Vale Mike Berthon-Jones aka Placidus

[Rainmaker (Matt)]

Many here have enjoyed the fabulous contributions of Mike Berthon-Jones “Placidus” especially with regards to astroimaging.

Sadly Mike passed away on Sunday. Condolences to Trish and to all of Mike’s family and friends. Mike’s beautiful Astro images have inspired many as have his talks on the subject.

Rest among the stars Mike

[AdamJL]

Very sad news. His images were incredible.
Condolences indeed to his family and friends

[gary]

Sad to hear that Mike is no longer with us.

He made significant contributions in the development of intelligent
continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines for the management
of sleep apnea.

In so doing, would have helped millions of people worldwide who suffer from the condition.

Helped make ResMed an Australian international success story.

[Peter Ward]

Very sad news. A luminary in so many areas.

Seems rather sudden, would it be prying to ask about the cause of his passing?

P.S.
Thanks to those that PM'd me on this.... 'nuff said.

[Atmos (Colin)]

Really sad news, my condolences to the family. Mike has had an impact on many of us on here with his insightful observations and discussions over the years.

[Andy01 (Andy)]

Although we never met in the flesh, we shared a great many thoughts & discussions over FB & here on IIS over the past decade.
I loved his unique insights into Pareidolia, astrophotography, astrophysics & general farming commentary.
A brilliant mind, he even developed his own astro processing software.
Feel very sad for Trish & his family.

[Bart]

OMG! How very sad!

Sincere condolences to Trish and all the families.

[marc4darkskies (Marcus)]

Still coming to terms with Mike's passing. Very sad news indeed. He was one of a kind. I admired his intellect, technical skills and skillful astrophotography. I also enjoyed his quirkiness and paradolia. Enjoy wandering the cosmos Mike!

My wife Gail and I wish comfort and strength upon his lovely wife Trish, his family and close friends.

Marcus

[Paul Haese]

Wow, that is just awful. Such a shock. My condolences to Trish and family. Such a terrible time for them. Mike was an avid poster on FB and I had many interesting conversations with him over the years. He will be missed.

[alocky (Andrew lockwood)]

Mike was one of the most remarkable people I've ever met. It seemed there was no challenge he couldn't beat. His achievements as a respiratory medical specialist speak for themselves, but the engineer in him was as strong as the artist, and alongside the welding, electronic control systems and software, his house is dotted with paintings, sculptures and bronzes that showed he could excel at anything he wanted.
I had the privilege of Mike and Trish's hospitality at their island of tranquility during my travels around the country, and one of my fondest memories of Mike will be him clapping his hands and laughing with delight alongside my young girls as they watched a Pink Panther movie after one of his trademark gourmet meals.

I wish I'd told him then what an inspirational man he was. He showed that with a bit of passion, anything is possible.
Thanks to those in here who have gone to support Trish. She's another treasure.
regards,
Andrew Lockwood.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Ice in Space will miss you MBJ....

Mike

[AstroViking (Steve)]

I confess I'd never heard of Mike until now. Reading everyone's comments shows me what an all-round expert he was, and what a contribution he made during his time on this rock. Sadly, people like him seem to be fewer and fewer with each passing year.

I second the best wishes and condolences to his partner and family.

V

[croweater (Richard)]

Condolences to his wife and family. Really enjoyed M&T's comments on wbat they could see with their imagination in their amazing astrophotos. Didn't realize the other talents and expertise he had. He will be missed by many.
Richard

[Startrek (Martin)]

A sad loss to his family, friends and this Astro community
I always admired his images, they were brilliant
A great Astrophotographer
RIP

[astroron (Ron)]

Even though I am not an astroimager I read many of his posts.
RIP Mike, you will be surely missed.
Ron.

[SimmoW (SIMON)]

Sheesh, a horrid year. Yes Mike was a brilliant mind and so creative, my early pm’s with him are cherished and I truly hope his lovely wife Trish eventually recovers from all this.

Many folks can’t appreciate just how smart he was, to develop his own in-house full image processing package. And those images!

[Joshua Bunn (Joshua)]

This is very sad news, my thoughts are with Trish and their loved ones.


Regards
Joshua

[PRejto (Peter)]

I was fortunate enough to have met and spoken with Mike a few times some years ago at the NSW Astroimaging group meetings which he used to attend faithfully. He was a kind and gentle person of immense intelligence. His passing has made me feel more than a little depressed. I wish Trish and family all the best.

Peter

[alan meehan (Alan)]

Wow sad news truly a expert in many fields Reach fof the stars Mike R.I.P

[DJT (David)]

This is so very sad.

Mike was at the first ASNSW Astro imaging section meeting I attended. ( I think he was the chair?) It was always fascinating to hear about his own Astro journey and his observatory adventures or see him reminding people how to work the sliders on GoodLook when presenting their images.

MnT as a team through Placidus were brilliant, lots of encouraging comments as well of course as their own images. A beautiful collaboration.

And of course it also turns out that the mother-law-sleeps well because of the CPAC unit from Resmed she has at her bedside that he was so involved in during his career.

My thoughts go out to Trish and the family.

David