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Winners: Our Solar System
This category is for photos of our Sun and its family of planets, moons, asteroids and comets.
Winners 2011 | Earth and Space | Deep Space | Young astronomy photographer | Special prizes
Category winner and overall competition winner
Jupiter with lo and Ganymede, September 2010 by Damian Peach (UK)
12 September 2010
What the photographer says:
‘This photograph was taken as part of a long series of images taken over a three-week period from the island of Barbados in the Caribbean – a location where the atmospheric clarity is frequently excellent, allowing very clear and detailed photographs of the planets to be obtained.
‘I’ve been interested in Astronomy since the age of ten and have specialized in photographing the planets for the last fourteen years. I’m very happy with the photo and wouldn’t really change any aspect of it.’
Celestron 356mm Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (C14) with a PGR Flea3 CCD camera
What it shows:
Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System. It is a giant ball of gas with no solid surface, streaked with colourful bands of clouds and dotted with huge oval storms.
In addition to the swirling clouds and storms in Jupiter’s upper atmosphere, surface features of two of the planet’s largest moons can be seen in this remarkably detailed montage. Io, to the lower left, is the closest to Jupiter. The most geologically active object in the Solar System, its red-orange hue comes from sulphurous lava flows. Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System, is composed of rock and water ice. The Planet and its moons have been photographed separately, then brought together to form this composite image.
What the judges say:
Pete Lawrence says: ‘This is a truly incredible image of the planet Jupiter. Damian has even managed to capture detail on two of Jupiter’s moons! It’s truly astonishing to think that this was taken from the ground by an amateur astronomer using his own equipment.’
Marek Kukula says: ‘There were so many beautiful images this year but this one really stood out for me. It looks like a Hubble picture. The detail in Jupiter’s clouds and storms is incredible, and the photographer has also managed to capture two of the planet’s moons. An amazing image.’
What Flickr members say:
markkilner says: ‘Damian, I’ve seen your work before but this is just exceptional. The amount of detail is staggering. At this rate you’ll be imaging volcanic plumes on Io in a few years!’
evansg says: ‘Best Jupiter ever!’
Runner-up
Dragon Storm by Paul Haese (Australia)
29 March 2011
What the photographer says:
‘This is the best image set I have obtained of Saturn. In the southern hemisphere we have been waiting a while for Saturn to climb high enough so we can get great detailed images.’
Peltier cooled Celestron 356mm Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (C14) with a PGR Flea3 CCD camera
What it shows:
Saturn, the second largest planet in the Solar System, is best known for its brilliant rings. These rings are made up of countless ice and dust particles orbiting the planet in intricate patterns, some of which can be seen in this series of photographs. Taken about forty minutes apart, these images show the progress of a huge storm, called the Dragon Storm, moving in Saturn’s upper atmosphere as the planet rotates.
Specialist equipment is needed to safely observe or photograph the Sun. Looking at the Sun with the naked eye or through a telescope, binoculars or camera can cause injury and permanent blindness.
Highly commended
May 7th Hydrogen-Alpha Sun by Peter Ward (Australia)
7 May 2011
What the photographer says:
‘The dynamics of the solar chromosphere change on a daily basis. I enjoy documenting these features, which unlike the majority of astronomical subjects can literally change in minutes.’
Astro-Physics EDF155 refractor telescope with a Coronado 90mm H-alpha filter and a SkyNyx 2-2 planetary camera
What it shows:
This image shows details of the Sun’s chromosphere, a thin layer of the Sun’s atmosphere. It was taken through a filter which isolates red light emitted by very hot hydrogen gas. The chromosphere contains gas with temperatures of up to 20,000 degrees Celsius. Dense tubes of cooler gas can be seen as dark filaments across the disc of the Sun or bright red prominences emerging at its edge.
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The Moon is a wonderful object to photograph, with constant changes of view throughout the lunar cycle.
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Photographing a comet is a once-in-a-lifetime experience which can be achieved with relatively modest equipment.
Damian: far from everyday life
Damian Peach talks about the wonder of his photography subjects - Jupiter with lo and Ganymede.
Highly commended
Crater Petavius, 8 February 2011 by George Tarsoudis (Greece)
8 February 2011
What the photographer says:
‘I started astrophotography accidentally in 2005 in my town, Alexandroupolis in the north-east of Greece. I like to take lunar and planetary photos at high resolution. The Crater Petavius is perhaps one of the strangest craters on the Moon that I have noticed since I started shooting the Moon.’
250mm (10 inch) Newtonian reflector telescope with a Unibrain Fire-I 785 camera
What it shows:
The Moon’s many craters have been formed by meteorites, asteroids and comets which have crashed into the lunar surface over billions of years. Craters can range in size from a few centimetres to hundreds of kilometres. The large crater to the lower right of this photograph is almost 200 kilometres wide and over three kilometres deep. It has a central peak reaching nearly two kilometres from the crater floor.
Highly commended
ISS and Endeavour crossing the Sun by Dani Caxete (Spain)
21 May 2011
What the photographer says:
‘My dream was to immortalize the ISS [International Space Station] with the Space Shuttle [Endeavour] despite my novice-level knowledge and my humble equipment. I am very proud of the results achieved.’
Celestron 127mm Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (C5) with a Nikon D7000 camera
What it shows:
A perfectly timed photograph captures a silhouette of the International Space Station and docked space shuttle Endeavour as they passed in front of the Sun in less than half a second. Features of the Sun’s photosphere – or visible layer – can also be seen, including a grainy texture resulting from the bubbling motion of gas at 6000 degrees Celsius. A dark spot to the left of the ISS is a sun spot, containing cooler gas, which is caused by intense magnetic activity.