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Galaxies, Nebula and Stars

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Category: Photography & Art

Via: robert-in-ohio • 10 years ago • 13 comments

Paul Haese, "The Halo"

Image: Paul Haese

Amateur astrophotographers have shown off their spectacular images of space at the annual David Malin Awards.

The results of the 2015 competition, run by the Central West Astronomical Society in Australia, were presented Saturday. In his picture "Stellar Riches," the overall winner, Troy Casswell, shows off the colourful Milky Way.

"It reveals vast star clouds of Sagittarius, and the wispy dust and elusive nebulae and bright stars in Scorpius and Ophiuchus," the award's namesake, world-renowned astrophotographer, David Malin, wrote in his citation. "It is a four-panel, 20-degree wide, true-colour mosaic made from 64 separate exposures with an off-the-shelf (but modified) digital camera, and much care and patience."

The competition includes six photography sections: deep sky, wide-field, nightscapes, solar system, a themed section called "The Southern Cross," and junior for those 18 years old or younger, as well as awards for animated sequences.

The photos will tour Australia, beginning at the Sydney Observatory from August 14, 2015. Below are the winning images, along with a selection that received an honourable mention.

Overall Winner: Troy Casswell, "Stellar Riches"

"This is a stunning rendition of the brightest part of the Milky Way. It reveals vast star clouds of Sagittarius, and the wispy dust and elusive nebulae and bright stars in Scorpius and Ophiuchus. It is a four-panel, 20-degree wide, true-colour mosaic made from 64 separate exposures with an off-the-shelf (but modified) digital camera, and much care and patience. Riches indeed!" -- David Malin

Image: Troy Casswell
Junior winner: Matthew Cherubino, "Stairway to Heaven"

"This striking composition, and a well-judged exposure for the Milky Way, would have stood out in any competition. To include a figure of a friend on one of the peaks is the icing on the cake. Good work!" -- David Malin

Image: Matthew Cherubino
Deep sky winner: Andrew Campbell, "The Fighting Dragons of Ara"

"The swirling, fragmented clouds of gas and dust in the Milky Way are always challenging to photograph, and this intriguing image captures its torn and fragmented structure beautifully, turning molecular clouds into a work of art." -- David Malin

Image: Andrew Campbell
Solar system winner: Peter Ward, "Solar Crown"

"This high resolution image of the Sun's surface is a superb example of a specialised branch of amateur astrophotography that can reveal details on the Sun's surface professionals only dreamed of 20 years ago, especially over its full disk and with prominences around the limb. Marvellous!" -- David Malin

Image: Peter Ward
Nightscapes winner: James Garlick, "Aurora Treescape"

"This vista would have been quite eye-catching by daylight, but a trace of moonlight, the scattered pin-pricks of stars and the vivid colours of the Aurorae Australis in the sky turn it into a haunting and memorable scene. -- David Malin

Image: James Garlick
Theme "The Southern Cross" winner: Phil Hart, "South along Bucklands Lane"

"A crescent moon illuminates the foreground and high cloud accentuates the colours of the bright stars in the Southern Cross. A beautifully composed night-time landscape with excellent star colours and clear definition of the Magellanic Clouds, the nearest galaxies." -- David Malin

Image: Phil Hart
Junior honourable mention: Scott Carnie-Bronca, "Tarantula Nebula"

Image: Scott Carnie-Bronca
Deep sky honourable mention: Andrew Campbell, "A Cosmic Bubble"

Image: Andrew Campbell
Wide-field honourable mention: Phil Hart, "Dusty Surrounds of the Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae"

Image: Phil Hart
Solar system honourable mention: Steven Saffi, "Earth Umbra"

Image: Steven Saffi
Nightscapes honourable mention: Judith Conning, "Bridge to Glory"

Image: Judith Conning
Theme "The Southern Cross" honourable mention: Mark Slater, "Southern Cross Burning"

Image: Mark Slater