ASTRONOMY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
With the world’s premier astrophotography competition celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, BBC Sky at Night Magazine reveals the winning images of 2018
The winning entries for every category of the 2018 competition, as well as the overall winner.
This year is a milestone for IIAPY, as it marks a decade since the astro imaging competition began. In that time it has grown from strength to strength and in 2018 the competition welcomed 4,284 entries from 911 photographers around the world, and the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year category received 186 entries; over twice as many as the previous record. This year’s exhibition is being held for the first time at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich where the 31 top images of 2018 are on display alongside 69 of the best entries from the competition’s first decade.
OVERALL WINNER Category: People and Space
Transport the Soul Brad Goldpaint (US) Moab, Utah, US, 20 May 2017 Equipment: Nikon D810 DSLR camera, 14mm f/4 lens Exposure: ISO 2500, 20”
Category: Planets, Comets and Asteroids
The Grace of Venus Martin Lewis (UK), St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK, 15 March 2017
Equipment: ZWO ASI174MM camera, home-made 444mm (17.5-inch) Dobsonian, home-made equatorial tracking platform, Astronomik 807nm IR filter, f/28 lens
Exposure: 5.3”
Category: Our Moon
Inverted Colours of the Boundary Between Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquillitatis Jordi Delpeix Borrell (Spain), L’Ametlla del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain, 6 December 2017 Equipment: ZWO ASI224MC camera, Celestron EdgeHD 14 Schmidt-Cassegrain, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro mount, 4,200mm f/12 lens Exposure: Multiple 20ms
Category: Aurorae
Speeding on the Aurora Lane Nicolas Lefaudeux (France), Sirkka, Finland, 30 March 2017 Equipment: Sony ILCE-7S2 camera, 20mm f/1.4 lens Exposure: ISO 2000, 3.2”
Category: Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer
Galaxy Curtain Call Performance Tianhong Li (China), Ming’antu, China, 23 September 2017 Equipment: Nikon D810A DSLR camera, 35mm f/2 lens Exposure: (Sky) ISO 1250, 16x60”; (ground) ISO 640, 4x120”
Category: Robotic Scope
Two Comets with the Pleiades Damian Peach (UK), Remote Astronomical Society Observatory, Mayhill, New Mexico, US, 19 September 2017
Equipment: SBIG STL11000M CCD camera, Takahashi FSQ-106 ED refractor, Paramount ME mount, 530mm f/5 lens Exposure: LRGB, 30’ each
Category: Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
Great Autumn Morning Fabian Dalpiaz (aged 15, Italy), Alpe di Siusi, Dolomites, South Tyrol, Italy, 16 October 2017 Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark III DSLR camera, 50mm panorama f/2 lens Exposure: ISO 6400, 8”
Category: Galaxies
NGC 3521, Mysterious Galaxy Steven Mohr (Australia), Carapooee, Victoria, Australia, 13 February 2018
Equipment: SBIG STXL-11000 CCD camera, PlaneWave CDK 12.5-inch astrograph, Astro-Physics 900GTO mount, Baader 2,541mm f/8 lens
Exposure: 33x20’ luminance, 12x20’ Ha, 450x12-18” RGB
Category: Our Sun
Sun King, Little King and God of War Nicolas Lefaudeux (France), Unity, Oregon, US, 21 August 2017 Equipment: Nikon D810 DSLR camera, Nikkor 105mm f/1.4 AF-S ED lens Exposure: ISO 64, multiple exposures: 0.3”, 0.6”, 1.3”
Category: Stars and Nebulae
Corona Australis Dust Complex Mario Cogo (Italy), Tivoli Southern Sky Guest Farm, Namibia, 18 August 2017
Equipment: Canon EOS 6D cooling CDS modified DSLR camera, Takahashi FSQ-106 ED refractor, Astro-Physics 1200GTO mount, 530mm f/5 lens
Exposure: ISO 1600, 6h Category: Skyscapes Circumpolar Ferenc Szémár (Hungary), Galyatetö, Hungary, 17 February 2018 Equipment: Sony SLT-A99V DSLR camera, Minolta 80-200 135mm f/2.8 lens Exposure: ISO 640, 50x300”