Contests and Awards

ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY

Awards will be given for the finest Photographs & CCD images in the following four categories:

I. WIDE FIELD: low-power wide field or piggy-back shots of starfields or celestial groupings in the night sky.

II. SOLAR SYSTEM: Higher power lunar, solar, or planetary shots, including comets, eclipses, ect.

III. DEEP-SKY: Moderate to high power pictures of deep-sky objects.

IV. NSP: Images taken at the present or any past Nebraska Star Party.

*** CONTEST RULES ***

1. ONLY registered Nebraska Star Party attendees may participate in the NSP Astrophotography Contest. TO ENTER, you must fill out an contest entry form available at the NSP registration table at Merritt Reservoir, or at the Valentine High School Auditorium on Friday morning, August 4th BEFORE 12:00noon. The entrant will need to have the entry at the auditorium by noon in a form ready for display (ie: properly mounted with only the entry number on the front of the mounting, and a full name, address, and picture details on the back). The entrant should indicate on the entry form which class they wish to be judged under. The entrant may put information about the image being judged (ie: what is shown, film, exposure time, equipment used, ect.) on or next to the picture, but may NOT put the name of the person who took the shot where it might be seen by the judges. Each entrant is responsible for picking up his/her entry by 5:00 p.m. Friday afternoon.

2. No picture which has won a NSP award in previous years may be entered in this year's contest. Judging will be done by votes from those NSP attendees who are present at the paper sessions in Valentine on Friday.

3. CCD images must be in quality print form (ie: no electronic images which require computers for display). 4. Winners will be announced later Friday afternoon August 4th at the Valentine High School auditorium during or just after the program presentations.

AMATEUR TELESCOPE MAKING CONTEST

*** CLASSES OF ENTRY ***

TECHNICAL INNOVATION: A new design or innovative variation on a standard telescope design. WORKMANSHIP: Overall quality of work or finishing in a home-brew project. USEFUL ACCESSORY: A new, innovative, or well built item for the amateur astronomer which is not a main telescope, ie; things like equipment holders, unique finder systems, drives, camera mounts, observing platforms, trailers, electronic systems, heated dew caps, and other useful devices.

*** RULES ***

ONLY registered Nebraska Star Party attendees may participate in the ATM Contest. TO ENTER, you must fill out an ATM contest entry form available at the NSP registration table. The entrant should indicate on the entry form roughly where on the observing field the entry is going to be located, such as: Upper Observing Field West, Upper Observing Field Central, Upper Observing Field East, or Lower Observing field (campground area). The entrant will be assigned an entry number and given a numbered entry flag which is to be placed in a high spot next to, or on the entered item so that it may be easily located by the judges. YOU *MUST* HAVE A FLAG PRESENT WITH YOUR ENTERED ITEM WHEN JUDGING BEGINS. Entry forms may be submitted at the registration desk or directly to one of the judges on the observing field before 6:30 p.m. CDT on Thursday, August 3rd.

No item which has won a NSP award in previous years may be entered in this year's contest. The decision of the judges is final.

JUDGING BEGINS ON THURSDAY AUGUST 3rd, AT 7:00 p.m. CDT on the main NSP observing fields, located around and to the south of the Snake Campground. All entries must be on the observing field near the locations listed on their entry forms by that time (in case of heavy rain, entries will need to be taken to the Valentine High School for judging after 10 a.m. Friday morning, August 4th). If possible, the entrant should be with the item to be judged during the judging to answer any questions the judges might have.

Winners may be notified Thursday evening if possible, but will be

Formally announced during the NSP programs on Friday, August 4th at the Valentine High School auditorium. Winners will be responsible for picking up their awards at that time. If possible, winners should try to bring their entries for display to the Valentine High School on Friday.

BIGGEST FISH AWARD

Deep Sky Observing Challenge

The Nebraska Star Party is once again offering several Deep Sky Challenges, divided into categories suited for your scope and level of observing experience. While each category has a few guidelines and rules specific to itself, all of the challenges share the following rules:

1. Only registered NSP attendees are eligible to receive an award for their efforts in any Deep Sky Challenge. Seems fair enough.

2. TO ENTER, you must pick up a Deep Sky Challenge packet at the registration table during normal registration hours. Don’t come looking for us when we are observing, or trying to sleep. We won’t have the forms with us anyway.

3. The Deep Sky Challenge is an individual observing contest. Please do not form groups to complete a Challenge.

4. The use of setting circles and or computer-aided drives to locate objects in the Challenge is not in keeping with the spirit of the competition and overall fairness. Those entries that are under question as to whether such devices were used will be disqualified. However, the use of such devices is allowed in verifying objects that have been found manually. You are on your honor here, folks.

5. Completed entry forms along with observing notes, must be turned in to an NSP staff person, no later than 12:00 PM Friday afternoon. The notes will be returned to you.

6. In the unlikely event of three or more nights deemed as unobservable, consideration will be given to lowering the expectations of the Challenge. You, have also now gained the right to badger, cajole and otherwise pester the clear-skies coordinator for the remainder of the event.

7. Certificates will be awarded to those who satisfactorily complete a Challenge. Questionable or illegible notes/entries will not be considered. If you are unable to be present Friday to receive a certificate, it will be mailed to you, along with your notes.