Astrophotography

[David48atTD]

Crescent Moon at Lake Oberon by Luke Tscharke is the overall winner of the 2018 David Malin Awards.


David Malin Awards: Milky Way over Tasmanian wilderness tops astrophotography competition


A stunning image that captures the night sky above the rugged beauty of southern Tasmania has won Australia's
most prestigious astrophotography award.

Crescent Moon at Lake Oberon, taken by Luke Tscharke, was announced as the overall winner of the David Malin Awards
at a ceremony at Parkes today.

"It isn't obvious at first sight that it's a night picture," said David Malin, the world-renowned astrophotographer after
which the awards are named.

The winning photo was taken in the early morning about 4:00am from the Western Arthur Range between the
astronomically named Mount Orion and Mount Sirius.

"I love the shading of the mountains in the background, and of course it's the Milky Way rising over the lake," Dr Malin said.
"The moon is there too, and there's a meteorite on the righthand side.
"It looks like a moody daytime shot … but it is done at night."

The annual competition, hosted by the Central West Astronomical Society, honours the best photos and timelapse videos of the night sky in a range of categories.


Deep sky winner: E lucevan le stelle


E lucevan le stelle by Peter Ward

Peter Ward's image, E lucevan le stelle, shows the edge of a molecular cloud in the constellation of Ara.
"Molecular clouds are where stars form so they are usually dark on one side with a few stars and quite often very
bright on the other," Dr Malin explained.



Wide field winner: Barrenjoey Milky Way Arch


Barrenjoey Milky Way Arch by Tim Elliott


Solar system winner: Colours of Serenity and Tranquility


Colours of Serenity and Tranquility by Stefan Buda.

Stefan Buda's image, Colours of Serenity and Tranquility, captures the edge of the seas of Serenity and Tranquility on the Moon in colour.

http://vimeo.com/261927494
Take the time and ^ watch this one ... some great effects

The competition in the animated series section was so stiff that there were two winners.
James Stone's Cape Bruny Night captures the ebb and flow of the sky behind the Cape Bruny Lighthouse in Tasmania.
The video was created using timelapse and stills, taken when he spent six weeks as a volunteer caretaker at the lighthouse in July 2017.

https://vimeo.com/244516545

The other animation winner was Phil Hart's Yukon Aurora timelapse video, capturing the northern lights and clouds snaking across the skies, above the Yukon territory in north-west Canada.