The wonder and awe of the sky, stars, and galaxies are beautifully captured in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. This prestigious competition, now in its 16th year, attracts amateur and professional photographers from around the world who compete for a £10,000 grand prize. This year, the contest received over 3,500 entries from photographers representing 58 countries, making it the largest astrophotography competition globally.
The winners of the 2024 contest were recently announced in an online ceremony hosted by the Royal Observatory Greenwich. The competition featured multiple categories, including images of the sun, moon, galaxies, auroras, planets, comets, asteroids, people in space, stars, nebulas, and skyscapes. Special awards were also given to recognize astrophotography newcomers, young photographers, and image innovation, which involves merging open-source data with space-related images.
The overall winner of the competition was Ryan Imperio, whose image from the “our sun” category depicted Baily’s beads during the 2023 annular solar eclipse. Tom Williams also stood out, winning in two separate categories: “people and space” and “planets, comets, and asteroids.”
The stunning winning photographs are a testament to the otherworldly beauty of space. From distorted shadows of the moon’s surface captured by Ryan Imperio during the annular solar eclipse to Larryn Rae’s mesmerizing image of the Queenstown Aurora in New Zealand, each photograph showcases the unique and captivating aspects of our universe.
Gábor Balázs’s close-up shot of the moon’s Sinus Iridum and Tom Williams’s images of the International Space Station transiting in front of the sun and Venus approaching a conjunction with Earth and the sun are also breathtaking.
Other winning images include a shot of galaxy NGC 5128 (Centaurus A), the Dolphin Head Nebula (SH2-308), the California Nebula (NGC 1499), and a visualization of Earth’s global atmospheric conditions by Sergio DÃaz Ruiz. Each image tells a compelling story of the wonders of space and the beauty of our planet.
The exhibition featuring the winning photographs, along with a selection of shortlisted images, is currently on display at the National Maritime Museum in the United Kingdom. These images serve as a reminder of the vastness and beauty of the cosmos, inspiring awe and curiosity in all who view them.
