2006 SCT User Mailing List Imaging Competition Winners

Hi Gang:

I'm finished, and it was _tough_. Really tough. If you've looked at the
entries on the contest web-page,

http://www.rothritter.com/contest/2006/

you're no doubt aware of the quality level of the competition, even
given
the rather last-minute and minimalist nature of the contest this time.
Earlier this year I was heavily involved in Katrina cleanup, and had
pretty much decided to scotch this edition of the contest. As the time
for it to start drew near, however, I decided "what the heck."

The hardest thing? I had to pick a big three in each category. I
probably could have expanded that to 6, or 10, or 15 "winners" in each.
They were _that good_.

This year, two categories did not have sufficient entries for
judging, the Novice DSO and Novice Solar System divisions; be sure to
take a
look at the entries we had for them, though; they are superb.

Now, without further ado, the WINNERS:

DEEP SKY

In First Place in "Best Astrophoto of a Deep Sky Object" is _John
Tissavary's M57_.

Rarely have I seen an amateur (or professional) shot of this "familiar"
object that displays the incredible detail that John's does. Get a load
of
the nebulosity outside the Ring itself, a feature generally reserved
for
deep shots by pro observatories.

In Second Place is _Frank Barrett's NGC 5128_.

As with the shot of the Ring, I was bowled over by the detail shown in
this lovely image of Centaurus A. This is an object I know and love, as
down here I can observe it frequently
and even try to image it on occasion. I have never brought back results
like Frank's, though . The color rendition, sharpness, framing,
guiding--all are excllent.

In Third Place is _Adam Stuart's Eskimo Nebula_.

One of the several things that impressed me about this image was that
Adam was able to bring outplenty of detail--like our other images this
year, this rivals the large aperture pro shots of the past--while
keeping an Eskimo that looks, scale-wise, like what you see in your
eyepiece.

LUNAR AND PLANETARY ASTROPHOTO

This was tough, too, but, again, a few shots stood out.

In First Place is _Edward Roach's portrait of Saturn_.

What can you say?
This is a world class image whether you're talking amateur or
professional. Detail is exquisite, color rendition is just perfect, and
the image scale is just right.

I agonized over Second Place, but in the end the laurels go to _Patrick
Freeman for his M57 - Comet 73/P_ image.

Sometimes victory goes to those prepared for a once-in-a-lifetime
event. It's also, like our other winners, obviously done by a
technically proficient imager.

Third Place is also a comet image, this one being _Dennis Persyk's
Comet
Pojmanski_.

In common with the other images, this one has one characteristic beyond
its exquisite detail and the obvious technical competence of the
photographer: it would do any observatory on
Earth--amateur or professional--proud.

To sum up:

Deep Sky

First: John Tissavary
Second: Frank Barrett
Third: Adam Stuart

Solar System

First Place: Edward Roach
Second Place: Patrick Freeman
Third Place: Dennis Persyk

Prizes?

At this time, the First Place winners in each category will receive a
copy
of Astroplanner, the fantastic planning-logging software from Ilanga,
courtesy of Paul Rodman. I _may_ have a few more prizes to give out
before
all is said and done.

Plaques: Due to the generosity of several good folks, no certificates
this year. All three places in each category will receive plaques. The
First Place _will_ be a little fancier, but everybody gets one. Due to
the generosity of the donors, they will all be NICE.

Thanks to everyone who entered--YOU ARE ALL WINNERS IN MY BOOK...not a
one
of you couldn't blow _me_ (and most of the folks on the SCT User list)
right out of
the water. ;-)

2007? I hope for the contest to be right back on track and bigger and
better
than ever. I know this time was a comedown from the big one in 2005,
where we had tons of entries and gave away an 8-inch SCT in addition to
boatloads of other super-cool stuff. I want to see 2007 turn out just
like that.

To that end, I'm looking for three judges, and someone who would like
to be the PR/Prize Chairperson for 2007...don't be shy. The only
requirements: for the PR/Prize person, you need to be pushy but nice
and an SCT User member. Judges? Have at least as much knowledge about
imaging as your Old Uncle Rod (IOW, the requirement ain't that
stringent ;-) )--oh, and be subscribed to the list, of course.

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of:
Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope
and
The Urban Astronomer's Guide
http://skywatch.brainiac.com/astroland



__._,_.___

"RMOLLISE" wrote in news:1158355359.647774.23960
@d34g2000cwd.googlegroups.com:

In First Place in "Best Astrophoto of a Deep Sky Object" is _John
Tissavary's M57_.

Very nice - and I liked the detailed processing info too. Congratulations
to John.

Pierre Vandevenne wrote:
"RMOLLISE" wrote in news:1158355359.647774.23960
@d34g2000cwd.googlegroups.com:

In First Place in "Best Astrophoto of a Deep Sky Object" is _John
Tissavary's M57_.

Very nice - and I liked the detailed processing info too. Congratulations
to John.

Thanks...yes...I won't claim I came up with the idea of posting
detailed specs for each image...last year's judging panel started that,
and I think it's a great idea.

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of:
Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope
and
The Urban Astronomer's Guide
http://skywatch.brainiac.com/astroland