The Milky Way has long fascinated mankind, covering the night sky with its familiar constellations and dense streams of stars. The full beauty of our galaxy is difficult to see with the naked eye, but with the help of modern cameras, photographers can capture it in vivid detail.
The annual Milky Way Photographer of the Year the competition showcases inspiring images that reveal the majesty of our heavenly home. Here, we explore our breathtaking galaxy through the lens of this year’s winners.
“Lightning Lake” — Tom Ray
The bright band of the Milky Way divides the sky as it touches the summit of Aoraki / Mt Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain. Tom Ray travels through a glacial valley to capture the glowing sky against the blue-blue lake and icy terrain on a winter night.
“Lion’s Den” – Lorenzo Ranieri Tenti
Lorenzo Ranieri Tenti made this fascinating image of the multicolored hues of the Milky Way in the night sky. This image was taken at a mountain lion preserve in Chile’s Atacama Desert—home to several astronomical telescopes, including the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory, as well as pumas (Puma concolor).
“Atmospheric Fireworks” — Julien Lottin
As if captured in the center of a balloon, this panoramic image captures the entire arc of the Milky Way along with a stunning aurora that illuminates the night sky in southwestern France.
Julien Lottin take and merge panoramic photos at 40 different exposures to capture the multicolored bands. “This natural phenomenon occurs due to a chemical reaction in the upper atmosphere emitting a faint light known as chemiluminescence,” Looten said in statement.
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“Flowering bottle tree” — Rositsa Dimitrova
This stunning photo captures the Milky Way over a flowering bottle tree (Adenium socotranum) — a tree endemic to the island of Socotra in Yemen.
Rositsa Dimitrova took advantage of the complete lack of light pollution on the island to capture this spectacular photo. “The night sky in Socotra is categorized as a Bortle 1 on the dark sky scale – the darkest you can get,” Dimitrova said in the statement.
“The vanity of life” – Mikhail Minkov
In the Jordanian desert of Wadi Rum, also known as the Valley of the Moon, Michal Minkov capture a solitary figure in an unearthly landscape. Above, the glittering stars of the Milky Way shine.
Hoodoo Star Wonderland – Stephanie Tee
Photographed over Kanab, Utah, the Milky Way covers the sky above a picturesque landscape of balanced rock formations known as hoodoos. These fly agaric formations are formed over millions of years of erosion.
“Starlight Therapy” — Cavan Chai
In this stunning photo, the Milky Way curves gracefully over some campers on the rocky Aoraki Mountain / Mt Cook. Cavan Chai made the climb to camp under the ethereal glow of the night sky, a scene he described as “breathtaking” in the statement.
Road to Winter Paradise – Andrea Kurzi
Over the high Passo Giau mountain pass in Italy, the luminous band of the Milky Way shines down on the untouched, snow-covered land. Andrea Kurzi captured this roughly 300-degree field of view of the galaxy while temperatures were a cool 17 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8 degrees Celsius).
“Heavenly Symphony Over a High Desert Lagoon” – Carrie-Anne Leckie Hepburn
In this image, taken about 15,000 feet (4,500 meters) above sea level, a tranquil lagoon glows beneath a tapestry of Milky Way stars in the Atacama Desert. Carrie-Anne Leckie Hepburn noticed that during the day the sun’s rays reflected off the pool of water and replicated this using a flashlight to capture the magical scene at night.
“Milky Way in the Morning Glory Pool” – Jerry Jahn
In this image, dense stars are reflected from the famous Morning Glory Hot Spring in Yellowstone National Park. The pool reflects the constellations Scorpio and Antares.
The hot spring was named for its resemblance to a colorful flower. But its famous crystal blue waters have turned bright green due to pollution, Zhang said in the statement.
To see the full list of winners, check out the official Milky Way Photographer of the Year website.
