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Sorry if this is a stupid question. I'm preparing an astronomy presentation, and I want to make sure I give credits where credits are due. But I see credits appear in different formats, for example:

If possible, I want all of the credits in my presentation to have the same format. So essentially, my question is: do a comma and a slash mean different things in image credits? Or can I write everything using the same format, e.g. for the four photos above:

  • ESA / Hubble / NASA / V. Antoniou / Judy Schmidt
  • ESA / Hubble / NASA / B. Nisini
  • NASA / ESA / R. Humphreys (University of Minnesota) / J. Olmsted (STScI)
  • ESA / Hubble / NASA / L. Stanghellini
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  • $\begingroup$ I've adjusted the title to better fit Stack Exchange's nature; SE questions should ask for fact-based answers, so "How is this normally done...?" is better than "How should I do this?" which could be seen as inviting opinion-based answers. Also, there are almost 200 SE sites and Academia SE is one you might be interested in as well. $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Mar 8, 2021 at 1:27
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    $\begingroup$ As this question is about astronomical images which are obtained in a complex way via several groups with different roles, it's 100% on-topic here and not just a general question about academics. I sometimes post images of this nature here and in Space Exploration SE and I never know how to best do this, so I'm quite interested in seeing how this gets answered! $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Mar 8, 2021 at 1:30
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    $\begingroup$ I mean we're talking astronomers… we take pride in being inconsistent. $\endgroup$
    – pela
    Mar 9, 2021 at 14:30

2 Answers 2

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There is no conventional format, really. For publications purposes if one uses data from a telescope or image or code created by someone else or similar, the source usually requests being cited or acknowledged in a form specific to their own taste. Some examples include what you quoted or “This paper makes use of the following ALMA data: ADS/JAO.ALMA#******. ALMA is a partnership of ... “.

Answering your question.

  • For ESA and NASA there is probably a difference between “/“ and “&”.
  • For a publication in a journal you must follow the exact wording.
  • If you just give a presentation no one minds if you use your favorite formatting while acknowledging all parties involved.
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  • $\begingroup$ Examples of presentations? There are quite a few on YouTube. Try searching your particular field. Most people cite papers where the source was published. $\endgroup$
    – MeL
    Mar 8, 2021 at 5:54
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    $\begingroup$ @uhoh One thing is to cite a source stating “yes, there is a common format”. My post is stating instead that there isn’t one. What one is expected to cite then? I’m professional astrophysicist who answered this question. If it’s not enough, they are welcome to delete my answer. $\endgroup$
    – MeL
    Mar 8, 2021 at 6:43
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    $\begingroup$ I agree with MeL, @uhoh. There is no standard format. Think of the problem of references in a scientific journal article to other scientific articles, books, private communications, etc. This is a much easier problem than referencing imagery. Even there, different journals have distinctively different styles. Many journals that use TeX or LaTeX ask authors to provide a BibTeX file for their references so that the journal can link and list the references in the style particular to that journal. $\endgroup$
    – David Hammen
    Mar 8, 2021 at 9:51
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    $\begingroup$ I also agree with MeL, @uhoh -- there's no standard format for this sort of thing (as evidence by the fact that you found several different formats online), especially in presentations. $\endgroup$
    – Peter Erwin
    Mar 8, 2021 at 15:07
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    $\begingroup$ For what it's worth, i think using just commas is probably simpler; then you don't have to worry what the slashes are for. Also, the general standard for listing authors in a reference list is comma-separated: "X, Y, & Z, 1999", not "X/Y/Z 1999". $\endgroup$
    – Peter Erwin
    Mar 8, 2021 at 15:09
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I'll note that the only use of "/" in your list seems to be in "ESA/Hubble", and I suspect this is supposed to mean something like "the part of ESA [European Space Agency] devoted to Hubble". It shows up on the esahubble.org website a lot, for example.

So the best way to think about this may be: "Only use '/' when it's part of the name of an entity or organization -- e.g. 'ESA/Hubble'; don't use it as a general separator." Otherwise, it's a standard list format: two entities/persons should be combined with "and" or an ampersand, three or more combined with commas and a final "and" or ampersand. (I would use Oxford commas for this, but that is, alas, really a matter of taste ;-)

And, as @MeL and I and others have pointed out, there really isn't a standard format for presentations. Ampersands save a little space and look a little less formal than "and", but it's up to you which to use.

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