Look at the stars... The images will brighten your day
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, has announced the winners of this year’s ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. These pictures of the Milky Way, Moon and beyond are otherworldly… in every sense
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Electric Threads of the Lightning Spaghetti Nebula: This full-spectrum image of the Spaghetti nebula unveils the faint and elusive nature of this supernova remnant, hidden behind a vast cloud of dust that obstructs its emission light. Image Courtesy: Shaoyu Zhang
Taking a Final Bow: Comet 12P/Pons−Brooks reacted visibly to the intensified solar winds associated with the current solar maximum, creating a spectacle of tail dynamics and colourful hues expelled by its nuclear coma. Image Courtesy: Dan Bartlett
The Ridge: The photograph captures the twin glacial rivers with the Milky Way core off to the left of the image, as well as the famous Southern Cross and other pointers high in the centre sky. Image Courtesy: Tom Rae
Moonrise Perfection over the Dolomites: With no clouds in sight and in flawless conditions, the golden light of sunset bathes the Italian mountains, creating harmony between the Earth and sky. Image Courtesy: Fabian Dalpiaz
Rotation: This image combines stars appearing to rotate around Polaris with the Ferris wheel at Mirage Land in Uozu, Japan, which operates at night only a few times a year. Image Courtesy: Takanobu Kurosaki
Orion: A filter helps capture the Horsehead nebula – a dense dark cloud of gases hiding the light coming from the emission nebula IC 434. The photograph taken in Bergamo, Italy, also shows the Flame and Orion nebulae. Image Courtesy: Daniele Borsari
Veil of Stars: This image showcases the iconic NGC 6960, also known as the Veil nebula. Image Courtesy: Zixiong Jin
Instant and Eternal: During a routine time-lapse observation of the solar chromosphere, which is a layer of the sun’s atmosphere above the visible surface, Zhang Yanguang captures a serendipitous moment frozen in time. Image Courtesy: Zhang Yanguang
Andromeda Core: This image showcases the core of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) in exceptional detail, captured using a long focal-length telescope. Image Courtesy: Weitang Liang, Qi Yang and Chuhong Yu
Celestial Arch: This image shows an intense aurora, forming an immense arc that spans more than 180 degrees. The gigantic and perfect green neon sign illuminates the entire sky in Iceland last December. Image Courtesy: Luis Vilariño