Astronomy Photographer of the Year
BBC Sky at Night Magazine proudly reveals the 2021 winners of the world’s biggest astrophotography competition
Every year, the Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards calls on astronomers around the world to submit the best images of the Universe they have taken over the previous year. In 2021, over 4,500 entries were submitted from over 75 countries, featuring everything from chance images that captured a meteor at the right time, to distant galaxies that took weeks of planning and capturing. The judges had a tough time deciding which of these spectacular images deserved the top prize of £10,000 but after hours of deliberation, their top picks for the 2021 competition can be revealed. You can see the winning images for yourself at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London from 18 September. Visit www.rmg.co.uk/astrophoto for details.
Overall winner and Our Sun winner
The Golden Ring
Shuchang Dong (China)
Location: Ali, Tibet, China. 21 June 2020
Equipment: Fujifilm XT-4 camera. Sun: 386mm f/10 lens, ISO 160, 1/2000-second exposure. Moving cloud: ND1000 filter, 386mm f/16 lens, ISO 160, 1-second exposure
Judges verdict: “Solar eclipses have been capturing the interest of humans across the world for thousands of years. This image demonstrates both the beauty and simplicity of an eclipse, but also the science behind this astronomical event. Our Sun can still be seen as a ring circling the Moon as it passes in front of the solar disc, and mountains on the lunar surface can be seen hiding some of this light on the lower right-hand portion of the image. This is a stunning achievement!” – Emily Drabek-Maunder
Aurorae
Polar Lights Dance
Dmitrii Rybalka (Russia)
Location: Approach to the Kara Strait, Russia. 30 November 2020
Equipment: Sony ILCE-7M3 camera, 28mm f/2.8 lens. ISO 100, 25-second exposure
Judges verdict: “How challenging it must have been to take this photo. The image is taken from the deck of a moving craft. How hard can it get! This is a great achievement and demonstrates fantastic opportunism.” – Alan Sparrow
Galaxies
The Milky Ring
Zhong Wu (China) Location: Sichuan and Qinghai, China; Lake Pukaki, New Zealand. January–February 2020 and August 2020–January 2021 Equipment: Nikon D810a camera, 40mm f/1.4 lens. ISO 8000, 1,000x 6-second exposures
Judges verdict: “This cosmic circle is one of the most breathtaking entries we saw this year. The balance of colours, from the glowing upper half of the ring to the darker, moodier bottom half, seems to encompass a whole range of majesty and beauty. The dedication of the photographer, who took almost two years to piece this picture together, must be applauded too.” – Imad Ahmed
Planets, Comets and Asteroids
A Colourful Quadrantid Meteor Frank Kuszaj (USA) Location: Cook Station, Missouri, USA. 19 January 2021 Equipment: Sony a7R III camera, Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer star tracker, 70mm f/2.8 lens. ISO 3200, 1-minute exposure
Judges verdict: “A stinging, searing, lightsaber-esque image as the Quadrantid meteor pierces the atmosphere, with the spectrum appearing to explode as it goes. There is a real perception of incredible speed captured in the image.”
– Jon Culshaw
Our Moon
Beyond the Limb
Nicolas Lefaudeux (France)
Location: Forges-les-Bains, Île-de-France, France. 19 June 2020
Equipment: Celestron C11 2,800mm telescope at f/10, iOptron iEQ30 mount, Basler acA2500-14gc camera. Occultation: 1x 2.5-millisecond exposures; Venus: 50x 2.5-millisecond exposures; Moon: 200x 15-millisecond exposures
Judges verdict: “I love how this image transports us. It almost appears as if we are standing on the surface of the Moon itself, looking into the rocky horizon. The dull surface of the Moon contrasts so well with the glowing planet. I enjoyed the inversion that this picture offers too – it is Venus that is the crescent here, and not the Moon.” – Imad Ahmed