Astronomy Photographer of the Year Winners Reveal Our Stunning Universe – CNET
Astronomy Photographer of the Year Winners Reveal Our Stunning Universe - CNET
Andromeda, unexpected
The beauty and mysteries of the universe unfold through the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in the UK. Over 4,000 entries from 64 countries competed in categories dedicated to aurorae, galaxies and the interactions between people and space.
The top overall prize for Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023 went to Marcel Drechsler, Xavier Strottner and Yann Sainty for a knockout view of the Andromeda galaxy. What’s extraordinary is how the image reveals a massive plasma arc, seen as a blue blur, next to the galaxy. The arc is now under investigation by researchers. The image won not just for its beauty but also for its contribution to science.
As for the name of the arc? Meet the Strottner-Drechsler-Sainty Object 1 (SDSO-1).
![Interacting galaxy looks like two glowing blobs of fuzzy material against a star and galaxy-studded backdrop.](https://1worldsolutions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/scheme=https&host=www.cnet.com&path=-1695134845.jpg)
The Eyes Galaxy
The winning image of the 2023 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition beat out a lot of excellent contenders. An image of the Eyes Galaxy from Weitang Liang was the runner-up in the Galaxies category. “It is so small that it requires a large telescope to reveal all its details, not only the dust in the middle but also the tiny flares on the left and right,” the photographer said.
![Mountains along the bottom edge give way to blue cloudy sky and then starry space with fuzzy red tendrils of a sprite reaching down.](https://1worldsolutions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/scheme=https&host=www.cnet.com&path=-1695134846.jpg)
Grand cosmic fireworks
This unreal image from Angel An took top place in the Skyscapes category of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023 competition. The strange tendril-like formations are an example of an electrical discharge called a sprite, sometimes described as red lightning. “We really loved that the photographer doesn’t capture the whole structure, which extends far beyond the top of the frame. It creates an unsettling, alien image that can’t help but draw your eye,” said judge Ed Bloomer.
![Rainbow-colored stars tracks curve above the stone walls of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.](https://1worldsolutions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/scheme=https&host=www.cnet.com&path=-1695134846.jpg)
Celestial equator
Photographer Louis Leroux-Gere was the runner-up in the Skyscapes category with an image titled Celestial Equator Above First World War Trench Memorial. The streaks are star trails above the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in northern France.
![Close up view of part of the sun shows swirling orange bits and a question-mark-shaped filament.](https://1worldsolutions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/scheme=https&host=www.cnet.com&path=-1695134846.jpg)
A sun question
Photographer Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau named this image A Sun Question for a very good reason. A question-mark-shaped filament pops out from the orange surface of the sun. This image took top place in the Our Sun category of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023 competition.
![Inside-out view of the sun leaves a dark hole in the center that highlights eruptions in orangey-yellow.](https://1worldsolutions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/scheme=https&host=www.cnet.com&path=-1695134846.jpg)
Dark star
Photographer Peter Ward put a twist on the usual sun imagery with this runner-up in the Our Sun category. This “inside-out” view highlights eruptions around the sun.
![Curved gray chunk of the cratered moon looms in the foreground as Mars peeks out from the behind the curve.](https://1worldsolutions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/scheme=https&host=www.cnet.com&path=-1695134846.jpg)
Mars-set
That reddish planet peeking out from under the moon is Mars. Photographer Ethan Chappel captured this spectacular view of the moon and Mars in 2022. The image came out on top in the Our Moon category of the 2023 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.
![View of dark-gray moon craters throwing dramatic shadows.](https://1worldsolutions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/scheme=https&host=www.cnet.com&path=-1695134846.jpg)
Sundown on the terminator
The Plato Crater on the moon stars in Tom Willams’ runner-up photo in the Our Moon category. The long shadows make for a dramatic landscape.
![Long, waving spread of green light is an aurora against a backdrop of dark and stars.](https://1worldsolutions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/scheme=https&host=www.cnet.com&path=-1695134846.jpg)
Brush stroke
This abstract-looking swoosh of green took first place in the Aurorae category of the 2023 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. The green wave of light is an aurora. “We are accustomed to seeing aurora from an earthly perspective with mountains, trees and human-made structures framing the dancing lights. This photograph offers something different, showcasing the beauty of the aurora in isolation,” said judge Kathern Gazzard.
![Circle of green aurora light from the sky reflects in water below with a snowy mountain peak in the middle.](https://1worldsolutions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/scheme=https&host=www.cnet.com&path=-1695134847.jpg)
Circle of light
This gorgeous stunner of a photo comes from Andres Ettl. This is the runner-up in the Aurorae category. The shot came from February 2023 in Norway.
![Venus against black space. The planet is partially hidden, the rest look like a soft orange and white marble.](https://1worldsolutions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/scheme=https&host=www.cnet.com&path=-1695134847.jpg)
Suspended in a sunbeam
Venus looks like an orange and white marble is this stark image from Tom Williams, winner of the Planets, Comets and Asteroids category of the 2023 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. “Capturing these atmospheric details from the sunlit side of the planet when it is so far from Earth is a remarkable achievement,” said judge Laszlo Francsics.
![Soft gray water with a skeletonized shipwreck at an angle with bright star trails in the sky above.](https://1worldsolutions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/scheme=https&host=www.cnet.com&path=-1695134847.jpg)
Zeila
Space photography can also be about the interactions between humanity and the universe. The winner of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023 People and Space category is this poignant view of a stranded ship with star trails above. Photographer Vikas Chander named the image Zeila for the shipwreck that’s located along the coast of Namibia.
![Red, cloud-like nebula glows against a reddish and black backdrop of stars.](https://1worldsolutions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/scheme=https&host=www.cnet.com&path=-1695134847.jpg)
New class of galactic nebulae around the star YY Hya
A haunting red nebula stars in this view from photographer Marcel Drechsler, an astrophotographer who was also involved in the winning image of Andromeda. The stellar remnant seen here took top place in the Stars and Nebulae category of the 2023 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich. The image comes with the straightforward title New Class of Galactic Nebulae Around the Star YY Hya.
![Swirling colorful tendrils of dust and gas glow in colors of red, purple, pink, blue and yellow.](https://1worldsolutions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/scheme=https&host=www.cnet.com&path=-1695134847.jpg)
Blinded by the light
Groovy. This colorful view of dust and stars earned Aaron Wilhelm a special nod with the Sir Patrick Moore Prize for best newcomer in the 2023 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. The image shows part of Sh2-132, also known as the Lion Nebula.
![Colorful, brought cloud-like bursts of material swirled around a blueish central area as stars poke through.](https://1worldsolutions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/scheme=https&host=www.cnet.com&path=-1695134847.jpg)
The Running Chicken Nebula
Runwei Xu and Binyu Wang earned recognition in the Young category of the 2023 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition with this bright view of the Running Chicken Nebula. Also known as IC 2944, the nebula is located in the constellation Centaurus.
![Abstract top-down view of water in a round ripple against a black background.](https://1worldsolutions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/scheme=https&host=www.cnet.com&path=-1695134847.jpg)
Black echo
The Annie Maunder Prize for image innovation honors innovative astronomy photography. This image is a visualization of a sound from a black hole. John White used data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. The audio came from pressure waves that were manipulated to make the sound audible to humans. White passed the audio into a speaker with a water-filled petri dish attached. The image is the water reacting to the sound.