SkyNews Editors' Choice

Photo of the Week Contest Winners Archive

All photos submitted to the Photo of the Week, including those not selected as that week's image, are automatically entered into the Photo of the Week Contest. Enter your favourite astrophotographs to be eligible to win a prize in this year's contest. Here are the winners from previous years:

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(2009-10) WINNERS | Photo of the Week contest 8
(2008-09) WINNERS | Photo of the Week contest 7
(2007-08) WINNERS | Photo of the Week contest 6
(2006-07) WINNERS | Photo of the Week contest 5
(2005-06) WINNERS | Photo of the Week contest 4
(2004-05) WINNERS | Photo of the Week contest 3
(2003-04) WINNERS | Photo of the Week contest 2
(2002-03) WINNERS | Photo of the Week contest 1

PHOTO OF THE WEEK CONTEST 8 (2009-2010)

For our eighth annual photo contest, the SkyNews editors judged these 4 celestial portraits as our top choices.

BEST DEEP-SKY DIGITAL, HIGH RESOLUTION | The Soul Nebula by Eric Roy
Prize: Celestron NexStar 8 SE telescope
Equipment used: Takahashi FSQ 106mm apochromatic refractor with an SBIG STL-11000 CCD camera.

BEST DIGITAL CAMERA PHOTO/LUNAR AND PLANETARY | Daniel Borcard
Prize: Complete Sky-Watcher Black Diamond 80 OTA package
with aluminum case
Equipment used: Imaging Source DMK 31AF03.AS CCD camera on a Celestron 9.25-inch Schmidt- Cassegrain.

BEST TRIPOD-MOUNTED
UNGUIDED PHOTO | Bill McMullen
Prize: TheSky6 Professional advanced astronomy software
Equipment used: Sigma 17- 70mm lens at 17mm on a Canon Digital Rebel XT SLR camera.

BEST DEEP-SKY WITH DIGITAL SLR 7 OR WEBCAM-TYPE IMAGER | Gary Colwell
Prize: Meade Deep Sky Imager DSI Pro II (colour or monochrome, winner’s choice)
Equipment used: William Optics 110mm f/7.7 apochromatic refractor and an Orion StarShoot AutoGuider to gather fifteen 10-minute exposures with a filter-modified Canon XSi digital SLR camera at ISO 800

PHOTO OF THE WEEK CONTEST 7 (2008-09)

For our seventh annual photo contest, the SkyNews editors judged these 4 celestial portraits as our top choices.

BEST DEEP-SKY DIGITAL, HIGH RESOLUTION | The Whirlpool by Jean Guimond
Prize: Celestron NexStar 8 SE telescope
Equipment used: Takahashi 150mm apochromatic refractor at f/7.3 with an SBIG STL-11,000M CCD camera.

BEST DIGITAL CAMERA PHOTO/LUNAR AND PLANETARY | Brian Colville
Prize: Complete Sky-Watcher Black Diamond 80 OTA package
with aluminum case
Equipment used: William Optics 66mm apochromatic refractor with a Lumenera Infinity2-1M camera and a Lunt LS50Ha/B1200 Hydrogen-alpha filter.

BEST TRIPOD-MOUNTED
UNGUIDED PHOTO | Starry Vista by Patrick Smith
Prize: TheSky6 Professional advanced astronomy software
Equipment used: 15mm superwideangle lens on a Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR camera at f2.8 for this 30-second exposure.

BEST DEEP-SKY WITH DIGITAL SLR 7 OR WEBCAM-TYPE IMAGER | Cocoon Nebula by Mark Viol
Prize: TheSky6 Professional advanced astronomy software
Equipment used: Celestron 11- inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with a Canon 350D at ISO 1600.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK CONTEST 6 (2007-08)

For our sixth annual photo contest, the SkyNews editors judged these 4 celestial portraits as our top choices.

BEST DEEP-SKY DIGITAL, HIGH RESOLUTION | NGC1396 by Jean Guimond
Prize: Celestron NexStar 8 SE telescope
Equipment used: Takahashi 150mm apochromatic telescope at f/5.7, 9-hour LRGB exposure with an SBIG STK-11000M CCD camera.

BEST DIGITAL-CAMERA PHOTO—Lunar and Planetary | The Moon by Martin Bernier
Prize: Pentax 8x42 HRc multi-coated binoculars with case
Equipment used: SBIG ST-2000XM CCD camera, Hydrogen-alpha filter, Celstron 9.25-inch SCT, Celestron 0.63 focal reducer.

BEST DEEP-SKY WITH DIGITAL SLR OR WEBCAM-TYPE IMAGER | Comet Holmes by Steve Irvine
Prize: Meade Deep Sky Imager with AutoStar Suite
Equipment used: Sky-Watcher HEQ-5 equatorial mount, 200mm lens at f/4, Canon 350D digital camera.

BEST TRIPOD-MOUNTED PHOTO | The Northern Lights by Zoltan Kenwell
Prize: The Sky6 Professional Advanced Astronomy Software
Equipment used: Canon EOS 1D Mark III digital camera.

For our fifth annual photo contest, our panel of SkyNews editors was once again faced with hundreds of worthy entries. Eventually, these four images emerged as the winners of each category. (Click on the photos to see a larger image)

BEST DEEP-SKY DIGITAL, HIGH RESOLUTION | NGC6992 by Marc Paradis
Prize: Celestron NexStar 8 SE telescope
Equipment used: 100mm f/6.4 TMB apochromatic refractor, ST-2000XM CCD camera.

BEST DIGITAL-CAMERA PHOTO—Lunar and Planetary | Full Moon by Adam Evans
Prize: Pentax 8x42 HRII multi-coated binoculars with case
Equipment used: 8=-nch Celestron XLT, Canon Rebel XT digital camera.

BEST DEEP-SKY DIGITAL, WIDE-FIELD AND MEDIUM-RESOLUTION IMAGERY | The Pleiades by Peter Roth
Prize: Meade Deep Sky Imager with AutoStar Suite
Equipment used: Takahashi f/2.8 astrograph reflector, Canon Digital Rebel XT, HEQ5 Pro equatorial mount.

BEST TRIPOD-MOUNTED PHOTO | April 19, 2007 Conjunction of the Moon and Venus by Steve Irvine
Prize: The Sky6 Professional Advanced Astronomy Software
Equipment used: Canon Digital Rebel XT, 18-55 lens (set to 30mm), ISO 200, 4-seconds.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK CONTEST 4 (2005-06)

After receiving a record number of entries, our panel of SkyNews editors had a difficult task narrowing the selection down to these winning shots. Congratulations to our four grand prize winners! (Click on the photos to see a larger image)

BEST TELESCOPIC GUIDED PHOTO—CCD | IC1805 by Pierre Tremblay
Prize: Celestron CPC 800 GOTO telescope
Equipment used: 90mm Takahashi refractor at f/4 and a Starlight Xpress SXV-H9 CCD camera.

BEST DIGITAL-CAMERA PHOTO—Lunar and Planetary | Mars by Rolf Meier
Prize: Pentax 8x42 HRII multi-coated binoculars with case
Equipment used: October 22, 2005, 14-inch Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain, Phillips ToUcam webcam.

BEST TRIPOD-MOUNTED PHOTO | September 26, 2005 conjunction by Jay Ouellet
Prize: The Sky6 Professional Advanced Astronomy Software
Equipment used: Canon 20D digital camera, 2-second exposure with a 135mm lens at f2.8

BEST Digital SLR Photo | Milky Way Galaxy by John Gunning
Prize: Meade Deep Sky Imager with AutoStar Suite
Equipment used: Canon 20Da DSLR at ISO 800 with a Nikon 28mm lens at f2.8. Two-frame mosiac (12-minute guided exposures).

From the hundreds of entries received, these images were selected by our panel of SkyNews editors as the winner in each of the three categories. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all those who made our third contest a success! (Click on the photos to see a larger image)

BEST TELESCOPIC GUIDED PHOTO | The Horsehead Nebula by Remi Lacasse
Prize: Celestron Advanced Series C-8 SCT GOTO telescope
Equipment used: RC Optical 12.5" Ritchey-Chretien telescope; Paramount ME mount;
SBIG ST-10XME CCD camera with SBIG AO-7 adaptive optics; Processing with MaxIm DL, Registar, Photoshop and Neat Image; 4.5 hours (LRGB)

BEST DIGITAL-CAMERA PHOTO | Jupiter by Mike Wirths
Prize: Pentax 8x42 HRII multi-coated binoculars with case
Equipment used: March 10, 2004; 18" Starmaster f4.3 Newtonian reflector;
Philips ToUcam webcam

BEST TRIPOD-MOUNTED PHOTO | Orion Rising by Shaun Lowe
Prize: The Sky6 Professional Advanced Astronomy Software
Equipment used: Nikon D7028mm lens at f3.5I; SO 200; 30 second exposure

PHOTO OF THE WEEK CONTEST 2 (2003-04)

Out of the hundreds of entries from our readers, our panel of SkyNews editors has selected 10 outstanding images. Congratulations to our three grand prize winners! (Click on the photos to see a larger image)

BEST TELESCOPIC GUIDED PHOTO | The Horsehead and Flame Nebulas by Bob Olson
Prize: Celestron 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain GOTO Telescope
Equipment used: Starlight Xpress MX916 CCD camera, Tele Vue 76 apochromatic refractor. Composite of 81 separate 4-minute LRGB images for a total exposure time of 5.4 hours.

BEST DIGITAL-CAMERA PHOTO | Jupiter, February 26/27, 2004 by Darryl Archer
Prize: Nikon Coolpix 4500 Digital Camera
Equipment used: Celestron 14" SCT at f/28 and a Phillips webcam with an IR filter.
2000 frames for each image were accumulated, with the best 100 for each selected and processed with K3CCD Tools, Registax and Photoshop.

BEST TRIPOD-MOUNTED UNGUIDED PHOTO | Star Trails by Shaun Lowe
Prize: Pentax 20mm XW Eyepiece
Equipment used: Pentax K1000 35mm camera and a 28mm lens at f3.5; Exposure time of 10 minutes.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK CONTEST 1 (2002-03)

Congratulations to Mark Golub of Winnipeg, Manitoba, the grand prize winner of the SkyNews Editors' Choice Photo of the Week contest. Mark will receive a Nikon Coolpix 4500 digital camera, courtesy of Nikon.

Mark's winning photo, seen below, was selected by the SkyNews editors from the more than 500 images that were received from our readers. (Click on the photos to see a larger image)

GRAND PRIZE WINNER | The Northern Lights by Mark Golub
Equipment used: Tripod mounted 35mm SLR camera, 50mm lens, Fuji 400, 30 second exposure, Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba.
Prize: Nikon Coolpix 4500 digital camera

HONOURABLE MENTIONS go to Steve Barnes, Jean Guimond and Leslie Marczi, all of whom will receive three-year extensions to their SkyNews subscriptions.

The Dumbell Nebula (M27) by Steve Barnes
Equipment used: Combination of CCD images taken with a 4" Tele Vue refractor and a 12" Meade Schmidt-Cassegrain.

The Veil Nebula by Jean Guimond
Equipment used: CCD image taken with a 4" Tele Vue refractor, ST-10 camera and a Hutech light-pollution filter.

The Moon's Straight Wall (lower left) and the crater Ptolemaeus (top centre) by Leslie Marczi
Equipment used: Nikon 995 digital camera, attached afocally to a 24mm eyepiece and a Meade 10" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope.