Amos 5:8, "God is the one who made the star groups Pleiades and Orion;
he changes darkness into the morning light,
and the day into dark night.
He calls for the waters of the sea
to pour out on the earth.
The Lord is his name."
3rd Place, "Beauty of the Night Sky" Category
Photograph by Luc Perrot,
TWANA July 2010 panoramic picture of the
French island of Réunion captures the
Milky Way over Piton de la Fournaise, or "p
eak of the furnace," an active volcano. The small island lies in the Southern Hemisphere, in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar.
The shot includes the constellation known as the Southern Cross at upper right, as well as the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds hovering at the lower right. These "clouds" are actually dwarf satellite galaxies of the Milky Way.
"Besides technical experience and a good DSLR camera with a fast lens, the successful [landscape astrophotography] image is always made when you are in the right place at the right time, and planning for this needs some knowledge about astronomy and sky-gazing," TWAN's Tafreshi said.
"The best landscape astropictures come from those with high interest and practical experience in astronomy."
4th Place, "Against the Lights" Category
Photograph by Luc Perrot,
TWANEven the lights from small towns can block out views of the cosmos, as illustrated by a September 2010 panorama taken from the mountains on
France's island of Réunion. As Venus twinkles brightly, colorful village lights stain the fog over a valley. Even on clear nights, the glare from those lights may mean only the brightest stars and planets are visible from the villages.
Astronomers Without Borders' Simmons notes that he's seen a similar view from the
Mount Wilson Observatory, "a historic, once dark facility located above what is now the megalopolis of the Los Angeles area" in California. "The clouds don't usually keep the light entirely in check, but the sky does darken when the clouds are thick enough."
4th Place, "Beauty of the Night Sky" Category
Photograph by Xiaohua,
TWANSeen in April 2011, a gate in the Great Wall of
China "seems to echo the timelessness of the
Milky Way above," Astronomers Without Borders' Simmons said. Built and rebuilt between the 5th century B.C. and the 17th century A.D., the Great Wall is actually a vast network of structures designed to impede foreign invaders. Despite its legendary longevity, the world landmark represents a blink of an eye in cosmic time.
"The Milky Way stood above this spot, just as in this image, long before this historic gate was built, and it will remain long after the gate is gone," Simmons said.
Published May 17, 2011
5th Place, "Against the Lights" Category
Photograph by Ben Canales,
TWANLight from Portland,
Oregon—50 miles (80 kilometers) away—reflects off clouds in December 2010. Stars just manage to peak through the edges of the cloud cover.
Even when clouds aren't blocking the stars, "stray lights always brighten the sky to some extent," Astronomers Without Borders' Simmons said. "We can't control the weather, but we can keep our lights from shining upward, where it does us no good."
By honoring pictures of
light pollution, the contest organizers hope to inspire people "to reclaim the night sky and its beauties, not only as a laboratory for astronomers, but as an essential part of our nature," TWAN's Tafreshi added.
5th Place, "Beauty of the Night Sky" Category
Photograph by Grant Kaye,
TWANStars seem to spin around the celestial north pole in a December 2010 picture taken from the shores of
California's Mono Lake.
Surrounded by limestone towers, the mineral-rich waters are home to many species of "extreme" bacteria, which can survive in conditions hostile to most other life on Earth—such as high heat or high acidity.
God's best 2 U, Joy J
