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First Prize/Winner of the Public Vote: Josh Lake, Star-Forming Region NGC 1763
Credit: Josh Lake/NASA & ESA
Josh Lake (USA) submitted a stunning image of NGC 1763, part of the N11 star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud. ESA/Hubble had previously published an image of an area just adjacent to this (heic1011), based on observations by the same team. Josh took a different approach, producing a bold two-colour image which contrasts the light from glowing hydrogen and nitrogen. The image is not in natural colours — hydrogen and nitrogen produce almost indistinguishable shades of red light that our eyes would struggle to tell apart — but Josh’s processing separates them out into blue and red, dramatically highlighting the structure of the region. As well as narrowly topping the jury’s vote, Josh Lake also won the public vote.
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Second Prize: Andre van der Hoeven, Spiral Galaxy Messier 77
Credit: Andre van der Hoeven/NASA & ESA
Andre van der Hoeven (Netherlands) came a close second in the jury vote. His image of the spiral galaxy Messier 77 is highly attractive, and is also an impressive piece of image processing, combining a number of datasets from separate instruments into one amazing picture. Andre entered several other noteworthy images into the competition, including a huge image of Messier 106, combining data from Hubble and other telescopes. His image of NGC 6537, a star-forming region, greatly impressed the jury too.
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Third Prize: Judy Schmidt, Star XZ Tauri
Credit: Judy Schmidt/NASA & ESA
Judy Schmidt (USA) also entered several highly accomplished images into the competition. Her picture of XZ Tauri, a newborn star spraying out gas into its surroundings and lighting up a nearby cloud of dust, was the jury’s favourite. This was a challenging dataset to process, as Hubble only captured two colours in this area. Nevertheless, the end result is an attractive image, and an unusual object that we would never have found without her help. Judy’s other images also impressed our panel, in particular her images of Herbig–Haro object HH 909A and elliptical galaxy PGC 6240.
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Fourth Prize: Renaud Houdinet, Nebula Chamaeleon I
Credit: Renaud Houdinet/NASA & ESA
Renaud Houdinet (France) submitted a hugely ambitious mosaic of Hubble images. Chamaeleon I is a large nebula near the south celestial pole, and it does not fit into a single Hubble image. Renaud painstakingly tiled the exposures together. Despite the small gaps between the Hubble images, the jury was impressed by the technical achievement of putting together this ambitious vista.
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Hidden Treasures Image Contest Top Ten
Credit: NASA & ESA
This image shows the top ten images entered into the Hubble's Hidden Treasures image processing competition: Top row: NGC 1763 by Josh Lake, M 77 by Andre van der Hoeven, XZ Tauri by Judy Schmidt, Chamaeleon I by Renaud Houdinet, M 96 by Robert Gendler.Bottom row: SNR 0519-69 by Claude Cornen, PK 111-2.1 by Josh Barrington, NGC 1501 by kyokugaisha1, Abell 68 by Nick Rose, IC 10 by Nikolaus Sulzenauer.
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Hubble's Hidden Treasures Basic Competition Top Ten Images
Credit: NASA & ESA
This image shows the top ten images entered into the Hubble's Hidden Treasures basic competition: Top row: NGC 6300 by Brian Campbell, V* PV Cephei by Alexey Romashin, IRAS 14568-6304 by Luca Limatola, NGC 1579 by Kathlyn Smith, B 1608+656 by Adam Kill. Bottom row: NGC 4490 by Kathy van Pelt, NGC 6153 by Ralf Schoofs, NGC 6153 by Matej Novak, NGC 7814 by Gavrila Alexandru, NGC 7026 by Linda Morgan-O’Connor.
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Fifth Prize: Robert Gendler, Spiral Galaxy Messier 96
Credit: Robert Gendler/NASA & ESA
Robert Gendler (USA) is a well known figure in the amateur image processing world. His version of Hubble’s image of NGC 3190 is the default desktop image on new Apple computers. Robert submitted a number of excellent images into the competition. This image of Messier 96 was the jury’s favourite.
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Sixth Prize: Claude Cornen, SNR 0519-69
Credit: Claude Cornen
Claude Cornen produced this image of supernova remnant SNR 0519-69.
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Seventh Prize: Josh Barrington, PK111-2.1
Credit: Josh Barrington/NASA & ESA
Josh Barrington produced this image of planetary nebula PK111-2.1.
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Eighth prize: "kyokugaisha1," NGC 1501
Credit: kyokugaisha1 (via Flickr)/NASA & ESA
A contestant known only as "kyokugaisha1" on Flickr produced this image of planetary nebula NGC 1501.
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Ninth Prize: Nick Rose, Abell 68
Credit: Nick Rose/NASA & ESA
Nick Rose produced this image of lensing cluster Abell 68.
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Tenth Prize: Nikolaus Sulzenauer, Dwarf Galaxy IC 10
Credit: Nikolaus Sulzenauer/NASA & ESA
Nikolaus Sulzenauer produced this image of dwarf galaxy IC 10
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First Prize, Basic Image Searching Category: Brian Campbell, NGC 6300
Credit: NASA & ESA
There were 1619 entries in the basic competition. This allowed the public to search and find amazing Hubble pictures even if they didn’t have the skills to fully process these themselves. Brian Campbell located this image of NGC 6300.
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Second Prize, Basic Category: Alexey Romashin, V* PV Cephei
Credit: NASA & ESA
Alexey Romashin located this image of V* PV Cephei, a variable star of Orion type.
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Third Prize, Basic Category: Luca Limatola, IRAS 14568-6304
Credit: NASA & ESA
Luca Limatola located this image of IRAS 14568-6304
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Fourth Prize, Basic Category: Kathlyn Smith, NGC 1579
Credit: NASA & ESA
Kathlyn Smith located this image of reflection nebula NGC 1579.
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Fifth Prize, Basic Category: Adam Kill, B 1608+656
Credit: NASA & ESA
Adam Kill located this Hubble image of B 1608+656.
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Sixth Prize (Tie), Basic Category: Kathy van Pelt, NGC 4490
Credit: NASA & ESA
Kathy van Pelt located this Hubble image of galaxy NGC 4490.
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Sixth Prize (Tie), Basic Category: Ralf Schoofs, NGC 4217
Credit: NASA & ESA
Ralf Schoofs located this Hubble image of edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 4217.
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Eighth Prize, Basic Category: Matej Novak, NGC 6153
Credit: NASA & ESA
Matej Novak located this Hubble image of NGC 6153.
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Ninth Prize, Basic Category: Gavrila Alexandru, NGC 7814
Credit: NASA & ESA
Gavrila Alexandru located this Hubble image of NGC 7814.
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Tenth Prize, Basic Category: Linda Morgan-O’Connor, NGC 7026
Credit: NASA & ESA
Linda Morgan-O’Connor NGC 7026
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Public Vote Winner, Basic Category: Budeanu Cosmin Mirel, NGC 4100
Credit: NASA & ESA
Budeanu Cosmin Mirel located this Hubble image of NGC 4100.
