Astronomy photographer of the year 2010

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Written by Administrator Tuesday, 14 September 2010 01:18

Blazing Bristlecone by Tom Lowe won the overall prize in this year's competition

Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark II DSLR camera with a Canon EF 16-35mm lens set at 16mm

His winning shot, Blazing Bristlecone, depicts the Milky Way arching over an ancient bristlecone pine tree.

The tree is thought to be one of the oldest living trees in the world having clocked up over 4,000 years standing in the Sierra Nevada.

Competition judge and ROG Public Astronomer, Dr Marek Kukula said: ’This beautiful picture perfectly combines the awe-inspiring vista of the night sky with life here on Earth.

‘The bristlecone pines may be old but they are babies compared to the starlight shining behind them, some of which began its journey towards us almost 30,000 years ago.’

From vast nebulae and distant galaxies to the softness of the evening sun setting over a beach, all of these photos reflect the true wonder of space.

What the photographer says: ‘If I could change anything about this photo, it would be the artificial lighting! The light on that tree occurred accidentally because I had my headlamp and possibly a camping lantern on while I was taking a series of test shots! The artificial light is too frontal and not evenly distributed, but in the end the light did in fact show the amazing patterns in the tree’s wood. The reason these trees inspire me so much, aside from their striking beauty, is their age. Many of them were standing while Genghis Khan marauded across the plains of Asia. Being a timelapse photographer, it's natural for me to attempt to picture our world from the point of view of these ancient trees. Seasons and weather would barely register as events over a lifetime of several thousand years. The lives of humans and other animals would appear simply as momentary flashes.’

Equipment: Takahashi FSQ-106 106mm refractor telescope on a Celestron CG3 German equatorial mount with a Canon EOS 350D XT DSLR camera

Siberian Totality, Anthony Ayiomamitis (Greece). Taken during a total eclipse of the sun, this image reveals the faint solar corona usually hidden by the photosphere. The long streamers and prominences show the sun's activity beyond the surface, reaching out into the solar system. Winner of the Our Solar System award

What the photographer says: ‘On eclipse day, the clouds were present everywhere and only one hour before first contact (partial phase) did the skies clear...and they cleared beautifully and with pristine transparency. There was a slight wind, especially at the top of the roof of the Institute of Nuclear Physics, but it was a very small price to pay.’

Equipment: Takahashi FSQ 106 EDX 106mm refractor with 0.7x focal reducer with a SBIG STL11000 CCD camera on a Takahashi EM-400 equatorial mount

Orion Deep Wide Field, Rogelio Bernal Andreo California, US, 10 June 2010. A panorama of a section of the constellation of Orion, including the three famous stars of the belt, the Horsehead nebula and the Orion nebula. Winner of the deep space prize

What the photographer says: ‘I love this image for several reasons. One, because it includes a feature easily recognizable even from light-polluted skies (Orion’s belt), so anyone can “place” this image in the sky. Another reason is because the composition resembles a complex and beautiful stellar landscape, rather than just an object placed in the middle of the frame.’

Equipment: Nikon E3700 digital camera

A Perfect Circle, Dhruv Arvind Paranjpye (India, aged 14). A solar eclipse photographed in India in 2009. The light around the edge of the circle is the sun's atmosphere, or corona, only visible during an eclipse. The photographer has used the dark clouds to act as a filter. Winner, young astronomy photographer 2010

What the photographer says: ‘My father got me a telescope and a digital camera, and the annular eclipse was a perfect opportunity to test my skills. The photograph was clicked from the southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, Kanyakumari.’

Equipment: Canon EOS 50D DSLR camera with a Canon 10-22mm lens set at 10mm on a Manfrotto tripod

Photon Worshippers, Steve Christenson, 23 December 2009. For a few weeks every year the setting sun is in the correct position to shine directly through this portal in a large rock formation at Pfeiffer beach in Big Sur, California. People and space award winner

What the photographer says: ‘Astronomy and astronomical phenomenon have been a hobby for my entire life. Nothing is quite so awe-inspiring to me as being in a dark night sky and watching a meteor shower or a lunar eclipse – or just seeing the majesty of the Milky Way reaching from horizon to horizon.’

Equipment: Maxvision 127mm apochromatic refractor with a modified Canon EOS 450D DSLR camera on an EQ6 mount

The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51), Ken Mackintosh (UK). Drawn together by gravity, two galaxies interact. Eventually the smaller galaxy will be torn apart or swallowed by the larger one - a process that will take millions of years. Winner of best newcomer

What the photographer says: ‘I have been interested in astronomy since I was very young and took it as an option at university. My interest was very much rekindled recently when I realised (just casually browsing through flickr in fact) how much more accessible the photography side of the hobby had become and what good results could be achieved at not such a great cost or effort.’