Page Medal Honors Remarkable Discoveries
Amateur astronomers from Gippsland, Coffs Harbour, and Brisbane have achieved groundbreaking discoveries. They identified over 100 distant planets and unveiled a puzzling ring around Quaoar, a dwarf planet on the solar system’s edge. These achievements earned them the esteemed Page Medal, recognizing their significant contributions to astronomy.
Chris Stockdale from Gippsland discovered an ‘ultra-hot Neptune’, four ‘super Jupiters’, and several potentially Earth-like planets. These celestial bodies orbit distant stars, and Chris’s work advances our understanding of the universe. NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has identified nearly 8,000 potential exoplanets since 2018, costing nearly $AUD 500 million. Chris uses this data to validate potential planets with his telescope, enabling the $AUD 20 billion James Webb Space Telescope to search for Earth-like atmospheres.
From his Hazelwood backyard dome, Chris detects a slight light drop when planets pass between Earth and their stars. This usually results in a tiny one per cent brightness decrease in stars hundreds of light years away. Validating these observations is crucial for further investigation by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Chris collaborates with the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescopes for planet hunting. His setup, worth about $100,000, operates automatically at night, collecting data for Chris to analyse using his IT skills.
Challenging Theories with a Ring Beyond the Roche Limit
Jonathan Bradshaw, Renato Langersek, and John Broughton made history as the first amateur astronomers to discover a planetary ring. This gigantic ring, situated 4,000 km above Quaoar, challenges existing theories about planetary rings and their proximity to host planets. Jonathan explained that when Quaoar passed in front of a distant star in 2021, the star blinked before and after, indicating a ring’s presence. This finding defies the Roche Limit, which predicts where rings can form around planets.
Jonathan and Renato received the 2026 Page Medal for their groundbreaking work. John Broughton, a previous Page Medal recipient in 2008, is celebrated for discovering over 500 asteroids and two comets, alongside his extensive research on near-Earth objects.
The Page Medals were presented at the National Australian Convention of Amateur Astronomers dinner on April 4th in Tamworth. This event highlighted the invaluable contributions of amateur astronomers and underscored the potential of dedicated individuals to enhance our understanding of the cosmos.
Last updated: 7 April 2026, 12:34 pm
