Awards and Certificates
Newton-Ball – Distinguished Service Award & Certificate of Appreciation – Sid Sidhu
Over the past forty years Sid Sidhu has been at the core of the RASC Victoria Centre. He has held numerous leadership positions within the organization and is still the coordinator of the Telescope Loan Program. He was our Librarian, helped to build the VCO, coordinated many annual RASCals Star Parties and International Astronomy Days, as well as leading hundreds of outreach events.
Over the years he has given thousands of students a taste of his passion for astronomy with school programs. He is a mentor, a maker, an instigator, a facilitator, but most of all, our friend. He is the only person in the Centre’s history to be given the Newton-Ball Award twice. Thank you Sid for your generosity of time, spirit and energy.
- Observing Certificates
- Explore the Universe and Explore the Moon – Kirsten Pedersen, Marjie Welchframe
- Certificates of Appreciation
- Assisting members with observing certificates and field observers – Jill Sinkwich
- Fixing the VCO observing pad and so much more – Chris Purse
- Victoria Centre website – Joe Carr
- Awards of Excellence in AstroImaging and AstroSketching
- Selection Committee: Kirsten Pedersen, John McDonald, Dave Payne
- All 2024 photos and sketches by members
Top winner astro-photo – Brock Johnston for his 5-year collage/composite of Saturn images (Solar System).
The selection committee thought that getting just one planetary image of Saturn of this quality is difficult to get. Collectively, with five pictures put together in this composite, it showed a tremendous amount of work, dedication and great patience. The Saturn sequence also showed consistency and progression. Consistency of quality over time, but also progression in the skills and planetary imaging techniques of the imager over time. Not only does the picture tell a story abut Brock and the development of imaging skills, but the composite also conveys how planetary imaging can contribute to greater understanding of the nature of planets. A truly exceptional and outstanding piece of work.
Top winner astro-sketch – Randy Enkin, for his sketch of Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus and Arzachel, one of the great crater triplets.
The exceptional level of detail to the features of these craters and their shadows, combined with the use of different colours of pencil to bring out the contrasts, was outstanding.
Randy also had an excellent write-up about the sketch and noted a number of helpful comments for the viewer.
Honourable Mention Aurora – Aurora with Sidney in background by Renee and Zen Dedekind
As with comets, 2024 was an amazing year for the aurora here in Victoria. So many truly remarkable entries were submitted. The committee has highlighted this photo due to both its composition and colour. The vivid range of colours that were reflected off the water were exceptionally beautiful and the photograph had an excellent combination of both foreground and background.
Honourable Mention Comet – Comet 12P/PonsBrooks (Andromeda and Triangulum Galaxies) by Dan Posey
This image not only had incredible detail on the comet, but was combined with a difficult to obtain deep sky image. The framing and timing combination in this photo were fantastic. The committee thought that having M33 and M31 in the picture with comet made for a stunning combination. An incredibly beautiful image.
Honourable Mention Deep Sky Object – NGC 7822 Flaming Skull Nebula /Cosmic Question Mark Nebula by Zen Dedekind
![RASC Victoria Centre: 2024 Awards &emdash; NGC 7822 [wide field] - Flaming Skull / Cosmic Question Mark Nebula (Foraxx Palette)](https://rascvic.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3592296001-2.jpg)
The colours in this photo were outstanding. Not only were the colours vivid, but they facilitated an amazing depth and clarity in the image. There was a great deal of contrast, combined with a lot of detail and excellent intensity control. In addition to the beauty and excellence of the photo, Zen also provided an excellent write-up that explained not only how the picture was generated, but also information about the image to help the viewer understand what they were looking at.
Honourable Mention Eclipse – Diamond Ring Eclipse with prominences by Joe Carr
This image not only captured the classic diamond ring image beautifully, but also had a number of solar prominences, which showed extremely well. There was perfect timing involved to get this picture, just a split second before or after and shot would have been lost. The committee felt there was just so much beauty and information in this single frame.
Honourable Mention Moon – First Quarter Moon in colour by Mike Nash
Mike submitted a number of exceptional moon images in 2024 and there was some debate among committee members on which to highlight. Ultimately we landed on this image as there was a certain sharpness to the picture that just made it a gorgeous shot. It is an incredibly lovely picture and the colour made it exceptional.
