Amateur Astronomer Awarded National Medal for Exoplanet Discoveries

Chris Stockdale, an amateur astronomer based in Churchill, Victoria, has been awarded the 2026 Berenice and Arthur Page Medal by the Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA). The national award recognizes his contributions to confirming the existence of exoplanets—planets orbiting stars beyond our solar system—through ground-based observations.

Stockdale has contributed to over 100 scientific papers and helped confirm approximately 100 exoplanets.

Award and Recognition

The Berenice and Arthur Page Medal is presented by the Astronomical Society of Australia. According to Tanya Hill, an ASA representative and resident astronomer at Melbourne's Scienceworks, the award highlights the work amateur astronomers contribute to modern space science.

Hill stated that factors in the award decision included Stockdale's co-authorship of a paper published in the journal Nature and endorsements from professional astronomers who have collaborated with him.

Background and Methodology

Stockdale's interest in astronomy began in the 1960s, influenced by the Apollo program and comet observations. He now operates a fully automated telescope system from a backyard observatory in Churchill.

His setup includes a 320-millimeter telescope on a precision tracking system. His method involves monitoring specific patches of sky to detect minute, periodic dips in a star's brightness, typically between 0.5% and 1%. These dips can indicate a planet passing in front of, or transiting, its host star from Earth's perspective.

Stockdale's role involves verifying candidate exoplanets identified by space-based surveys, including NASA-linked projects. He analyzes data plots known as light curves to distinguish genuine planetary transits from other phenomena, such as eclipsing binary stars. This analysis process for a single candidate can require 8 to 10 hours of work.

Contributions and Collaboration

Stockdale participates in global collaborations to confirm potential planets. His contributions have led to co-authorship on more than 100 scientific papers and have helped verify approximately 100 exoplanets.

In statements regarding the award, Chris Stockdale said receiving the medal made him "incredibly proud and honoured" and that he was "over the moon."

"There's many people involved in actually doing the discovery and I'm sort of one of the cogs in the wheel."

Tanya Hill echoed the importance of this collaboration, stating the award is "a way for professional astronomers to really celebrate and highlight the incredible work that's being done by amateur astronomers."