RASC—Eyes on the Universe for 150 Years
Imagining the Skies RASC 150 Contest Winners Announced!
The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) is pleased to announce the winners of Imagining the Skies, the astrophotography, sketching & creative arts contest celebrating the RASC’s 150th year. Its goal was to encourage amateur astronomers—and any citizens captivated by accessible otherworldly vistas—to share what they have created from their direct experience of celestial phenomena. The contest was one of the major programs of RASC 150, and the project leads were Lauri Roche, and Jim Hesser.
Imagining the Skies was open to novice, intermediate, and experienced astrophotographers, astrosketchers, and those working in other creative media. The RASC was gratified by the number, variety, and quality of the entries. We are beholden to all the artists who submitted their work, the audience at large who participated by voting for their favourite pieces, and the expert panel of judges. Without them, Imagining the Skies would never have happened.
Winning submissions were selected in two ways, by popular vote through the website, or by our panel of three experienced judges. The judges were Kathleen Houston, a professional artist and long-time sketcher of astronomical phenomena, Dr. Robin Kingsburgh, a trained astrophysicist, professional artist, and university lecturer, and Murray Paulson, a very experienced planetary observer and astrophotographer.
Winners by Public Vote
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The winners chosen by public vote are Ryan Fraser (London ON) in the category Astrophotography–Experienced, for “Andromeda M31”, Stephan Hamel (Hanwell NB) in the category Astrophotography–Intermediate, for “The Moon shows us its Real Colours”, Josephine Christensen (Edmonton AB) in the category Astrophotography–Novice, for “Eye of the Beholder”, Eileen McGann (Vancouver Island BC) in the category Creative Works–Experienced, for “Randy’s Moon in Uclulet”, Trinley Dorje (Toronto ON) in the category Creative Works–Intermediate, for “We are Stardust 1.0”, and the Vikisnath Family Group (Artash, Arushi, Rati, and Vikas, Toronto ON) in the category Creative Works–Novice, for “Trappist-1 Pinball Light and Sound Model: Singing to Survive”.
Winners by Panel
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Those chosen by the panel of judges are Kathy Walker (Kentville NS) in the category Astrophotography–Experienced, for “M13, The Great Hercules Cluster”, Nic Annau (Victoria BC) in the category Astrophotography–Intermediate, for "Waterfalls", Adrian Aberdeen (Toronto ON) in the category Astrophotography–Novice, for "M24 Sagittarius Star Cloud”, Dr. Janet H. Tulloch (Ottawa ON) in the category Creative Works–Experienced, for “Twilight of the Gods”, Trinley Dorje (Toronto ON) in the category Creative Works–Intermediate, for “Stellar Jewels”, and Jason Worobec (Saskatoon SK) in the category Creative Works–Novice, for “A Cool, Cool Full Moon”.
Silvia Graca (Winnipeg MB) won the Special Award for Sketching for “In the Neighbourhood”. W. John MacDonald (Victoria BC) received an Honourable Mention in the Experienced category, for “Sketching at the 25”, Tim Yaworski (Saskatoon, SK) received an Honourable Mention in the Intermediate category, for “Lunar Eclipse over Borden Bridge”, Samer Hobeika (Montreal QC) received an Honourable Mention in the Novice category, for “Had to stop there for a photo”, and Emile Cormier (Moncton NB) received an Honourable Mention in the Sketching category, for “M13 Hercules Cluster Sketch”.
We congratulate all the winners!
For 150 years the RASC has been encouraging and enabling people to engage in the direct experience of celestial phenomena, in the belief that science can enrich our lives. Imagining the Skies continues the legacy of science inspiring art.
The winning submissions along with the other entries can be viewed at https://imaginingtheskies.ca/.