Zwo astronomy photographer of the year
Royal Observatory Greenwich Has announced its winners Zwo astronomy photographer of the year Competition. This annual showcase highlights some of the world’s best space photography, with winners, runner-ups and highly praised images selected in ten categories.
This year’s overall winning image, Andromeda CoreChinese photographers were captured by Weitang Leiang, Qi Yan and Chuhong U. The winning photo is “focused on manifying the complex structure of the middle region of the Galaxy and its surrounding stellar population.” Additionally, competition organizers recognized NASA’s astronaut Don Petit for a time-risk image, which they captured from the international space station using a homemade ciderial star tracker.
We share images winning from each of the ten categories of competition on the following pages. To see the full collection of honored images, go on Competition website,
Winner: Milky Way
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Andromeda Corps by Vitang Liang, Qi Yang, Chuhong U (China)
Overall competition winner
Winner: Milky Way
This image shows the core of Andromeda Galaxy (M31) in exceptional detail, captured using a long focal-flame binoculars. Taking advantage of excellent viewing conditions in Nerpio, photographers focused on revealing the complex structure of the central region of the galaxy and its surroundings.
A Planewave Instruments CDK20 Telescope, Baader LRGB and Chroma H-Alpha Filter, Planewave Instruments L500 Mount, Moravian Instruments C3-61000 Pro Camera, 3,450 mm focal length, 500 mm F6.8, many 900-second R, G and B Exposures, taken with several 1,800.
Place: Astrocamp Observatory, Nerpio, Spain, 31 July, 2, 4–6, 14, 17, 20, 29, August and 1 September 2024
Andromeda Core © Vitang Leiang, Qi Yang, Chuhong You
Winners: planets, comets and asteroids
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Comat 12 P/Pons’ Brooks, who took a final bow by Dan Bartellet (USA)
Winners: planets, comets and asteroids
Comet 12p/Pons Kn Brux reacted visually to the acute solar winds attached to the current solar maximum, causing a spectacle of tail dynamics and colored hugs expelled by its atomic coma, bright clouds of gas around the center of the comet.
Hypestar V4 Lens with a C14edge HD SCT telescope, 10Micron gm 2000 hps mount, ZWO ASI2600mc Pro camera, 712 mm F2, 25 x 30-second
Place: June Lake, California, USA, 31 March 2024
Comet 12p/Pons Kn Brooks is taking a final bow © Dan Bartlett
Winner: Sir Patrick Moore Award for Best Newcomer
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Encounter in light years by Eurui Gong, Xizhen Ruan (China)
Winner: Sir Patrick Moore Award for Best Newcomer
This photo catchs a severe moment when a magnificent fireball from the Perseid meteor shower appears to graze the Andromeda Galaxy. This photo catchs a severe moment when a magnificent fireball from the Perseid meteor shower appears to graze the Andromeda Galaxy.
Originally, photographers planned to capture the close-up of only the M31 galaxy. The next morning recovering the camera, he discovered this amazing surprise.
Nikon Z 30 camera, 56 mm F1.7, ISO 800, taken with several 30-second exposure
Place: Zucheng City, Shandong, China, 12 August 2024
Prakash Encounter throughout the year
Winner: Our moon
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March
Winner: Our moon
This image catchs the occurrence of atmospheric refraction, where the moonlight passes through the dense layers of the Earth’s atmosphere near the horizon, bending in a similar manner to light rays through a prism. Additionally, the redness of the moon can be explained by a procedure known as a ralgh scatter (small particles in the atmosphere, the short wavelength of light, less wavelength, resulting in long -term wavelengths, red, more prominent by the name).
Nikon D7100 camera, 600 mm F6.3, ISO 100, taken with 1-second exposure
Place: Contrad Sant’Polito, Modica, Sicily, Italy, 7 April 2024
Refraction mark © Marcella Giulia Pace
Winner: Arora
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Crown of Light © Kavan Tea (New Zealand)
Winner: Arora
The image was taken during the G5 storm, the most extreme level of the geomagnetic storm in May. Reds was a level of intensity that was never experienced by the photographer.
A Nikon Z7 Astro-Modified camera, Sky-Vorture Star Adventurer Prof. 2i Mount, Nikkor Z 14-24 mm F2.8s, 16mm, Akash: F2.8, ISO 800, 5-second explosion; Agargings: F5.6, ISO 3,200, 30-Second Exposure
Place: Tumbaldown Bay, Little River, Banks Peninsula Community, New Zealand, 10 May 2024
Crown of light © Kavan Tea
Winner: Our Sun
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James Cinclair (USA) active area
Winner: Our Sun
Chromosphere is the most picturesque part of the sun. Made of hydrogen and helium plasma, it is manipulated by acute and complicated magnetic fields of the sun. The chromosphere of the sun does not change only day by day; It changes from another to another, which is why solar astronomers become obsessed with it.
Double-Stacked Atalon, Ltd Block Filter 3400 (34mm), Sky-Vocer EQ6R Pro Mount, Player One Astronomy Apollo-M Max Camera, 910 mm F28, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gains 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gains 310, Gain 310, Gains 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gain 310, Gains taken with a lunt 130 mm telescope with exposure exposure
Place: Cedar City, Utah, USA, 30 September 2024
The active area of the sun’s chromosphere © James Cinclair
Winners: People and Space
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ISS lunar flyb by Tom Williams (UK)
Winners: People and Space
This image makes the International Space Station a close pass of our Moon. The phenomenon was predicted to have a transit, but ended as a close flyb. However, the result is still dramatic, backlit by rising sun with the solar arrays of the station. In particular, white radiators can also be seen and illuminated from the earth instead of direct sunlight.
A Sky-Vorture 400p Goto Dobsnian Telescope, Player Astronomy Uranus-C (IMX585) camera, 300 mm F15.5, taken with 1.5-milesac exposure
Place: Turbridge, Wiltshire, England, 27 October 2024
ISS lunar flyb © Tom Williams
Winner: Skyscapes
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Ridge by Tom Rai (New Zealand)
Winner: Skyscapes
This is the largest Panorama Tom Rae captured at any time, with a complete resolution image with more than one billion pixels of 62 images. This photo catchs the twin glacical rivers with the Milky Way Core from the left side of the image, as well as high in the center sky to the famous southern cross and other points.
A Nikon Z6A and Z7 camera, Eoparon Skyguider Pro Mount, Sky: Nikon Z6A camera, 40mm f 1.8, ISO 1,600, 49 x 30-second exposure; Agargings: Nikon Z7 camera, 24 mm F10, ISO 125, 13 x 20-Second Exposure
Place: Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, McKenzie District, New Zealand, 8 April 2024
Ridge © Tom Rai
Winner: Stars and Nebula
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M13: An ultra-deep exposure of popular clusters by distant glitter;
Julian Zolar, John Beckman, Lucas Isrt, Wolfgang Hamel (All Germany)
Winner: Stars and Nebula
M13, or Great Hercules Cluster, is one of the most prominent and well -studied spherical clusters in the northern sky. Discovered by Edmund Haley in 1714, the constellation is located in Hercules and is about 22,200 light years from Earth. With a clear magnitude of 5.8 (a remedy of brightness), the M13 appears to the naked eyes under the dark sky and can be easily seen through binoculars or a small binoculars. Our goal was to achieve the deepest possible image of the cluster, in which, for our surprise, even integrated flux nebula (IFN) clouds appeared.
In about 145 light years in the diameter, one of the large circular groups associated with the M13 Milky Way is a tightly packed area of thousands of stars. At its core, some stars are closed as 0.05 light years, about the distance between the sun and its nearest stellar neighbor. Although M13 is one of the most photo astronomical items, there are only a few deep images that show many small background galaxies in the area.
TS-Optics 200 mm/8 ONTC F4 Newutonian Telescope, IOPTron CEM70G Mount, ZWO ASI2600mm Pro Camera, 800mm F4, 300-Second Exposure, 29.25 hours taken with total exposure
Place: Pena Travinka, Weiga, Gijon Municipality, Esturias, Spain, 25 September 2024
M13: An ultra-deep exposure of popular cluster © distant shine
Winner: Zwo Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
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Orion, The Horsehead and The Flame in H-Alpha Daniel Borsari (Italy)
Winner: Zwo Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
This image was captured with an H-alpha filter to create a monochrome image that exposes the emission nebula. This image was captured with an H-alpha filter to create a monochrome image that exposes the emission nebula.
Horshad Nebula on the lower left, also known as Barnard 33. This dense dark cloud emission of gases hides the light coming from the IC 434 and forms a clear shape of the horse’s head.
Little on the left, we find flame nebula, NGC 2024. This nebula is located behind the tara dust and gases responsible for the light of IRS2 and hence it does not appear in the optical spectrum.
And finally, in the upper-rights of the image, the M42 is known as Orion Nebula. This nebula is a large cloud of dust and gas where many new stars are born. The energy released by four central stars (trapezium clusters) shapes the nebula, which ionizes the gas components.
A player with a player was taken with an Astronomy Ares-M Pro Camera, Sky-Vorture Heck 5 Pro Mount, Samyang 135 mm F2.0 Lens, 135 mm F2.8, 45 x 60-Second Exposure and 262 x 300-second exposure, 22 hours and 35 minutes with total explosion
Place: Life, Bergamo, Italy, 11, 14, 15 January, 6 February 2025
Orion, The Horsehead and the Flame in H-Alpha © Daniel Borcery
special feature
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Earth from class by Don Petit (USA)
special feature
While the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year Competition best performs the Earth-Bound Astrophotography, the image displays the immense potential of space-based imagery, which shows the universe in ways that will be impossible from the ground.
ISS campaign was captured between October 2024 and March 2025 during campaign 72
It is one of the many star-field time exposure captured from the International Space Station (ISS) using a homemade cidelian star tracker. Walking once every 90 minutes, the tracker parikrama retaliates the ISS’s approach, allowing distant stars to be photographed as a certain pinpoint, while the Earth keeps moving down, an impossibility in the previous orbital photography.
A Nikon Z9 camera, sigma 14 mm F1.4 lens, F1.4, ISO 6400, for homemade orbital cadredial drives with orbital pitch rate (4 °/min), 15-second to make up for exposure.
Earth © Don Petit from Orbit
