This year the Observer of the Year Award goes to Mike Noble—awarded posthumously, Mike having passed away in October. His passing was a shock to us all, if for no other reason than he was still posting Observing reports on Astro in August:
August 12 4:43 am
Hi Folks,
It’s now 4:40am and the NLC RA is now 345 to 040 and the altitude has grown to 10 degrees. The western half of this display has gotten brighter and is quite obvious to the naked eye. There is some dim NLC in the eastern side up to 15 degree altitude, but is a lot dimmer than the western end of this morning’s 37th NLC this season.
Michael Noble
He posted his first NLC observation on June 1st:
NLC #1 June 1, 3:45 am
Hi Folks,
It’s now 3:41 and tonight’s NLC display’s RA is now 320 to 100 and the highest point in altitude is 25 degrees. This an excellent display to start the 2022 season. I will probably go to 3:55 before I finish tonight’s capture of this display.
Michael Noble
Thirty seven sightings and recordings in 73 nights: you do the math.
Mike had previously been awarded Observer of the Year in 2015.
It is my honour to recognize his dedication and skill one last time with this year’s Observer of the Year Award for 2022. Accepting on behalf of Mike’s family is Alister Ling.