Editorial Policy

How content gets written, labeled, selected and corrected.

Original content

Object guides, concept explainers, the glossary and lists are written for this site, compiled from the sources cited on each page, with AI-assisted research reviewed against those sources. The voice aims at a curious reader, not an academic one. But simplification never overrides accuracy, and uncertainty is stated, not smoothed away.

News

The News tab is an aggregator: real headlines and short feed-provided summaries from reputable outlets, always linking to the original article, with the publisher named on every card. We do not rewrite, republish, or paraphrase outside reporting as our own, and we do not use press-release wires. If a feed fails, we show fewer items, never filler.

AI-generated content

Two features are AI-written and labeled in place: daily “Sky notes” (generated from our own computed sky and launch data only) and “Ask the Atlas” (answers from our cached data, instructed to admit when it doesn’t know). Nothing AI-generated is presented as human reporting.

Sensational topics

Asteroid risks are stated with their actual probabilities and never as scare copy. Extraterrestrial life is reported strictly by evidence status: no discovery has been made, and this site will not imply otherwise. Speculative physics is labeled Speculative.

Corrections

Report errors via the contact form. Verified corrections change the page; significant ones are noted on it. Astronomy updates (new counts, new records) are folded in as sources publish them.