Sydney Observatory, part of the Powerhouse Museum, is a NSW government cultural institution. © 2012 Trustees of the Powerhouse Museum

PHOTOGRAPHY AND ASTRONOMY AT SYDNEY OBSERVATORY

Photography and astronomy have a long association at Sydney Observatory. Henry Chamberlain Russell, former government astronomer and director of the Observatory, began photographing the sky in the early 1870s. You can see the photographic plates he used to photograph the transit of Venus in 1874 in room 6. Sydney Observatory also participated in the astrographic catalogue and Carte du Ciel projects launched in Paris in 1887 aiming to photograph every section of the sky seen from Earth. The Observatory had the largest segment of the sky to complete among the 20 observatories participating. By 1890 astronomers from Sydney Observatory and its outpost observatory at Red Hill (now Pennant Hills) had begun taking images that eventually numbered more than 20,000 plates, revealing details that previously had not been evident through a telescope or with the naked eye. Today the tradition of astrophotography continues through the work of our own astronomers and the annual David Malin awards and Winning sky photos exhibition.

TOILETS(outside)

EMERGENCY EXIT

GROUND FLOOR

EMERGENCY EXIT

Planetarium(occasional sessions)

EMERGENCY EXIT

Lecture room

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5 WHEELCHAIR/GROUP ENTRY

ENTRY/EXIT

FIRST FLOOR6

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10Balcony

Russell room

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NorthDome

Landing

South Dome Landing

Animations

KEY

Winning Sky Photos

THE DAVID MALIN AWARDS 2012

Winning sky photos is the exhibition of the top entries from the David Malin Awards astrophotography competition held annually by the Central West Astronomical Society and open to photographers around Australia. The photographs are judged by world renowned astrophotographer Dr David Malin.

The competition aims to encourage photographers to use their vision, imagination and skill to produce inspiring and beautiful images of the sky. There are seven categories: deep sky; wide-fi eld; solar system: high-res (fi eld of view less than one moon-width); solar system: wide-fi eld (fi eld of view greater than one moon-width); animated sequences; and junior (18 years and under). This year’s open theme was ‘Symmetries’. A Photo Editor’s Choice Award was added in 2012.

Winning sky photos

Please return to reception

GROUND FLOOR

Entry

Cycle 24By Paul HaeseMagnetic activity in the Sun’s outer layers fl ows and ebbs over 11 years. The 24th cycle since measurements

began has fi nally kicked off with a show of arcing prominences, dark fi laments, bright fl ares and, from Earth, rippling polar auroral displays.

Room 1

Speared Emuby Alex CherneyDark clouds in the Milky Way form a life-like impression of an emu — a celestial fi gure featured in the stories of Indigenous groups across Australia. Here comet Lovejoy

(C/2011 W3) appears like a spear in the emu’s body.

Totality over Tikahana Motuby Geoff SimsA total solar eclipse is a spectacular and emotional astronomical experience. Each one is visible from a limited strip of the Earth’s surface, providing an excellent

excuse to travel to remote and exotic destinations.

Room 4

Bright Nightby Grahame KelaherLong exposure images of the night sky illuminated by the Moon show it is blue — just

like daylight — even if our eyes cannot see this. In this image the Moon is hidden behind the pinnacle.

FIRST FLOOR

North Dome Landing

King of Painby Peter Ward“This is a superb image. The lyrics of the song King of Pain by the Police, apparently

have the line ‘There’s a little black dot on the Sun today’.” – David Malin

Venus Transit in H-Alpha Lightby Peter WardThe June 2012 transit of Venus was only the seventh transit ever observed by astronomers and is

the last for more than a century. H-alpha is red light (here recoloured orange) emitted by hydrogen atoms, which shows us the intricate surface structure of our Sun.

Room 7

Eastern Veil Nebulaby Martin PughA ghost-like cloud of wispy gas hovers in the constellation Cygnus. This gas was expelled into space

by a supernova — the death of a massive star.

Emu Crossingby Richard TonelloThe full beauty of the Milky Way is only visible where light pollution does not

mask its faint light. In remote places where emus are a road hazard the sky will probably be dark enough to see the celestial dark-cloud emu.

Room 9

Antares Regionby Gary HillThe birth of stars is hidden inside dark clouds. The hottest stars fl ood the cloud in ultra-violet light causing it to glow red and disperse.

Equinoctial Twins by Geoffrey WyattThe mirage image here is a result of light from the Sun bending upwards as it passes through the warmer air near the ocean’s surface. The upper ‘twin’ is the real Sun.

Interestingly, the average density of the Sun is not much greater than that of water.

Super Moon Cruiseby Stephanie HoughThe dark patches on the Moon are called mare, or seas, and were once thought

to really hold water. We now know the Moon is bone dry — except for ice deposited by comets in permanently shaded polar craters.

NGC 3372 — The Great Nebula in Carinaby Nathan ColemanThis gas cloud not far from the Southern Cross contains

the massive star Eta Carinae. In the 1840s this aging, unstable star shed a cloud of dust and disappeared from naked-eye view for over a century. Eta Carinae is visible here just below-left of centre.

Jupiter from Exmouth, WAby Anthony WesleyJupiter, king of the planets, displays a dynamic surface of swirling clouds. In 2010 the south

equatorial belt, usually red-brown and mirroring its wide northern companion, was missing.

Crown Jewels above Lake Tekapoby Alex CherneyThe Milky Way hovers like a jewelled tiara

over Lake Tekapo, New Zealand. This image also shows the zodiacal light — sunlight scattering off dust in the solar system — as a wide almost vertical band of white light. The Large Magellanic Cloud lies to the left.

Room 11

IC5067by Martin PughThis cloud of gas and dust in the constellation of Cygnus is a nursery for

stars. Recently formed stars, not shown in this image, are burning into this cloud and destroying it — like a hairdryer into ice.

NGC 5128: Centaurus Aby Nathan ColemanThis galaxy, approximately 13 million light years beyond the stars of the

Milky Way, is a prodigious source of radio energy. “The stars are round and nicely coloured. I’m impressed that Nathan has got his head around the challenging software.” – David Malin

Santa’s Sleigh Trail!by Wayne EnglandFollowing a busy night, Santa heads out along the Milky Way to his icy North Pole home. The white trail is visible because dust particles scatter the sunlight.

Night Marketby Jason JenningsA smorgasbord of galactic components: glowing red hydrogen gas, white clouds of thousands of

stars, dark clouds of gas and dust and a cluster of young, hot blue stars.

Competition winners

Melbourne Moon by Phil Hart — Winner, Solar System: Wide Field category and Overall WinnerIC5067 by Martin Pugh — Winner, Deep Sky categorySpeared Emu by Alex Cherney — Winner, Wide Field categoryKing of Pain by Peter Ward — Winner, Solar System: Hi-Res categoryPartially Lunar over Luna by Trent McDougall — Winner, Open Theme CategoryNGC 5128: Centaurus A by Nathan Coleman — Winner, Junior categoryCrown Jewels above Lake Tekapo by Alex Cherney — Winner, Photo Editor’s Choice Award

All other images on display received Honourable Mentions

The support of Canon Australia and the CSIRO’s Australia Telescope National Facility is acknowledged. The tour of the exhibition is organised by Sydney Observatory. Sydney Observatory is part of the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.

Partially Lunar over Lunaby Trent McDougallThe Moon rising over Luna Park, Sydney. “The image displays symmetry in terms of a literal sense rather than visual.” – David Malin

Road to the Milky Wayby Mike SalwayThe Milky Way soars overhead. Best seen on moonless nights, its dark patches have been likened to many things including an emu, kangaroo, llama, fox, frog, serpents and human forms.

Animated sequences

Nocturnal by Colin Legg Comet Lovejoy and ISS by Greg Priestley Red Aurora Australis by Alex Cherney Starlit Silhouettes by Alex Cherney, The Venus and Jupiter Show by Phil Hart Transit of Venus in White Light and H-Alpha by David HoughRunning time: 11 mins

Room 12

Melbourne Moonby Phil Hart“A busy but very interesting shot of the Williamstown dockyards

dominated by a full moon, all of it pervaded by a mistiness that adds colour and softens an industrial subject. It is a strong, eye-catching image.” – David Malin

Star Trails over Lake Wivenhoeby Stephen MudgeStar trails are the simplest astrophoto technique — just

aim a stationary camera and open the shutter. Software is now available to combine multiple short exposures to simulate long-exposure star-trails.

The Blue Horsehead to Rho Ophiuchiby Greg BradleyThe Milky Way contains a mind-boggling number of stars

— try to imagine one hundred thousand million. Towards the galactic centre we see the densest star clouds.

Pinnacles Desert Starscape 1by Zane HammondThe Milky Way is our home galaxy. It consists of stars and planets, gas, dust and a vast amount of invisible dark matter. We see its spiral disk from within, but edge-on.