Just had to share this little bit of fame, sorry.

[strongmanmike]

Hope you guys don't mind but it's not everyday that we pretty picture takers actually get involved in real science and mix it with International professional astronomers and observatories, so when it happnes it is pretty cool :thumbsup:

That now notorious (infamous even :lol:) Deep Centaurus A shot I captured last year has shared centre stage with Hubble, ESO, ATNF etc at the International "Many Faces of Centaurus A" confernece in Sydney last week.

http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/many_faces_of_centaurus_a_conferenc e_sydney_2009

It's not much but all those long hours at the scope and trials and tribulations can pay off at times :) oh and I didn't take the photos either, the conference organiser did, the flash glare all but obscures the poster :doh:

Thanks for listening....and just humour me :P

Mike

[TrevorW]

Let me be the first to say well done, nice photo to

[alan meehan]

Shame about
the flash on the glass to long of a exposure ,but congratulations a job well done.
Alan

[jjjnettie]

Well done, congratulations and good on you.:D
I'd be feeling pretty chuffed about it too.
We're proud of you.:thumbsup:

[spacezebra]

Well done Mike

It is well deserved and what an achievement.

Cheers Petra d.

[mozzie]

well done mike well done
mozzie

[astroron]

Top Shelf stuff Mike:) well Done:thumbsup:

[Lester]

All the best Mike, get well soon.

ps top image.

[DavidU]

Well done ! Bask in it, all your hard work has a pay off. I know how hard it is to do. Congrats
Chewing through tissues still?

[h0ughy]

congratulations Big Fella - well done

[stephenb]

Well done Mike. Shout it from the rooftop, mate! :thumbsup:

[astronut]

Mike.......:thumbsup::thumbsup::thu mbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup :

[Screwdriverone]

Well Done Mike!

And to think, your 8th grade science teacher said you would never amount to anything...... :)

Pretty special moment, congratulations.

Cheers

Chris

[Phil]

Well done Mike great stuff great.
Phil

[Omaroo]

Well done Mike. :thumbsup:

Interesting to see Ron Ekers in reference to Centaurus A. When I was the ATNF in Narrabri year before last, I was talking to him about his work in this area. He was right in the middle of a data aquisition session on that very subject as I spoke to him. He had an image of C-A sticky taped to his office door - to show the scale of the capture area. The central core of the object appeared in the middle of the poster, about the size of a tennis ball. He was explaining that he was imaging the resto of the object in high detail - right to the outer edges of the door. That's a lot of area!

He's a good bloke too. I wanted to go and have a look at antenna 5, so he shut it down and went to lunch early. :)

[lacad01]

Nice work, congratulations :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

The map he was making that you are refering to is this one which has only just been released this week - it's amazing:

http://www.csiro.au/news/Centaurus-A.html

An image combining this enormous radio image and my deep optical image, to show scale, was prepared by CSIRO for the media release but they ended up running with the moon and dishes forground version in the end :sadeyes:

Incedible to think just how far reaching Cen A's infuence on intergalactic space actually is!

Mike

[strongmanmike]

Thanks for all the pats on the back guys...I feel like I am back in kindergarten, now I just need a gold star, or perhaps there's a teddy bear I get to take home for the night...? :P

Mike

[Omaroo]

'Mazing.... http://www.scienceimage.csiro.au/mediarelease/mr09-111.html

http://www.scienceimage.csiro.au/mediarelease/images/mr09-111/CSIRO%20stand%20alone%20picture.bmp

[h0ughy]

mmmm you in a teddy:scared:


oh not reading that right you want a teddy:rofl:

Mike you are an inspiration;):thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

This will do :D
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qNqCtwzkNfs/SdE3Zscj_OI/AAAAAAAAAL8/suK6fJEYQdA/s1600-h/mankini.jpg



I wouldn't be in that :eyepop:

[Paddy]

Congratulations Mike. Quite an honour and well deserved. As a strictly visual observer, I really appreciate the images that you and many others make so available. They are deeply inspiring and soothing to the spirit in a troubled world. And what better way to engage people at a conference than by reminding them of the beauty and majesty of their science.

[Quark]

Well done Mike and a most deserved honor.

It is a most excellent image and for an amateur to receive recognition from the professionals of his or her field is very special, an occasion to be savored.

Congratulations
Regards
Trevor

[strongmanmike]

Hey thanks Paddy, to have an image in such illustrious company is pretty much a dream.

I wish I had another scope to do visual with, the Starfire is a great scope to visually observe with but it and the mount are always in imaging mode, something with a larger aperture to use visually while I am imaging with the 6" would be great.



Thanks Trevor it's nothing in the scheme of things but it's enough to bring a chuffed smile to my face. It's nice to be able to produce something that is not "just" a pretty picture :thumbsup:

[Jen]

:thumbsup::thumbsup: Well done Mike :thumbsup::thumbsup:
You have well and truly deserved the bragging rights from all those hours you put in, and you have produced some awsome pics :thumbsup:
Its people like you that make us newbies sooo wanna take astro pics :D

;)

[strongmanmike]

Thanks Orion Slave Girl ;)

Actually, we nearly called our son Orion but my wife was hesitant and we settled with Riley, Riley is now nearly 17 and wants to be a pilot in the armed forces so thinks it would be cool to be known as the Hunter :thumbsup:

[Miaplacidus]

Magical image, the result of some pretty hard work, nonetheless, I'm sure. Well deserved. Congratulations.

[Paul Haese]

Hey congrats big fella, you are well honoured in this.:thumbsup:

I hope you did not take the shot with the flash, because if you did you should stick to taking pics through a scope mate.:P Cripes mate, what about just cracking up the ISO and using noiseware instead of that flash.:lol:

Sorry, I will just take your word on it that it is your image.

[Hagar]

Congratulations Mike, well earned, long hours but a beautiful image to boot. Please no more repros of this one. It is lovely as it is.

The thought of you in a Teddy, I'm on sick leave with that thought.:scared:

[strongmanmike]

Ah yes..the chairperson of the conference organising committee Dr Ilana Fearin took the photos for me as I wasn't at the conference. She apologised...but we can't go back a redo them now :doh:Ilana has spent the last several years taking the largest most detailed radio mosaic of Centaurus A (or any active galaxy) with the Australia Telescope National Facility array that shows that Cen A's influence covers an area of sky over 200X greater than the full moon http://www.scienceimage.csiro.au/mediarelease/mr09-111.html

.... but she cant take a good happy snap indoors :lol:

[Octane]

Congratulations, Mike. :D

I'm chuffed that two of my images made it to the CAS calendar; I can only imagine what it'd feel like having your images on display for /all/ to see. I hope I get there one day with my landscapes.

Can we look forward to more reprocesses of this gem? :P

Regards,
Humayun

[strongmanmike]

And to you, lemi guess..?..your Rho Antares shot perhaps..?




Actually I have created a Trojan that will continuously download slightly tweeked and cropped versions of my Deep Centaurus A shot and that is currently anable to be stopped by even the CIA's firewalls. You, Doug, Fred and Jase have just been sent emails :whistle:

[Octane]

Yeah! And this (http://members.optusnet.com.au/mrozycka/Magellan_Observatory/Magellan_Observatory_20071112_Alnit ak.html) one. :)

They look pretty horrible by today's standards. It's just a matter of finding time and the weather not conspiring against us all, before I can do some new stuff.

At this rate, I think my first light for the G-11 and ZSFD80 will be at IISAC 2009! :(

I'm awaiting your email. :P

Regards,
Humayun

[Ric]

Top stuff Mike and well done.

cheers

[strongmanmike]

Thanks for all the congrats guys, it's all nice to hear :thumbsup:

I will be getting the poster back soon so now I just have to barter with SWMBO over where it will hang in the house...?...I thinking on the back of the toilet door may get the nod..? :D (if it fits :doh:)

Mike