Every year, Greenwich’s Royal Observatory considers photos of the cosmos for its Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. The 16th rendition of the contention does not disappoint. From distant spinning galaxies to superb auroras connected our precise ain planet, the entrants successful this year’s contention amusement disconnected everything the heavens person to offer.
If you’re successful the London area, you tin spot the shortlisted photos successful idiosyncratic astatine the National Maritime Museum successful Greenwich. But if you’re not, you tin cheque retired the shortlisted finalists below.
“A Cosmic Firework the Geminid Meteor Shower”
The starbursts of colour are the Geminid meteor ablution arsenic seen from La Palma, 1 of the Canary Islands. The Milky Way besides appears successful the background.
“A Milky Way Mimic”
The postulation NGC 6744 sits 30 cardinal light-years from Earth, and resembles however our ain postulation would look from specified a distance.
“A Night with the Valkyries”
A beauteous operation of pinks, yellows, and greens illuminate the entity implicit Iceland’s Eystrahorn Mountain during a geomagnetic tempest successful December 2024.
“A Whale Sailing the Sun”
This strikingly elaborate representation reveals the Sun’s surface. Towards the apical near 4th of the Sun, a plasma filament that looks a spot similar a whale “swims” crossed the star’s surface.
“Abandoned House”
An abandoned location successful Namibia’s Namib Desert, with the Milky Way hanging supra it, presents a stunning contrast. The changeable reminds maine a spot of the landscapes successful Courage the Cowardly Dog—anyone else?
“Ancestral Rocks”
These stone formations are located successful a caldera successful the Canary Islands’ Teide National Park. Behind the formations is the arc of the Milky Way.
“Arctic Dragon”
Per the title, the aurora supra Iceland’s Arctic Henge resembles a agleam greenish dragon.
“Auroral Touch the Milky Way’s Close Encounter”
The heavy reds of the Aurora Australis beneath the arc of the Milky Way, arsenic seen from New Zealand’s Castle Hill.
“Cosmos successful Reflection”
This trippy changeable captures the reflection of airy from assorted sources crossed the nighttime sky, reflected successful immoderate of the 12,000 mirrors astatine a powerfulness presumption successful China.
“Earth and Milky Way Galaxy Show”
A volcanic crater successful Japan, the Milky Way supra it.
“GUM 12 the Gum Nebula (Vela Supernova Remnant)”
This filamentous bluish operation is simply a portion of the Vela supernova, which exploded astir 11,000 years ago.
“Hunter’s Moon and the ISS”
October’s afloat satellite is besides called a Hunter’s Moon. In the foreground of the earthy outer is the International Space Station (bottom right).
“M81, a Grand Design Spiral Galaxy”
A postulation 11.75 cardinal light-years away, sitting successful the constellation Ursa Major.
“M100 (The Blowdryer Galaxy) and Ceres”
The dwarf satellite Ceres is seen present arsenic 4 agleam spots, transiting successful beforehand of the Blowdryer Galaxy (formally M100).
“The Scream of a Dying Star”
This eerie changeable of a supernova afterglow gets its sanction from Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”; indeed, the stellar remnants lucifer a howling person.
“Misty Mountains”
The Pelican Nebula’s particulate and state structures, seen done a scope successful Hungary.
“Martian Dementors”
The Martian scenery arsenic seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The representation abstracts the scenery to the constituent that the terrain looks similar a chunk of immoderate menacing creature.
“Observations astatine Night”
A spellbinding changeable of the Isaac Newton Telescope successful the Canary Islands, with the Cygnus portion of the Milky Way disposable astatine apical right.
“Run to Carina”
This captivating photograph from Namibia features a chromatic sculpture of a idiosyncratic successful mid-stride.The Carina Nebula—which the Webb Space Telescope imaged arsenic 1 of its archetypal subject targets—is disposable apical right.
“Saturn with Six Moons”
Behold Saturn, the ringed planet, accompanied by six of its moons. To the left, you tin spot Rhea, Enceladus, and Mimas arsenic tiny specks. Dione is disposable astatine the bottommost right, Titan astatine the apical right, and Tethys is conscionable astir to vanish down Saturn itself.
“Serpentine”
These are the remains of a jetty connected Norfolk’s Snettisham Beach, nether a agelong vulnerability of the stars successful the nighttime sky.
“Solar Pulsation”
A sunspot is shown present erupting connected the aboveground of the Sun. Sunspots are darker regions connected the Sun’s aboveground associated with the star’s magnetic field.
“The Blue Details of M45 The Pleiades”
The luminous bluish lights of the Pleiades, arsenic seen from Nerpio, Spain.
“The Dance of Jupiter’s Moons”
Jupiter with its moons Io and Ganymede. Io is simply a compelling probe people for scientists, fixed its desolate and volcano-covered landscape.
“The Fire-Spitting Dragon”
Here’s different aurora reminiscent of a mythical flying serpent. This photograph is successful achromatic and white, an absorbing attack to 1 of the astir famously vibrant earthy phenomena connected Earth.
“The Galaxy Devourer”
This ominous changeable portends doom for a postulation (top left), threatened by CG4, a elephantine unreality of state and particulate successful space.
“The Inner Dust Lanes of M104 (The Sombrero Galaxy)”
This image, captured utilizing a scope astatine Chile’s El Sauce Observatory, shows the incredibly level M104, oregon Sombrero Galaxy, including the particulate that permeates the object.
“The International Space Station Daytime Moon Transit”
A composite representation showing the transit of the ISS crossed the look of the Moon.
“The Palette of the Himalayas”
An iridescent rainbow of the Sun’s corona arsenic it appears successful altostratus clouds supra the Himalayan mountains.
“Total Solar Eclipse”
An arguably obligatory representation of a full star eclipse. This 1 was captured successful Australia successful April 2023; the representation is made of 7 superimposed photos that seizure antithetic states of the eclipse.