THE DAVID MALIN AWARDS 2010

Winning sky photos is the exhibition of the top entries from the David Malin Awards astrophotography competition held annually by the Central West Astronomical Society and open to photographers around Australia. The photographs are judged by world renowned astrophotographer Dr David Malin.

The competition aims to encourage photographers to use their vision, imagination and skill to produce inspiring and beautiful images of the sky. There are six entry categories: deep sky; wide-field; solar system: hi-res (<30'); solar system: wide-field (>30'); animated sequences; and junior (16 years and under). This year’s open theme is ‘The moonlit landscape’.

Winning sky photos

GROUND FLOOR

Room 1

4. The moonlit old-timer by Andrew KingThis proud old Boab, reaching for the stars, has seen many full moons in its time. The constellations of Orion the Hunter, with his three belt-stars vertical, and Canis Major,

the hunter’s dog, lie to the left and upper-left respectively.

Room 3

2. Jupiter, Ganymede and Europa by Paul HaeseJupiter, the largest planet, plays host to four large moons. Regular transits of the moons and their

shadows across Jupiter’s face add to the joy of observing the planet. Here we see Ganymede (middle) and Europa and its shadow (bottom).

FIRST FLOOR

South Dome Landing

1. Moonlit Twelve Apostles by Phil HartOnly twelve men have stood on the Moon, which here illuminates a familiar scene.

Despite the adaptability of the human eye, a moonlit landscape is too faint to activate our colour vision and we see only shades of grey.

North Dome Landing

5. The Moon over Uluru (series)by Peter WardA 360-degree panorama of the central desert becomes a world of its own in this polar, or circular,

transformation. The Moon illuminates the scene from the constellation of Scorpius.

6. Impacts with Jupiter (series)by Anthony Wesley ‘[This] shows what can be done by a keen amateur with care and diligence’ – David Malin. The black spot at the bottom, as large as the Pacific Ocean, is the result of

an asteroid impact. Wesley’s discovery was hailed by professional astronomers around the world.

7. Sunspot with contrail by Rolando De MichielSunspots are magnetic ‘storms’ on the face of the Sun whose numbers rise and fall in an

11-year cycle. The curious shape of this spot, however, is unlike any seen before.

8. A scrum in space — a celestial football, when galaxies blend by Tim CarruthersCentaurus A is the result of

two galaxies merging. A giant dust-free elliptical galaxy (the ‘football’) is ringed by the dusty remains of a spiral galaxy. A supermassive black hole lies at the centre.

FIRST FLOOR (VIA RECEPTION STAIRCASE)

Room 9

9. The Moon over Uluru (series)by Peter WardA 360-degree panorama

of the central desert. The Moon, located within the constellation of Scorpius, illuminates the scene.

10. Murray River moonrise by Wayne England‘This is absolutely beautiful, both in terms of the composition and colour, helped along by attractive clouds. It even has the Southern Cross and Pointers nicely centred’ – David Malin.

11. Camping by moonlight by Wayne EnglandAway from the firelight, stars can be seen parading across the heavens. The Milky Way, mimicked by the flowing river below, has provided a tapestry upon which our ancestors

wove myths and legends.

12. Long jetty under moonlight by Mike SalwayThe V-shaped Hyades star cluster hangs above the small Pleiades cluster. The image of

the jetty suggests how our unaided eye can take us only so far into the ocean of our vast universe.

13. Early morning conjunction at Swansea by Brad Le BrocqueA conjunction occurs when two celestial bodies align closely along a north-south line in the sky. Here, the pre-dawn sky has washed out

the stars like an incoming tide. Only the crescent Moon and two or three bright planets remain visible.

14. Sagittarius galore by Gary HillThe rich starfields in the constellation of Sagittarius. Among the many objects

visible in this image are the red Swan nebula (lower left), Lagoon nebula (right) and scattered blue light from the Triffid nebula. The patch of bright stars to the lower left is seen through a window in dark obscuring dust.

15. New Moon occults the Pleiades by Vincent Miu‘This is a very well executed photograph of an event that’s quite difficult to photograph, mainly because the Moon is bright and the stars are faint’ – David Malin. Our

Moon, illuminated here mostly by reflected Earth-light, passes in front of the Pleiades cluster of young stars.

Room 11

3. Sideways Saturn by Stefan BudaAt least twice in Saturn’s 29.5 year orbit its rings will appear edge-on to the Earth. Wafer thin — perhaps only a few metres thick — they disappear from our view,

providing an excellent opportunity to search for new moons.

16. Eta Carina (Narrow Band) by Luke DoddThe Eta Carina nebula is an emission (or star birth) nebula. Composed mostly of

hydrogen, other elements are present including oxygen and sulfur. Narrow band filters isolate light from each element to show the distribution of that element.

17. Witch’s Head Nebula — IC2118 by Max KilmisterThis cloud of fine dust scatters blue light from the

star Rigel (out of frame above the cloud). It is 1000 light-years away. If you tilt your head to the left it may resemble a witch’s face looking upwards.

Competition winners

Celestial fireworks by Jason Jennings — Winner — Deep Sky category & Overall WinnerRho Ophiuchi, Antares and the Blue Horsehead by Phil Hart — Winner — Wide-field category Impacts with Jupiter (series) by Anthony Wesley — Winner — Solar System: Hi-res categoryNew Moon occults the Pleiades by Vincent Miu — Winner — Solar System: Wide-field category Murray River moonrise by Wayne England — Winner — Open Theme categoryTwelve Apostles timelapse by Phil Hart — Winner — Animated Sequences category The Moon over Uluru (series) by Peter Ward — Winner — The Innovation Prize

All other images on display received Honourable Mentions

The support of Canon Australia and the CSIRO’s Australia Telescope National Facility is acknowledged. The tour of the exhibition is organised by Sydney Observatory. Sydney Observatory is part of the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.

18. Near and far — the Corona Australis Nebula and NGC 6723 by Marcus DaviesThe Corona Australis nebula

lies about 500 light-years away. It contains stars still in the process of forming. By contrast the globular cluster NGC 6723 is 28 000 light-years distant and contains stars over 10 billion years old.

20. The green visitor by Richard HigbyAs comets approach the Sun they vaporise and give off various gasses, including

cyanogen, which gives the green tint to this comet Lulin. The gas is blown away by the solar wind to form the distinctive tail.

21. NGC 1097 by Greg BradleyThis galaxy is cannibalising its companions, 45 million light-years away. The ‘legs’ are the

remains of its last meal. Next on the menu is the oval-shaped dwarf galaxy between the spiral arms. At its bright core lies a supermassive black hole.

Animated Sequences

Twelve Apostles timelapse, Narrandera timelapse, March Star Party, Moonset over Snowy Mountains by Phil Hart

Moonset by Alex Cherney

Room 12

19. Celestial fireworks by Jason Jennings‘This is a difficult object, especially placed as it is in a rich part of the Milky Way’ – David Malin. Dust scatters blue light from the star Rho Ophiuchi (left), gas emits red

light around Sigma Scorpii (top) and Antares (right) lights up the yellow clouds. In the distance sits the globular cluster M4 (upper right).

22. Comet Lulin passing Saturn and Regulus by Robert KaufmanComets are thought to be the icy leftovers from the formation of

the solar system. Only occasionally are they visible to the naked eye as they pass through the sky.

23. Rho Ophiuchi, Antares and the Blue Horsehead by Phil HartThis image captures gas

(emitting red light), dust (scattering blue light) and thick, dark dust obscuring background stars. The horse head rearing up on the left has a quadruple star, Nu Ophiuchi, for an eye.

24. Impacts with Jupiter (series)by Anthony Wesley The right-hand image records the moment of

impact of a comet or asteroid as it hits Jupiter’s upper atmosphere. This series of images has caused professional astronomers to reappraise their ideas on the frequency of these impacts.

Sydney Observatory, part of the Powerhouse Museum, is a NSW government cultural institution. © 2010 Trustees of the Powerhouse Museum

PHOTOGRAPHY AND ASTRONOMY AT SYDNEY OBSERVATORY

Photography and astronomy have a long association at Sydney Observatory. Henry Chamberlain Russell, former government astronomer and director of the Observatory, began photographing the sky in the early 1870s. You can see the photographic plates he used to photograph the transit of Venus in 1874 (room 6) and his images of the night sky in the ground level entry hall. Sydney Observatory also participated in the Astrographic chart (Carte du Ciel) and catalogue, a project launched in Paris in 1887 aiming to photograph every section of the sky seen from Earth. The Observatory had the largest segment of the sky to complete among the 20 observatories participating. By 1890 astronomers from Sydney Observatory and its outpost observatory at Red Hill (now Pennant Hills) had begun taking images that eventually numbered more than 20,000 plates, revealing details that previously had not been evident through a telescope or with the naked eye. Today the tradition of astrophotography continues through the work of our own astronomers and the annual David Malin awards exhibition.

TOILETS(outside)

EMERGENCY EXIT

GROUND FLOOR

EMERGENCY EXIT

Planetarium(occasional sessions)

ENTRY/EXIT

EMERGENCY EXIT

Lecture room

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2

3

4

5 WHEELCHAIR/GROUP ENTRY

FIRST FLOOR6

7 8

9

10Balcony

Russell room

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12

NorthDome

SouthDome

Animations