Yep, unfortunately composite astro photos do violate the rules, something which is quite unfortunate, as it eliminates potential for some beautiful submissions. Allowing composites would, however, be a logistics nightmare since we'd have to accept multiple originals for verification. BTW, It's even illegal to subtract a dark frame if not done in-camera.
On the upside, as the digital camera market matures, the megapixel race will cool off and other attributes, e.g. noise, will become foci for improvement. We're already seeing some of this in the DSLR market. The advent of lower noise at high ISO will make it easier to take stunning astro images that are DPC legal. I'd bet you'll see a few more in the coming year ;-)
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