Winners of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year revealed

Seven-colour Feather of the Moon ? Yiming Li (China) - HIGHLY COMMENDED The image showcases the magnificent corona of the Moon and the motion of the clouds resembling colourful brushstrokes on a painting. The photographer used dozens of pictures to build a stack. For the photographer this is one of the most beautiful images of the brightest and largest object in our night sky and it resembles a seven-colour feather growing out of the Moon. Dongguan, China, 28 July 2018 — Into the Shadow, showing the moon during January’s lunar eclipse (László Francsics)

Hungarian photographer László Francsics has been named the Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2019 by the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

Mr Francsics scooped the prize with his ‘Into the Shadow’ image, showing a composition of the 35 phases of the lunar eclipse that took place in January.

As well as having the image exhibited at the National Maritime Museum, László also picked up £10,000 in prize money.

Competition judge Ed Robinson said: ‘For a single multiple-exposure image to capture this event with such positional precision, creative innovation and beauty is nothing short of masterful. The colours of our atmosphere projected onto the Moon’s disc during the eclipse are not only artistically pleasing but also offer an understanding of such events that can reveal aspects of our own, thin, yet essential part of our atmosphere.

‘In a year that celebrates 50 years since the first lunar landings it is fitting that this year’s overall winning image captures such a dynamic and captivating view of our Moon.’

The Watcher ? Nicolai Br?gger (Germany) - WINNER The photographer hiked in the snow to the top of the mountain Offers?ykammen in Norway, to witness and capture the breathtaking giant aurora over the Lofoten Islands. He waited many hours and after midnight the bright Northern Lights finally appeared. The photographer shot this as a panorama to showcase the arched aurora over the mountains. Lofoten, Norway, 9 March 2018 — Nicolai Bruegger hiked in the snow to the top of the mountain Offersykammen in Norway, to witness and capture the aurora over the Lofoten Islands. (Nicolai Bruegger)

Winning images from other categories and special prizes included a remarkable panorama taken from the top of the mountain Offersøykammen, showcasing the Aurora Borealis over the Lofoten Islands in Norway, by Nicolai Brügger from Germany.

Also included was an atmospheric image depicting UK photographer Ben Bush with his dog Floyd surrounded by Mars, Saturn and the galactic core of the Milky Way galaxy; and an extraordinary sequence of images of Mars, that follows the progress of the great global dust storm, by Andy Casely from Australia.

Ben, Floyd and the Core ? Ben Bush (UK) - WINNER The image depicts the photographer and his dog, Floyd, surrounded by Mars, Saturn and the galactic core of the Milky Way galaxy. This photo encapsulates the photographer?s love for the cosmos. As his constant companions, the photographer often tries (and fails) to capture his dogs at night. With this shot the shutter speed was reduced to 10 seconds to allow to keep Floyd still. To counter this, the ISO was increased and the photographer whispered ?don't move, don't move, don't move? to Floyd for the whole 10 seconds. The shot was repeated a number of times in order to capture a clear silhouette in a single exposure shot. The image contains everything the photographer loves about photography; the relationship with the landscape, family, dogs and friends. Hadrian?s Wall, Hexham, UK, 9 August 2018 — Ben, Floyd and the Core shows UK photographer Ben with his dog Floyd surrounded by Mars, Saturn and the galactic core of the Milky Way galaxy (Ben Bush)

In the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year category, 11-year-old Davy van der Hoeven from the Netherlands is taking home the top prize for his remarkable deep sky image of the Rosette Nebula, a mesmerising flower-shaped nebula, located in the constellation Monoceros, that lies 5,000 light-years from Earth.

Tom Kerss, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory and judge for the competition, said: ‘Every year the standard rises, and entrants continue to find creative new ways to express their artistry.

‘This year’s selection contains so many unique approaches to astrophotography – real love letters to the art form, which stay with you long after you’ve seen them.’

Stellar Flower ? Davy van der Hoeven (Netherlands), aged 11 - WINNER Once the photographer decided to capture a deep sky image, he started researching online for nebulae and came across the magnificent Rosette Nebula. With the help of his father he built the equipment and together, over three nights in November, captured images images of the Rosette Nebula using different filters. In order to familiarise with processing images, the young photographer practised on one of his father?s older photographs and then processed the raw data of this image by himself. Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, South Holland, Netherlands, 26 February 2019 — Stellar Flower (Davy van der Hoeven)

‘I’m looking forward to the discussions these images will inspire about our shared sky, and the ever-expanding field of capturing and interpreting it.

‘With such a beautiful collection to talk about, the competition really has become astrophotography’s ‘World Cup’.’

You can find all the winners on the competition’s website but here are a few more of our favourites:

Andromeda Galaxy ? Raul Villaverde Fraile (Spain) - HIGHLY COMMENDED This is a close-up of our neighbouring Andromeda Galaxy made with a mosaic of three photographs. The image also depicts the satellite galaxies, Messier 32 and Messier 110, which are found in the constellation of Andromeda and are approaching our galaxy at about 300 km per second. It is expected that the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy will collide in about 5,860 million years, merging into a larger galaxy. Ocentejo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain, 12 August 2018 — This is a close-up of our neighbouring Andromeda Galaxy made with a mosaic of three photographs. (Raul Villaverde Fraile)

Across the Sky of History ? Wang Zheng (China) - WINNER This mystical image of withered poplar trees was taken in the Mongolian region of Ejina, in the historical Kingdom of Xi Xia. The poplars? resistance to erosion has led to an extraordinary formation of a desolate landscape and as a meteor falls, their shapes look like ancient creatures on an uninhabited desert. Ejina, Inner Mongolia, China, 12 August 2018 — This mystical image of withered poplar trees was taken in the Mongolian region of Ejina, in the historical Kingdom of Xi Xia. (Wang Zheng)

Cosmic Plughole ? James Stone (Australia) - HIGHLY COMMENDED This image is a stacked star trail, combined to show an hour and a quarter of the Earth's rotation through space and time. A hint of moonlight gives the sky a beautiful blue hue, and with the stars reflected in the still, shallow water of this ethereal salt marsh, the photographer felt like he had to hang on to the tripod to prevent being sucked into a cosmic plughole. South Arm, Tasmania, Australia, 19 June 2018 — This image is a stacked star trail, combined to show an hour and a quarter of the Earth’s rotation through space and time. (James Stone)

The Elegant Elephant's Trunk ? Llu?s Romero Ventura (Spain) - HIGHLY COMMENDED The Elephant Trunk Nebula (vdB 142) is part of a region of star formation that lies 2,450 light years away in the constellation of Cepheus and, according to the photographer, is probably one of the most beautiful nebulae that is actively forming stars (protostars). The photo was taken with only the three RGB channels, and the luminance is the result of the RGB. ?ger, Spain, 21 September 2018 — The Elephant Trunk Nebula (vdB 142) is part of a region of star formation that lies 2,450 light years away in the constellation of Cepheus and, according to the photographer, is probably one of the most beautiful nebulae that is actively forming stars (Luis Romero Ventura)

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