Two excellent ambassadors for astronomy have been awarded a prestigious Swedish award for their accomplishments in astrophotography. Carolyn Porco, planetary scientist at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, and Babak Tafreshi, Iranian science journalist, photographer and IYA enthusiast, were awarded the 2009 Lennart Nilsson Award for Medical, Technical and Scientific Photography, named after the renowned Swedish medical photographer.
Iranian science journalist and photographer Babak Tafreshi leads The World At Night (TWAN), currently an IYA Special Project, that has produced an amazing exhibition of astronomical images and videos taken in recognisable places, like world heritage sites or national parks. The exhibition has been shown all over the world in the context of IYA.
Carolyn Porco is a well-known figure in astronomy for the amazing work she leads on the imagery from the Cassini spacecraft and her accomplisments in planetary science. She’s an excellent speaker (see here her talk at the 2009 edition of TED) and inspires both professional and amateur astronomers with her work. She’s been a consultant in several sci-fi films, including this year’s excellent Star Trek. According to Wikipedia she’s also a massive Beatles fan and in 2007 sent Paul McCartney a poster of Cassini images. Respect!
I wonder if Bob Dylan may be interested in a copy of my (ground-breaking) exposure time calculator for his next birthday…?
Porco is only the third woman to receive the Lennart Nilsson Award in its 11-year existence, and the 2009 edition also marks the 3rd time astronomers have received the award.
Congrats to both of them and thanks for the the science and the pictures!
Image: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
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