Just for fun: Capture the Universe 2010

The results are in for the Celestron Capture the Universe astrophotography competition. Out of about a hundred submissions (all using Celestron optics), three winners were chosen. Here's the grand prize winner:

Comet 103P/Hartley 2 passes by the Double Cluster

Image is a stack of 100 x 2 minute exposures @ ISO1600 taken on 10/8/10 by zAmboni.

And the People's choice award:

Here is Jupiter from just prior to this year's opposition. Shown is the most famous of cyclonic storms on the planet -- the Great Red Spot. Every few years, however, the smaller "oval BA", otherwise known as "red spot, jr." passes nearby, as captured in this image. A faint trail of yellow (hot) material is seen preceding the storms. Keen eyed observers will also note a third cyclonic storm in Jupiter's northern hemisphere.

Taken 30 August 2010 by waynej.

You can see the rest of the images here.

Hat tip: Bad Astronomy.