Can you suggest a future target for the competition?

1.Open competition
2. Nebula (one that's high that month)
3. Conjunctions
4. Don't think we have had a solar one yet
5. Comets
6. Asterisms

How about "The Southern Cross". I can't lose

Have a look at some of the other forum competitions. Ice in Space have a very good photography section with many themes. Some suggestions are:

1. Constellations
2. Nightscapes- featuring some landscape or well known object with the night sky (always a popular one and all you need is a camera and a good subject)
3. Deep sky
4. Solar system
5. General astro themes (Aurora,noctilucent clouds, conjunctions, best eclipse shot, iPhone shots only ,drunken astronomy etc..)
6. Best picture submitted say in Spring, Autumn-it can be anything but something that everyone likes. It not part of a formal competition but still encourages people to take and submit photos on the boards. You never know , you might win a prize type of thing
7. Clouds - guaranteed to cause clear skies.

How about sketching?

How about a selection of say 3 Messier objects, in same part of the sky, ideally high in the sky.

Such as M81/M51/M63, or during the winter M42/M33/M1 etc.

A photo of one of them will get you into the competition.

That way, it might encourage astronomers out to take a pic that month.

Apart from that, my 2c list is -
1 - Supernova remnant
2 - Reflection Nebulae
3 - Planetary Nebulae
4 - Galaxies of Markarians Chain (in Spring)

Stephen

michael_murphy wrote:

johnomahony wrote: How about "The Southern Cross". I can't lose

Don't count your chickens yet. I'll be down under in December

Bring your camera

Don't take that from him Michael.

There were two suggestions earlier in the thread that made me think.
Solar
Sketching

While it is labeled as "IFAS Astrophotography Competition" and any prize is generally (if not exclusively) related to that field - It would be nice if the conditions of the competition were general enough to allow entries from candidates without the need for specialist equipment . I feel we generally are of this tradition anyway.

With that in mind I'd welcome astronomical sketches - regardless of what the target class might be.
Astronomical images are - of course - great value and when posted are appreciated by our community.
We do have active sketchers among our forum - and sketching is important - they can be beautiful - but more importantly it makes the sketcher really think about what they view and thus tend to gain a more intimate appreciation of what they view (in my hunble oppinion - I have never skecthed).

It would be nice if we could - at least occassionaly - reward our sketchers.

While this competition encourages members of the forum - it might also be worth considering having an occasssional wider audience competition. I'm thinking here of schools (and when I say schools I wish to encompass young persons generally.)
We could - on occassion - present a challenge for schools to present a sketch, painting, picture, essay, model - whatever for some prize. It would promote this forum and the member astronomy clubs.

I'd be happy to contribute money for, say a dobsonian (or anything we consider appropriate), for a school that won such a challenge.

Solar - we could indeed have a solar imaging competition - I'd appreciate viewing the entrants' contributions - and I'd allow terristial shots of sunrises, sunsets, green flashes - or anything interesting that makes the sun a pivotal aspect of the image.

Mark C.

Yes, asterisms would be interesting -I agree with Dave.

But you would know what I would love to see photos of: any double star. I see quite a few on www.cloudynights.com

At present, I have Delta Cygni on my computer as desktop background! Good photo it is too.

Oh, and conjunctions -there is Mars -Saturn conjunction coming soon; and Venus -Jupiter one also.

Aubrey.