2005 Irish Astronomy Astronomer of the Year

Well done martin!I'd swear you live on that gaelic pitch thats always in you aurora photos! :lol:
Congrats and it was well deserved!
Matthew C

I got a phone call from Conor last night at 4am who informed me of the news so i logged onto the IFAS site to see for myself. What can i say?....i am chuffed to bits

Congrats also to John, Conor and Dave Mc Donald for a very high number of votes and thanks to anyone who voted for me (i sound like a politican lol), maybe we should have an 'X-Factor' for astronomers lol.

For me this is just another example of why i love Astronomy. This hobby pays things back in bucket fulls and the rewards come in so many different guises from the dection of an elusive object in the 16" to an honor like this! Perhaps just as important as the poetic, peaceful experience of being under a dark sky invokes in me is the number of friends and contacts that i have made through these forums/meetings who have been in everyway motivating, encouraging and supportive of my observing and Astronomy in general so thank you all.

As i said before..i am chuffed to bits!

Clear skies!

Im going of at a bit of a tangent here but thanks to John Mc Connell who has been very supportive with regards my observing and for sharing his adventures with the big names over the years. Recently he recounted his emotions when he first seen Comet Bennet in the early morning hours many years ago which was a great story to hear. John has also kept me motivated for comet hunting during moments when i was getting lazy so thanks for those verbal pushes over the phone

Also thanks to Conor who has been by my side for approx the last 2 years of my 10 years of observing the sky. Conor is a good companion to have, he lets me be when i am searching for comets and thinks nothing of doing a 14 hour meteor watch with me on a long winter night and will always go to extreme measures just to see something special or get that crucial image. He also keeps me informed via mobile of what the Aurora charts are doing no matter were i am at so thanks for the company which makes those long nights go in faster.

Thanks to everyone in the IFAS for there help and support, i am eternally grateful! 2006 as certainly got of to a good start

I think thats everything..peww

Logging onto the boards at 4am? Why weren't you observing? :lol:

Personally speaking, its your dedication to the hobby that deserves this award. But not only that, your unselfish sharing of your escapades with us has generated enthusiasm amongst all of us - me included .

Thanks for being a super role model to all of us and congratulations for a well-deserved recognition. I'm really chuffed for you

Dave McD

Thanks Dave so much for those words. You have motivated me even more now lol

By the way..i voted for you!

May you get that Supernova!

Clear skies

And I voted for you :lol: It took no thinking about - it was a dead cert.

As for the Supernova search, I'll be posting up some more details hopefully over this weekend.

I have 10 galaxies in my 'master image' folder now and have re-imaged 5 of them so far (but no luck...). I'm hopeful we'll get the programme 'live' in the next couple of weeks so everyone who wants to can participate.

So, hopefully "we" will get the first SN discovery from Ireland in 2006 - now wouldn't *that* be an honour :!:

Cheers

Dave McD