We have a winner!
The Australian Gemini Office is thrilled to announce the results of the 2010 Gemini School Astronomy Contest. High school students from across Australia vied for the opportunity to have an astronomical target of their choice imaged by the Gemini Observatory.
The winning entries were chosen by a panel selected from the fields of professional astronomy, science education, journalism, and art. All of the entries demonstrated a great level of research and creative thinking. We congratulate each of the participants for their tremendous efforts.
First Prize:
- The Astronomy Club of the Sydney Girls High School, supervised by Jeff Stanger, who suggested taking a picture of the merger galaxy system, NGC 6872.
Runners-Up:
- Kieran Cerato and the Forest Lake College Astronomy Club, supervised by Ian Lightbody, who proposed imaging IC 5250, a pair of merging galaxies also known as "The Squirrel".
- Benjamin Graham, from Whitefriars College, supervised by Dr. Eddy De Jong, who suggested imaging Arp 256, another pair of galaxies in the process of merging.
By submitting the winning entry, the SGHS Astronomy Club will have their target observed by the Gemini South telescope sometime in the next few months, and the final picture will be put together by specialists from the Gemini Observatory.
In addition, all three of the winning groups will be able to participate in a Live From Gemini interactive videoconference, connecting the classrooms to scientists in the Gemini Observatory control room.
We will be updating the contest News page
and our
Facebook
group in the lead-up to the grand unveiling of the final image
later this year. So we hope you will check back here for more
information as the process moves forward. 
Congratulations to the SGHS Astronomy Club, the runners-up, and the other students who submitted such terrific entries into this year's contest.
For details of the 2010 Contest, please look here. The 2009 Contest information can be found here.
Australian Gemini Office, ausgo -@- aao.gov.au
The Australian Gemini Office (AusGO) is operated by the
Australian Astronomical Observatory (