JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

If you tell others you took the photo, then I would call it stealing, ethically if not legally. You seem to think that the only problem with using other's photos for commercial use is the possibility of getting caught.

scubadoc Loc: Sarasota, FL

Can you call it plagiarism if you pass it off as your own work?

profbowman Loc: Harrisonburg, VA, USA

Well, here is NASA's rules for how its photos may b used.
https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-brand-center/images-and-media/#:~:text=NASA%20content%20used%20in%20a,with%20permission%20on%20its%20website.

In general, educational and informative usage is allowed without seeking permission. But this material can only be used editorially and not commercially. There is a lot of freedom in commercial usage as long as an people in the photos cannot be identified and the NASA logos do not show. But read this site and its referenced sites for more info.

As to "we paid for it with our taxes" theory, here is a counter example. In Belize my wife and a friend were going past the US Embassy, and my wife took a picture from the street through the iron gates. The police rushed out and stated categorically that no one may take pictures of the embassy. They then demanded she delete the photos. She told them the camera was her husband's and she did not know how to delete the images. She did promise not to take any more photos, so they let her go.

An even more related experience is the photos we take as volunteers for a relief and service organization. If one of our photos is used in a public service ad, we no longer have the right to go in and replace the photo just because we were the photographer who captured it.

Just some thoughts. --Richard

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

cbtsam Loc: Monkton, MD

Thanks very much, Richard. That link seems to end the discussion, for me at least.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

More importantly: who owns space?

cbtsam Loc: Monkton, MD

I guess it depends on whether you're talking about this universe or one of those other ones, right?

bobbyjohn Loc: Dallas, TX

Hello cbtsam,

If you want some skys to use as backgrounds, go to this URL link for a directory named aSkys, which is in my Google Drive. Then there are several sub-directories, one of which is SPACE. All the Subdirs are available for download to you or to anyone with this link. The attached file structure from Explorer shows the different categories, ie subdirs. I typically use these in Luminar NEO for sky replace. You can get some pretty unusual images if you put a tornado or a falling airplane or lightning into what is otherwise a peaceful family scene.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Bm8HQ1ZBM_yj9ygQ76sfg4MP-Z5HEpeM?usp=sharing