Celestial Fish And Chips And A Solar Cataclysm Shortlisted For...

Celestial Fish And Chips And A Solar Cataclysm Shortlisted For Astronomy Photographer Of The Year

From glittering star trails to reimagining solar data, this year’s shortlist is outstanding.

The Milky Way arcs over Lulworth Cove, where just a short walk from the water’s edge, there’s a fish and chip shop, boathouse, and a little boat that sit quietly at night. — Galactic Catch: Salt and Vinegar With Your Cosmos?
Image credit: © Paul Joels

It must be hard being a judge for ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year. The competition, organized by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, is in its 17th year, and it continues to deliver truly breathtaking cosmic art no matter the subject: electrifying aurorae, incredible juxtapositions of buildings or natural objects with the dark sky, and so many different views of the celestial events that took place over the last 12 months.

This work consists of two mosaics, each panel exposed for 75 hours, capturing numerous popular targets. It highlights the Rosette Nebula and Christmas Tree Nebula, both symbols of beauty. The image supports multiple viewing angles, offering fresh experiences with clockwise, anticlockwise and vertical flips.

A Rainbow Mosaic of the Rosette and the Christmas Tree Nebulae.

Image credit: © Shaoyu Zhang

There were two in particular that couldn’t not feature in this year's shortlist – just a handful of the over 5,500 entries that were submitted from 69 countries around the world. One was the total solar eclipse, crossing from Mexico to Canada, a spectacle experienced by over 200 million people, and it definitely had several astrophotographers there in person.

Taken on the evening of 12 October 2024 at Pu'u O Kaimuki Park, Ran Shen joined many residents and astrophotographers in Honolulu, Hawaii, to witness the passage of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), one of the most anticipated astronomical events of the year.

Comet Over Waikiki.

Image credit: © Ran Shen

There was also Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), which became visible to the naked eye during late summer and early autumn. It flew close to the Sun, ending up being bright and active – exactly what astrophotographers would want from a comet.

the Sun experienced a massive solar prominence eruption, with a length exceeding 500,000 km

500,000-km Solar Prominence Eruption.

Image credit: © PengFei Chou

If this were not enough, the Sun has been going through the solar maximum, the peak of activity during its 11-year-long cycle. It is captured beautifully in one of the shortlisted photos, where a solar prominence stretches for 500,000 kilometers (310,000 miles). Now that drives home just how powerful the Sun can be.

This 22-megapixel panorama shows the different stages of the full solar eclipse, with a high dynamic range (HDR) image of totality in the middle.

Total Solar Eclipse.

Image credit: © Louis Egan

For each of the nine main categories and two special prizes, there are three awardees: a winner, a runner-up, and a highly commended prize. And there will be an overall winner who will take home a £10,000 prize (around $13,500). This year, The Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation has become The Annie Maunder Open Category. The entrants can be more artistic and creative when it comes to showcasing what is possible with astronomy images.

The data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observer (SDO) probe was used here to show the Sun’s inner corona in a way that hints at a process that is similar to that which energises colourful neon lights on Earth. Images taken by the SDO in the ultraviolet spectrum (at 171, 193 and 304 nm) were re-mapped to a more vibrant palette, with the same coronal data turned ‘inside out’ to surround the Sun, creating the illusion of it being enclosed in a neon tube.

Neon Sun.

A solitary dragon tree stands tall in the heart of Socotra’s Dragon Blood Tree forest – an otherworldly landscape unlike anywhere else on Earth. The final image is composed of 300 individual exposures.

Dragon Tree Trails.

The winners of the competition will be announced on Thursday, September 11, and the winning photographs will be available to see in an exhibition in London as well as in a special book.