The January 2022 Contests Are Here
The winners of this contest have already been announced. Find out who they are by clicking here!
Today we are announcing the new contests for January 2022!
This month, on top of the monthly One-Click Observations and Observation Bundles contests, we are launching a new one-off contest for landscape photography, sponsored and judged by our friends from Stellar Xperiences.
Are you new to our contests? Read the general rules first.
Here below you can find the definitions of the two contests. Remember to check the rules before taking part to these contests!
The Landscape Photography Special Contest
This month we are launching a special contest, dedicated to landscape astrophotography.
We will take a step back from deep sky imaging, and observe the milky way in its best form.
The contest is supported by our friends at Stellar Xperiences who are providing the raw datasets and the tutorials to process these images.
The dataset of the raw images (containing multiple subjects) are available by clicking here.
To process these data, you can follow the tutorials available to all subscribers by clicking here.
You are able to submit one image for each corresponding subject.
To qualify for the contest, you have to tag the picture you upload with #LandscapeContestJan22 (no need to specify your skill level). For some of the description fields that are not applicable (such as Camera, Telescope, Filters etc, you can simply enter "NA")
The prizes are:
- 25 credits prize (value $35) for the first place
- 50 credits prize (value $70) for the second place
As opposed to the other two contests, the judging panel will be made of the members of the Stellar Xperiences team.
The One-Click Contest
The One-Click Observation for the January 2022 Contest is Comet Leonard (or C/2021 A1), obtained with AUS-2 in the LRGB filter set.
Comet Leonard was discovered by Gregory J. Leonard on Jan. 3 2021. It has recently become a particularly beautiful comet showing, in photos taken from the Southern Hemisphere, a spectacular ion tail with continuous changes in its length and appearance.
We observed this comet in several instances during the last days of December 2021. Philip Yates has already won an Image of The Week with his spectacular rendition, see if you can do any better than him!
You can grab and download the One-Click Observation of comet Leonard by clicking here.
You can use any of the observations taken. You will not be able to stack observations from different nights as the comet position changes with respect to the background stars. You are allowed, however, to combine the two One-Clicks acquired on 31 Dec (Panel 1 and 2) into a single mosaic.
The dataset is particularly tricky as it includes a very strong background gradient. The observations were taken before astronomical twilight at very low altitude, with the moon up in the sky, and are therefore affected by sunlight and moonlight.
To qualify for the contest, remember to tag the picture you upload with #OneClickContestJan22 and either #Expert or #Beginner (check this page to find out your skill level).
The winners of the best picture in the One-Click Contest will receive:
- 25 credits prize (value $38) in the Beginner tier
- 50 credits prize (value $76) in the Expert tier
The Bundle Contest
The Observation Bundle for January 2022 Contest is Centaurus A obtained with CHI-1 in the LRGB filter set. It contains 10 One-Click Observations or 12h 20min of total exposure time.
Centaurus A is a galaxy in the constellation of Centaurus. It was discovered in 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop from his home in Parramatta, in New South Wales, Australia.
You can see and grab this Observation Bundle by clicking here.
To qualify for the contest, remember to tag the picture you upload with #BundleContestJan22 and either #Expert or #Beginner (check this page to find out your skill level)
The winners of the best picture in the One-Click Contest will receive:
The winners of the best picture in the Bundle Contest will receive:
- 75 credits prize (value $113) in the Beginner tier
- 100 credits prize (value $140) in the Expert tier
May the best one win!
Cover image credits: Comet Lenoard by Philip Yates