Guidelines for Submitting Papers

The Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers publishes a paper copy of the Proceedings as well as a computer disk of the Proceedings. SARA members submitting electronic or camera-ready copy for inclusion in Proceedings books should follow the guidelines below.

1. Topics: SARA solicits for its Conference Proceedings technical papers dealing with any scientifically credible aspect of amateur or professional radio astronomy. Acceptable topics include, but are not limited to: radio astronomy hardware, radio astronomy software, search strategies, astrophysics, planetary science, data reduction and analysis, and radio astronomy education. The Conference Chair or designated Editor will accept for publication such papers as are, in his or her sole discretion, consistent with the vision and mission SARA.
2. Copyright: Authors retain exclusive copyright to their submitted manuscripts. Submission constitutes an authorization for publication by SARA on a non-exclusive basis. No compensation is offered for published manuscripts.
3. Length: Papers will normally run no less than five, nor more than ten single-spaced manuscript pages. Deviations from these guidelines will require prior approval from the Conference Chair or designated Editor.
4. Paper: Camera-ready copy should be submitted on white paper measuring 8½ by 11 inches.
5. Margins: Top and sides should be not less than 0.75 inches; bottom must be not less than 1 inch.
6. Type: You may use any font you'd like. The type should be clean and easy to read. The type face most popular among SARA authors is 12-point Times New Roman. When equations are included, they should be formatted using an Equation Editor capable of reproducing subscripts, superscripts, Greek characters, and mathematical symbols, as appropriate.
7. Layout: Either a one or two-column format is fine.
8. Page numbers: Don't include them on the front of your paper. You may write the page number on the reverse side in light pencil. This is helpful especially in the case of very long papers.
9. Drawings: Should be in black ink, dark pencil, or computer generated in high resolution. Please center them properly on each page. Place drawings where you'd like them to appear in the text, or leave a space for the drawing and mark the space and drawing. If placement is not indicated, photos will run after the text.
10. Photos: Color or black-and-white prints, or GIF, BMP, or JPG files 640 x 480 pixels or larger. Leave a space for the photo and mark the space. Do not write directly on the back of the photo. Use a post-it or piece of paper, then attach it to the back of the photo to indicate placement. If placement is not indicated, photos will run after the text.
11. Electronically: SARA will accept papers submitted on disk or via email attachment as Microsoft Word (.doc) or Portable Document Format (.pdf) files. Disks submitted by post should be accompanied by a hardcopy of the submission. Please do not submit large email attachments without prior approval. We are moving toward all-electronic submission, though we can still accept hard copy.
12. Colors: Drawings and photos inserted electronically in your paper can be black-and-white or color. Conference proceedings are printed in black and white. Color graph, drawing or photo may not print as well as black and white. The Proceedings CD's will be in color.
13. Printers: If at all possible, do not use a color printer. The ink has a tendency to smudge when page numbering and during the printing process. If you have to use a color printer, please include a note and we'll process the paper differently.
14. Printing: We print what we receive. If your paper is not centered or has "copy" marks, that's the way it will appear in the Proceedings. If it's over the margin dimensions, it will be photo reduced.
15. Deadlines: It takes time to compile and print Proceeding books in time to be distributed at our annual Conference. Please plan your submission schedule accordingly, as papers submitted late will not appear in the Proceedings.