Each year, the Royal Observatory Greenwich looks at pictures of space for its Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. The 16th presentation of the competition did not disappoint. From distant swirling galaxies to the glittering auroras of our own planet, this year’s competition entrants showcase all that the heavens have to offer.
If you’re in the London area, you can see the selected photos in person at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. But if you haven’t, you can check out the selected finalists below.
“Cosmic Fireworks – The Geminid Meteor Shower”
The colorful starbursts are the Geminid meteor shower as seen from La Palma, one of the Canary Islands. The Milky Way also appears in the background.
“Milky Way Imitation”
The galaxy NGC 6744 is located 30 million light-years from Earth and resembles what our own galaxy would look like from that distance.
“Night with the Valkyries”
A beautiful combination of pink, yellow and green lights up the sky over Iceland’s Eystrahorn mountain during a geomagnetic storm in December 2024.
“Whale Sailing on the Sun”
This strikingly detailed image reveals the surface of the Sun. Toward the upper left quarter of the Sun, a plasma filament that looks a bit like a whale “swims” across the surface of the star.
“Abandoned house”
An abandoned home in Namibia’s Namib Desert with the Milky Way looming above it presents a stunning contrast. The shot reminds me a bit of the scenery in Courage the Cowardly Dog – anyone else?
“Grandfather’s Rocks”
These rock formations are located in the caldera in the Teide National Park in the Canary Islands. Behind the formations is the rainbow of the Milky Way.
“Arctic Dragon”
As the title suggests, the aurora over Iceland’s Arctic Henge looks like a bright green dragon.
“Auroral Touch the Milky Way’s Close Encounter”
The deep red colors of the Aurora Australis under the rainbow of the Milky Way as seen from Castle Hill in New Zealand.
“Cosmos in Reflection”
This incredible photo captures the reflection of light from various sources in the night sky, reflected in some of the 12,000 mirrors at a power plant in China.
“The Earth and Milky Way Galaxies Show”
Volcanic crater in Japan, the Milky Way above it.
“GUM 12 the Gum Nebula (Vela supernova remnant)”
This filamentous blue structure is part of the supernova Vela that exploded about 11,000 years ago.
“Hunter Moon and the ISS”
The full moon in October is also called the Hunter’s Moon. In the foreground of the natural satellite is the International Space Station (lower right).
“M81, a spiral galaxy with a grand design”
A galaxy 11.75 million light years away, located in the constellation Ursa Major.
“M100 (Galaxy Blowdryer) and Ceres”
The dwarf planet Ceres is seen here as four bright spots passing in front of the Blowdryer Galaxy (officially M100).
“The Cry of a Dying Star”
This eerie shot of a supernova glow takes its name from Edvard Munch’s The Scream; indeed, the stellar remains resemble a howling man.
“Foggy mountains”
Dust and gas structures of the Pelican Nebula as seen through a telescope in Hungary.
“Martian Dementors”
The Martian landscape as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The image abstracts the landscape to the point that the terrain looks like a piece of some menacing creature.
“Night Observations”
A stunning shot of the Isaac Newton Telescope in the Canary Islands, with the Cygnus region of the Milky Way visible in the upper right.
“Run to Karina”
This fascinating photo from Namibia features a stone sculpture of a man in mid-stride. The Carina Nebula, which the Webb Space Telescope imaged as one of its first science targets, is visible at upper right.
“Saturn with Six Moons”
Look at Saturn, the ringed planet, accompanied by six of its moons. To the left you can spot Rhea, Enceladus and Mimas as small spots. Dione is visible in the lower right, Titan in the upper right, and Tethys is about to disappear behind Saturn itself.
“Serpentine”
These are the remains of the pier at Snettisham Beach in Norfolk, under a long exposure of the stars in the night sky.
“Solar Ripple”
Shown here is a sunspot erupting on the surface of the Sun. Sunspots are darker areas on the Sun’s surface associated with the star’s magnetic field.
“The Blue Details of M45 The Pleiades”
The bright blue lights of the Pleiades as seen from Nerpio, Spain.
“Dance of Jupiter’s Moons”
Jupiter with its moons Io and Ganymede. Io is a fascinating research target for scientists, given its desolate and volcano-covered landscape.
“The Fire-Spitting Dragon”
Here is another aurora, reminiscent of a mythical flying snake. This photo is in black and white, an interesting approach to one of the most famous living natural phenomena on Earth.
“Galaxy Devourer”
This ominous shot spells doom for a galaxy (top left) threatened by CG4, a giant cloud of gas and dust in space.
“The Inner Dust Roads of M104 (The Sombrero Galaxy)”
This image, taken using a telescope at the El Sauce Observatory in Chile, shows the incredibly flat galaxy M104, or Sombrero, including the dust that permeates the object.
“The International Space Station by Day on the Moon”
Composite image showing the passage of the ISS across the surface of the Moon.
“The Himalayan Palette”
Iridescent rainbow of the sun’s corona as it appears in high stratus clouds over the Himalayan Mountains.
“Total Solar Eclipse”
Perhaps the obligatory image of a total solar eclipse. This one was captured in Australia in April 2023; the image is made from seven superimposed photos that capture different states of the eclipse.
