The 2010 CWAS AstroFest "The David Malin Awards"

In July 2010, the Central West Astronomical Society's astrophotography competition was held again as part of the CWAS AstroFest. Amateur astronomers and photographers from around Australia were invited to take part in the exhibition and to submit their astrophotographs for consideration in the prestigious "David Malin Awards". This year's competition had seven categories and a discretionary Innovation award: Deep Sky Wide-Field Solar System - Hires (< 30') Solar System - Wide-Field (> 30') Themed Section - "The Moonlit Landscape" Animated Sequences Junior (< 16 yo) and the Innovation Award The photographs were judged by world-renowned astrophotographer, Dr David Malin, without David being aware of the identity of the photographers. The winners were presented with the "David Malin Awards" in the presence of invited dignitaries, during the CWAS AstroFest conference dinner on 17 July 2010. It was not just technical skill that was awarded. The prizes went to pictures that captured the beauty of the sky and the intrinsic interest of astronomy in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Canon Australia supported the competition with prizes to the value of over $10,000. Last year's IYA exhibitions were a phenomenal success. The three parallel exhibitions were viewed by over 325,000 people in EVERY Australian State and the ACT. This year's permanent exhibition will be on show at the CSIRO Parkes Observatory's Visitor's Centre from October 2010 to July 2011. A second touring exhibition, organised by the Powerhouse Museum, will travel to selected venues. The 2010 Touring Exhibition: Venues and Dates VENUE DATE Sydney Observatory, NSW 13 August 2010 - 6 February 2011 Scienceworks (Melbourne Planetarium), Vic. 18 February - 3 April 2011 The Science Centre and Planetarium, University of Wollongong, NSW 12 April - 29 May 2011 TAFE NSW Western Institute, Broken Hill, NSW 10 June -22 July 2011 A record number of entries were received this year - a 70% increase on the previous record number. To have received any one of these awards, is a great honour. Congratulations!

The Competition - Category Winners

Photo Copyright: Jason Jennings

Winner: Jason Jennings Deep Sky OVERALL WINNER "Celestial Fireworks" Citation: "This is a difficult object, especially placed as it is in a rich part of the Milky Way. The whole field is scattered with minute stars, beautifully resolved here, and finally the image is honest, in that the extensive mosaicing and image manipulation is seamless and invisible." Details: Eight panel LRGB mosaic. Telescope: Takahashi FSQ-106ED refractor. Camera: SBIG STL-11000M 35mm CCD camera. Total exposure time: 16 hours. Processed in CCDStack, Registar and Photoshop CS4

Photo Copyright: Phil Hart

Winner: Phil Hart Wide-Field "Rho Ophiuchi, Antares and the Blue Horsehead" Citation: "This is a magnificent picture of a very familiar part of the sky. I liked it very much." Details: Canon 40D with a Canon 200mm f2.8 lens @ f3.5 and Vixen GP-DX mount. Four part mosaic each ~ 5 hours for a total exposure of 20 hours. Imaged over three nights 13th-16th May 2010 at the South Pacific Star Party, plus a few hours the night before at a campsite outside Wangaratta. Processed with ImagesPlus and Photoshop.

Photo Copyright: Anthony Wesley Photo Copyright: Anthony Wesley

Winner: Anthony Wesley Solar System - Hires "Impacts with Jupiter - Series" Citation: "These are terrific contributions to the study of Jupiter's interactions with bolides of various kinds, and shows what can be done by a keen amateur with care and diligence." Details: Both images taken with essentially the same setup. Telescope used: 14.5" f/5 newtonian. Camera: Point Grey Research Dragonfly2, icx424al CCD, 640x480. Extra optics: Televue 5x powermate. Filters: astrodon I-Series RGB and Red filter.

Photo Copyright: Vincent Miu

Winner: Vincent Miu Solar System - Wide-Field "New Moon Occults the Pleiades" Citation: "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. However, this one is beautifully exposed and composed. A worthy winner." Details: Canon 1000d unmodified prime focus through an Orion ED80 refractor on tracking EQ5 mount. ISO400 8sec ICNR on. Uncropped and mild diffusion effect added in CS2. Taken from Baulkham Hills, Sydney, on 17/04/2010. Time: approximately 6:25pm AEST.

Photo Copyright: Wayne England

Winner: Wayne England Theme - "The Moonlit Landscape" "Murray River Moonrise" Citation: "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. Superb!" Details: Nikon D3s with a Tokina 12-24mm lens at 17mm, f/4. 3200 ISO, 15 sec with minor adjustments in Photoshop. The moon rises over the Murray River near Berri, SA at Booky Cliffs campsite, Murray River National Park, Easter 2010.

Copyright: Phil Hart

Winner: Phil Hart Animated Sequences "Twelve Apostles Timelapse" Citation: "This is a very stylish piece of work. I like the subtle camera movement during the night, enhanced by the opposing layers of cloud and an iconic Australian scene. It is clear that this is one area of astronomical imaging where cloud is an advantage." Details: Canon 5D mkII with 24mm f1.4 lens. Continuous 10 second exposures at ISO1600 for 1.5 hours combined into timelapse sequence. Date: 22nd October, 2010. Location: Twelve Apostles lookout, Victoria.

Photo Copyright: Peter Ward Photo Copyright: Peter Ward

Winner: Peter Ward The Innovation Prize "The Moon Over Uluru - Series" Citation: "A striking pair of photographs of the Moon in Scorpius with Uluru. A lot of work has been done in combining several images of land and sky." Details: A 360 degree panoramic image of Ayers Rock (Uluru). Canon 5d MarkII, multiple 4 second exposures at ISO3200 assembled in AutoPano Pro and Photoshop CS4. The same image was also conformed to a polar transformation.

The Competition - Honorable Mentions

Deep Sky

Photo Copyright: Marcus Davies	Photo Copyright: Max Kilmister	Photo Copyright: Luke Dodd
"Near and Far - The Corona Australis Nebula and NGC 6723" Marcus Davies	"Witch's Head Nebula - IC2118" Max Kilmister	"Eta Carina (Narrow Band)" Luke Dodd

Wide-Field

Photo Copyright: Mike Salway	Photo Copyright: Wayne England
"Venus, Crescent Moon and Pleiades Conjunction" Mike Salway	"Camping Under the Stars" Wayne England

Solar System - Hires

Solar System - Wide-Field

Photo Copyright: Richard Higby	Photo Copyright: Robert Kaufman
"The Green Visitor" Richard Higby	"Comet C/2007 N3 Lulin passing Saturn and Regulus" Robert Kaufman

Theme - "The Moonlit Landscape"

Photo Copyright: Peter Ward	Photo Copyright: Mike Salway	Photo Copyright: Andrew King
"The Band of Venus" Peter Ward	"Long Jetty Under Moonlight" Mike Salway	"Moonlit Old-Timer" Andrew King

Animated Sequences

Copyright: Phil Hart	Copyright: Alex Cherney
"Narrandera Timelapse" Phil Hart	"Moonset" (2.7MB mp4 file) Alex Cherney

Junior

The Presentation Ceremony - 17 July 2010

The winners were presented with the awards by Dr David Malin himself, in the presence of invited dignitaries, during the CWAS AstroFest dinner on July 17, 2010. The dignitaries included the Mayor of Parkes, Cr Ken Keith; Dr John O'Sullivan of CSIRO's Astronomy and Space Sciences (CASS); Laurence Crowley, President of the CWAS; and Mr Alan Brightman of Canon Australia. The award winners represented entries from across Australia (NSW, Qld, Vic. and SA.). Congratulations to them all. The overall winner of the 2010 CWAS "David Malin Awards" was Jason Jennings of Malvern East, Victoria, for his beautiful image of the Rho Ophiuchus Nebulae Complex. The quality of the images was of an incredibly high standard and a testament to the great skill and talent of Australian astrophotographers. The very finest images will be exhibited in two parallel exhibitions, beginning with Sydney Observatory in August. Last year's touring exhibitions were a resounding success, with over 325,000 people viewing the exhibitions Australia-wide. The competition was proudly supported by Canon Australia, who provided prizes to the value of over $10,000. Each of the category winners received a Canon PowerShot G11 digital camera (RRP $799). The honorable mentions received a Canon IXUS 130 digital camera (RRP $399). The Presentations at the Comfort Inn, The Parkes International Hotel Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Copyright: Brad Le Brocque The welcoming remarks by (L-R) CWAS President, Laurence Crowley, Canon Australia representative, Alan Brightman and David Malin. The Galileos and Canon Prizes waiting to be presented. Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque The Award Winners Photo Copyright: Denis Crute All of the 2010 "David Malin Awards" Winners. (L-R): Andrew King, Alex Cherney, Marcus Davies, Phil Hart, Peter Ward, Brad Le Brocque, Jason Jennings, Mike Salway, David Malin, Stefan Buda, Anthony Wesley, Wayne England, Richard Higby, Tim Carruthers, Greg Bradley, Gary Hill. Not present were Vincent Miu, Paul Haese, Rolando De Michiel, Robert Kaufman, Luke Dodd and Max Kilmister. Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque The category award winners with Dr David Malin. (L-R): Vincent Miu (accepted on Vincent's behalf by Mike Salway), Phil Hart, Peter Ward, Jason Jennings, David Malin, Anthony Wesley and Wayne England. The winners receiving their awards Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Phil Hart Alex Cherney Wayne England Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Peter Ward Mike Salway Andrew King Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Anthony Wesley Stefan Buda Richard Higby Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Brad Le Brocque Gary Hill Tim Carruthers Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Marcus Davies Greg Bradley Jason Jennings Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque David Malin and CWAS President, Laurie Crowley, presented Jason Jennings with the Galileo Bust and Perpetual Trophy as the OVERALL WINNER Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque Congratulations, Jason! Canon Australia Prizes Mr Alan Brightman, representing Canon Australia, presented prizes to the award winners, in recognition by Canon Australia of the excellence that was judged by Dr David Malin in their work. The Category Winners received a prize of a Canon PowerShot G11 digital camera (RRP $799). The Honorary Mentions received a prize of a Canon IXUS 130 digital camera (RRP $399). Photo Copyright: Tony Trelford Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Jason Jennings Phil Hart Wayne England Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Anthony Wesley Peter Ward Alex Cherney Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Andrew King Mike Salway Stefan Buda Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Richard Higby Brad Le Brocque Gary Hill Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Tim Carruthers Greg Bradley Marcus Davies Congratulations to all the winners! Start preparing your astrophotos for the 2011 CWAS "David Malin Awards", and share with the wider public your enthusiasm for the grandeur and beauty of astronomy. The 2010 CWAS "David Malin Awards" was proudly supported by Canon Australia and Parkes Shire Council Comments and Enquiries: John Sarkissian of the AstroFest Organising Committee