The First Pound of Bacon

by Andreas Gada

At Starfest 98 we announced the "Starfest Bring Home the Bacon" Award. The purpose of this award is to support amateur-professional collaboration by encouraging Canadian amateurs to undertake observational projects that could lead to the discovery of new astronomical objects, such as asteroids, comets, novae, etc. The award, in keeping with the informal nature of the North York Astronomical Association, and the Canadian persona, consists of a cash prize of 500 loonies, a pound of Canadian back bacon, and a toque.

On March 24, 1999, Bob Sandness, one of our members, received confirmation from the IAU Central Bureau that he had been credited with the discovery of a new asteroid with a designation of 1999EK05. This was the fifth asteroid discovered by Bob. Since then Bob has discovered three more, 1999FJ10, 1999GP03, and 1999GG04. Congratulations Bob, you are the first recipient of the Starfest Bring Home the Bacon Award.

To encourage other Canadian amateurs to participate in one of the more challenging aspects of the hobby, we will continue to offer the Starfest Bring Home the Bacon Award. We will have a special plaque made to honour the recipients of the Award.