Amateur Astronomers Capture Stunning Images of Andromeda Galaxy and Running Chicken Nebula – Winners of the 2023 Astronomy Photographer of the Year Award

CNN
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A shooting A team of amateur astronomers with a huge plasma arc next to the Andromeda Galaxy, the large spiral galaxy closest to the Milky Way, has won the 2023 Astronomy Photographer of the Year award.

The giant bow was captured by a team led by Marcel Drechsler, Xavier Strottner and Jan Sainty, The Royal Greenwich Observatory in London, which hosted the competition, said in a statement on Tuesday that the image, titled “Andromeda, Unexpected,” was a “shocking discovery” and could be the largest structure of its kind near us in nature. universe. .

Typically, images of new discoveries are mostly blurry black-and-white images with faint dots or spectra that are almost invisible and indecipherable, according to judge and astrophotographer Laszlo Francics.

However, these “astronomical images” are both stunning and valuable. “This not only presents Andromeda in a new way, but also raises the quality of astrophotography to a higher level,” he said in his statement.

Scientists are now investigating the large object, located in the vicinity of the Andromeda Galaxy, in a transnational collaboration, according to the observatory.

Another discovery was made by a team of amateur astronomers led by Marcel Drechsler and Xavier Strottner, which revealed a previously unknown image of a very deep stellar remnant in a galactic nebula – a giant cloud of dust and gas where stars and nebulae – form. . category.

Image of the Running Chicken Nebula, so named because it looks like a giant chicken running across the sky NASA websiteThe Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year award was given to two 14-year-old boys from China, Runwei Xu and Binyu Wang.

The nebula is located in the constellation Centauri, about 6,000 light years from Earth, according to the statement.

Judge and professional astronomer Yuri Beletsky described the image as “very beautiful,” and added: “The photographer was able to capture the bright colors of the nebula as well as the compact star cluster.”

He continued: “This cluster contains many hot young stars whose intense radiation causes the surrounding nebula to glow.”

Other winners included Monica Deviat in the Northern Lights category for an abstract drawing of the Northern Lights in the form of brushstrokes; Ethan Chappell in the Our Moon category for photographing the Moon passing in front of Mars; Eduardo Schaberger Bobo in the “Our Sun” category for photographing the sun with a giant solar filament shaped like a question mark; And Angel An is in the Skyscapes category for capturing the extremely rare sprite phenomenon, where the brightness of the atmosphere looks like fireworks.

The Innovation Award was given to John White for uniquely capturing the sound of the black hole at the center of the Perseus Galaxy using audio sources from NASA’s Chandra Sonication project, which he played through speakers attached to a Petri dish.

Catherine Gazzard, curator of art (post-1800) at Royal Greenwich Museums, said in a statement that this was the first time she had judged this competition and that “the winning images are truly stunning. These images made me look at the night sky in an amazing way.” new light.”

The winning photos will be featured in an exhibition opening at the National Maritime Museum in London on Saturday.

2023-09-15 14:48:33
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