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The "Astrophotographic Competition 2000", organised by the Hong Kong Space Musuem, is satisfactory concluded with a prize presentation ceremony held today (March 17) at the Museum. And the Unveiling Ceremony of the Exhibit of Asteroid (3297) Hong Kong was also held at the same time. An exhibition to feature all the winning entries of the "Astrophotographic Competition 2000" is now opened for the public at the Foyer of the Museum till May 14, 2001

Speaking at the prize presentation ceremony, the Advisor of the Space Museum and one of the adjudicators of the competition, Mr Joseph H C Liu, noted that entries for this year were of such a high standard. He was particularly amazed at the perseverance of entrants in taking such marvellous astronomical pictures by applying only ordinary appliances and under not the best conditions of taking the pictures.

The competition was launched in last October to promote a wider interest in photography of celestial objects and astronomical observations among the general public in Hong Kong. The competition is divided into two categories, namely Student and Open Categories. The Open Categories is sub-divided into four groups, including Star Field Group, Deep-sky Objects Group, Solar System Objects Group and Astrophotographic Project Group. A total of 146 entries were received and 30 winning entries were selected after adjudication.

The First Prize of the Student Category is"M42 Orion Nebula"by Pang Sheung-ho from Shatin Tsung Tsin Secondary School, and the Second and the Third Prizes are "Colours of Winter Skies" and "Colours of Summer Milky Way", both by Chiu Kam-ying from St. Francis' Canossian College. The winning entries of the Merit Prize of this category are "Eta Carina Over Hong Kong's Horizon" by Chiu Kam-ying from St. Francis' Canossian College, "Terminator of Last Quarter Moon" and "Jupiter and Saturn in Taurus" by Debby Shum from S.K.H. St. Benedict's School.

The First Prize of the Open Category Star Field Group is "Centre of Orion"by Chan Yat-ping and the Second Prize is "Autumn Milky Way" by Yim Yin-ling whereas the Third Prize is "Keyhole and Bat Nebulae Across the Milky Way" by Chung Kwok-yan. The winning entries of the Merit Prize are "Changes in Trails of Leonid Meteor Shower" by Lau Kai-ip, "Centre of Milky Way" by Chan Yat-ping and "Jewellery of the Southern Milky Way" by Chung Kwok-yan.

The First Prize of the Open Category Deep-sky Objects Group is "Palette of the Sky" by Yim Yin-ling and the Second Prize is "M42" by Chan Yat-ping whereas the Third Prize is "Eta Carina Nebula" by Chung Kwok-yan. The winning entries of the Merit Prize are "A Meteor Streaked Across the Horse Head Nebula"by Yim Yin-ling, "California Nebula (NGC1499)" by Wong Hoi-yan and "Large Magellanic Cloud" by Chung Kwok-yan.

The First and the Second Prizes of the Open Category Solar System Objects Group are "Vapour Trail of Leonids '98" and "Vapour Trail of Leonids '98", both by Pang Huey whereas the Third Prize is "Transit of Jovian Satellite" by Lau Kai-nang. The winning entries of the Merit Prize are "Saturn" by Ng Wai-kin, Tam Kam-fai and Tung Man-chi, "Hale-Bopp Comet" by Fong Ho-cheung and "Diamond Ring" by Tse Kin-shing.

The First Prize of the Astrophotographic Project Group is an animated film of the Jupiter's rotation and the process of transit of Jovian satellite from images of CCD camera and selection of better Jupiter's images for image analysis which is produced by a three-member group of Lau Kai-nang, Chu Wing-hung and Ng Wai-kin. The Second Prize is a composite totality picture produced by Tse Kin-shing and Albert Kong. The Third Prize is "Study of Libration, Perigee, Apogee and Orbital Eccentricity of the Moon" by Tang Yui-ching. The winning entries of the Merit Prize are "Emission Nebula" by Chung Kwok-yan and Chan Yat-ping, "Aurora Australis" by Chung Kwok-yan and "Deep Sky Photographic Parameters" by Fong Ho-cheung.

The asteroid (3297) Hong Kong was found by the Purple Mountain Observatory on November 26, 1978. At the time of discovery, the asteroid was in constellation Taurus, and was estimated to be 247 million kilometers from the Earth. The Purple Mountain Observatory named it as "Hong Kong" and a certificate has been presented to the Hong Kong Special Administration Region Government by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The photos and the certificate of the asteroid (3297) Hong Kong are now permanently displayed in the Exhibition Hall of the Space Museum, along with information and pictures of the asteroid (6743) Liu which was named after Mr. Joseph H.C. Liu, the founder and the first Chief Curator of the Hong Kong Space Museum.

The Space Museum is located at 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. It opens from 1 pm to 9 pm on Mondays, Wednesday to Friday and 10 am to 9 pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays and closes on Tuesdays. The admission fee of the Exhibition Halls is $10 and half-price concession is applicable to full-time students, people with disabilities and senior citizens.

For enquiries, please call 2721 0226 or visit the Museum's website at http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Space for further information.

End/Saturday, March 17, 2001

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