $1. You can redeem credits on My Wallet for a single-use discount code, which you use at checkout. Each code is valid for 12 months from when it is issued; an unused code expires after that, and the credits used to create it are not returned.

12.3 Credits never expire while they remain in your balance. They have no cash value, cannot be exchanged for money, and cannot be transferred to another person or account.

12.4 If an order is refunded in whole or in part, we deduct the credits it earned in proportion to the refund.

12.5 We may change the rates for earning and redeeming credits for the future; credits already earned keep their value.

12.6 Gift cards. Gift cards are sold as eGift cards and can be used at checkout towards purchases. They are not redeemable for cash, except where the law requires it.

12.7 My Wallet shows your saved payment cards, gift cards, OMI Credits and discount codes. Your saved cards are held by Shopify; you can update a card from My Wallet.

13. Telescope hosting

13.1 Hosting your own telescope at one of our observatories, or at a partner observatory, is governed by a separate written contract that both parties sign before your equipment is shipped. The information on our hosting pages is a summary and does not form a contract.

14. Equipment sales

14.1 Equipment orders are covered by our Shipping Policy and Refund Policy.

14.2 Products are new unless they are marked "Used", "Returned" or "Open Box".

14.3 Most products come with a manufacturer's warranty. We help you with warranty claims during the first year after delivery.

14.4 We inspect high-end instruments for packaging, optical and mechanical condition before dispatch, but we do not function-test every product.

Contact

Questions about these terms: contact@omiastro.com, or see Contact information.