A photo of a huge plasma arc next to the Andromeda Galaxy has won this year’s prestigious photography prize.
A team of amateur astronomers led by Marcel Drechsler, Xavier Strottner and Yann Sainty captured the surprising discovery.
Scientists are now investigating the newly discovered giant.
It may be the largest structure in the immediate environment of the universe.
Judge and astrophotographer László Francsics said the image was both spectacular and valuable.
“Not only does it present Andromeda in a new way, but it also raises the quality of astrophotography to a higher level,” he said.
The Royal Observatory Greenwich in London, which hosts the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, also awarded the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards to two 14-year-old boys from China.
Running Chicken Nebula – Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year Winner
Runwei Xu and Binyu Wang collaborated to photograph the Running Chicken Nebula, IC 2944, located in the constellation Centaurus, 6,000 light years from Earth.
Embedded within the nebula’s glowing gas, the star cluster Collinder 249 is visible.
Yuri Beletsky, judge and professional astronomer, described it as a very beautiful image.
“The photographers have managed to capture the bright colors of the nebula as well as the embedded star clusters.”
The Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year Award is for those under 16 years of age.
The judges looked at more than 4,000 entries from around the world.
The images are on display in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in London from Saturday.
See more winning and highly praised images:
Circle of Light – Second place in the Aurora category
This image by Andreas Ettl shows the reflection of the Northern Lights on Skagsanden beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway.
The mountain in the background is Hustinden, which appears surrounded by aurora.
Mars Set – Our Moon category winner
Ethan Chappel took this image, from Cibolo, Texas, USA, of the Mars occultation that occurred on December 8, 2022.
During an occultation, the Moon passes in front of the planet Mars, allowing photographers to capture both objects simultaneously.
The image shows Mars behind the south side of the Moon in impressive detail.
Black Wolf, Fenrir – Highly Commended in the Stars and Nebula category
This image taken from Canberra, Australia shows a dark and thick wolf-shaped molecular cloud known as the Wolf Nebula or Fenrir Nebula.
The photographer, James Baguley, chose an image without stars to highlight the beautiful red background, which is a backdrop for dense hydrogen gas.
A Sun Question – Winner of the Our Sun category
Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau made this image of the Sun from Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina.
It shows large, question mark-shaped filaments. Solar filaments are plasma arcs in the Sun’s atmosphere formed by magnetic fields. The photo is a two-panel mosaic.
Grand Cosmic Fireworks – Skyscapes category winner
Sprites are a very rare atmospheric glow phenomenon that looks like fireworks.
Angel An took this photo from the highest ridge of the Himalayas at Puma Yumco Lake, Tibet.
New Class of Galaxy Nebulae Around the Star YY Hya – Winner of the Stars and Nebulae category
Another of the jury’s favorite images was the work of Marcel Dreschsler. The photo captures a previously unknown galactic nebula containing a pair of stars surrounded by a common shroud, adding another exciting discovery to the winning image.
Zeila – Winner of the Human and Space category
The northernmost part of the coast of Namibia facing the Atlantic is one of the most dangerous coastlines in the world, and has earned the name Skeleton Beach.
The ship in this photo, Zeila, was stranded on August 25 2008 and is still in good condition.
This image taken by Vikas Chander shows the subtle colors of different types of stars in the sky above the wreck.
Jupiter Close to Opposition – Second place in the Planets, Comets and Asteroids category
Image of Jupiter 30 minutes after crossing the meridian taken from Singapore by Marco Lorenzi.
The Great Red Spot and many details of the turbulent atmosphere, consisting mainly of hydrogen and helium gas, are clearly visible, including several smaller storms.
Sh2-132: Blinded by the Light – Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer
The Sh2-132 complex is located near the border of the constellations Cepheus and Lacerta and contains several deep sky structures.
The photo, taken by Aaron Wilhelm, includes 70 hours of data, and the rich interactions of all the gases reveal something different every time you look at it.
Black Echo – Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation
Taking audio source material from NASA’s Chandra Sonification Project (NASA Chandra X-Ray Observatory, May 2022), John White visually captured the sound of the black hole at the center of the Perseus Galaxy.
Audio was played through a speaker to which White attached a petri dish, the bottom of which was darkened and then filled with about 3 mm (0.11 in) of water.
Using a macro lens and halo light in a dark room, White experiments with audio and volume to explore the various patterns created in fluids.
All images are copyrighted.
2023-09-14 19:24:54
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