- By Georgina Rannard
- BBC News Climate and science
—
17 minutes ago
image source, Gerald Rhemann
—
The photo “Disconnection” won the prize for the best astrophotography of the year.
–
The photo of a rare comet that will never be seen from Earth again won a prestigious photographic award.
–
The image shows part of Comet Leonard’s tail cut off and blown away by the solar wind.
–
The comet appeared briefly and is visible from Earth in 2021, but has now left our Solar System.
–
London’s Royal Observatory Greenwich, which organizes the astronomical photography contest, called the images “jaw-dropping”.
–
The event also honored two 14-year-olds in Sichuan, China, in the Young Astronomical Photographer of the Year category.
–
The images will be on display in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in London starting Saturday.
–
“Comets look different by the hour – they’re a very surprising thing,” said award-winning photographer Gerald Rhemann, from Vienna, Austria.
–
The image was taken on Christmas Day 2021 from an observatory in Namibia.
–
Rhemann had no idea that the comet’s tail would drop, leaving a trail of glittering dust behind.
–
“I love taking pictures – this is the pinnacle of my photographic career,” he told BBC News.
–
Astronomer Dr Ed Bloomer, who was one of the judges of the competition, said the image was one of the best photographs of a comet in history.
–
“Perfect astrophotography is a blend of science and art. Not only is it technically sophisticated and projects the viewer into a deep dark space, it is also visually engaging and exciting,” said Dr. Hannah Lyons, assistant curator of the art at the Royal Museums Greenwich the BBC.
–
The jury evaluated more than 3,000 astronomical photos from around the world.
–
image source, Yang Hanwen, Zhou Zezhen
—
Andromeda Galaxy – Young Astronomical Photographer of the Year Award winner.
–
Meanwhile, to get the winning image, Yang Hanwen and Zhou Zezhen, both 14, teamed up to photograph the Andromeda Galaxy, one of the Milky Way’s closest and largest neighbors.
–
The image shows the incredible colors of the galaxies near our galaxy.
–
“I think this photo shows how beautiful our closest neighbors are,” said Yang Hanwen.
–
The Young Astronomical Photographer of the Year category is awarded to people under the age of 16.
–
Dr Lyons said he was “amazed” by the quality of the young photographer, “making the most extraordinary images”.
–
Astronomical photos that have become winner and get an evaluation highly commended:
–
image source, Philip Hrebenda
—
In the embrace of a green lady – winner in the Aurorae category
–
This is a photo taken by Slovakian photographer Filip Hrebenda. This photo shows the Northern Lights reflected on Iceland’s frozen lake above Mt Eystrahorn.
–
—
–
image source, Pietro Szabo
—
Mineral Moon Mosaic – awarded “Highly Commended” in the Young Astronomical Photographer of the Year category
–
Thanks to his work, Peter Szabo received a highly commended rating in the Young Astronomical Photographer of the Year category for his photo of the moon mosaic, which he took in Debrecen, Hungary.
–
This image uses high quality processing to show the Moon’s surface in incredible detail.
–
This photo reveals a view of the Moon familiar to most people but in an extraordinary way.
–
—
–
image source, Pietro Feltoti
—
The Heart Nebula Center – awarded “Highly Praised” in the Star and Nebula categories
–
Péter Feltóti captured this image from Hungary. He photographed IC 1805, which is an area with a large amount of ionized gas and interstellar dust.
–
Strong stellar winds blow the surrounding material outward, creating a cave-like hollow shape in a cloud of gas.
–
“It is very difficult to capture a dark, visible nebula with any kind of sharpness,” explains Dr. Ed Bloomer.
–
Astrophotography is important, he adds, because it reveals features of the cosmos that the human eye cannot see just by looking at the night sky.
–
—
–
image source, Weitang Liang
—
The Eye of God – winner in the Stars and Nebulae category
–
Weitang Liang took this eye-like image of the Helix Nebula in Río Hurtado, Chile, at the Chilescope Observatory.
–
“It is easy to see how the ancients looked at the stars in the sky and imagine that the cosmos was watching them, observing them with caution,” said the jury Imad Ahmed.
–
—
–
image source, Pauline Woolley
—
Solar Tree – Winner of the Annie Maunder Award for Digital Innovation category
–
This photo by Pauline Woolley combines images taken by a large telescope.
–
This award-winning photo in the digital innovation category shows how the sun changes over time using the tree ring dating method.
–
—
–
image source, Mon Deng
—
The Milky Way Bridge – Winner of the Sir Patrick Moore Award for Best Newcomer
–
Using a regular camera, Lun Deng captured an image of the Milky Way galaxy towering over Mount Minya Konka, China’s highest peak in Sichuan.
–
All images are protected by copyright.
—
