The best astronomical photos of 2023 (16 photos)

Photographs of colorful northern lights, bright solar flares, and shimmering nebulae gave their authors a chance to win the annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year Awards competition. Judging by the finalists, the competition is very tough. This year, more than 4,000 applications were received from 64 countries.





The prestigious competition, founded by the Royal Observatory Greenwich and BBC Sky at Night magazine, attracts the best astrophotographers from around the world. In September, an expert jury will announce the winners in 9 categories and also award two special prizes. The winning works will be presented at an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum and will also be included in the book “Astronomical Photographer of the Year”. In any case, being on the shortlist is already a great honor.

"The Majestic Tarantula Nebula" by Steve Body, Stars and Nebulae Category Location: Victoria, Australia



"The Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070) is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Capturing the intricate details and vibrant colors of the Tarantula Nebula is a challenging task that requires precision and patience. Narrowband filters were used for the images, and RGB filters were used for the stars, so they have natural colors." .

"Colorful Saturn", Damian Peach, category "Planets, Comets and Asteroids" Location: Barbados

"Saturn at the moment of opposition. The Cassini gap is clearly visible - a gap between the outer rings about 5000 km wide."

"Solar Flare X1 by AR2994", Miguel Claro, Category "Our Sun" Location: Évora, Portugal



"The photo is taken from a 27-minute time lapse of a solar flare that occurred on April 30, 2022."

"Pandora's Box", Derek Horlock, category "People and space" Location: Naxos, Greece



"The Milky Way over the graffiti of Pandora by Balinese artist Wild Drawing on the Greek island of Naxos. In Greek mythology, Pandora opened a vessel or box, releasing all misfortunes and disasters into the world."

"Radio Telescope", Joan Yordanov Serraleiro, category "Newcomer" Location: Mallard Radio Astronomy Observatory, Cambridge, UK



"Star trails over a radio telescope. The picture was taken using a simple remote shutter in continuous shooting mode."

"Gates of the Arctic", Daniel Vinier Garcia, category "Northern Lights" Location: Raufarhöfn, Iceland



"Northern lights over the Arctic Henge mammoth sundial inspired by Norse mythology. The henge is located in Raufarhöfn, one of the northernmost towns in Iceland."

“Solarography 209 days”, Kseveri Vrubel, category “Sky Landscapes” Filming location: Illinois, USA



"Solarographs are photographs taken with a homemade camera obscura that record the path of the Sun across the sky. Each streak of light in the image represents one day."

"NGC 3521: Celestial Marchioness", Mark Hanson; Mike Selby, category "Galaxies" Location: El Sauz Observatory, Rio Hurtado, Chile



"NGC 3521 is a transitional flocculent spiral galaxy with numerous star-forming regions and a luminous center."

"Celestial Equator over the First World War Memorial", Louis Leroux-Guerre, category "Skyscapes" Location: Vimy, France



"Star trails over World War I trenches at Vimy Canada Memorial Park, France."

"Comet 2022 E3 over the snow-capped Mount Etna", Dario Giannobile, category "Skyscapes" Location: Sicily, Italy



"In this image, Comet 2022 E3 hovers over Mount Etna, Sicily, as steam billows from the crater."

"Stone Ball", Rich Addis, category "Our Moon" Location: Merseyside, VelikUK



"It's a collage of the 78% illuminated moon and the full moon."

"The Great Solar Flare", Mehmet Ergün, category "Our Sun" Location: Treisen, Germany



"The image shows the solar cycle approaching its maximum. There is a 700,000 km flare on the left. The current 25th solar cycle began in 2019 and is gaining momentum. It will peak in a few years, then weaken, and then a new cycle will begin."

“Crescent moon against a magical sunset”, Eduardo Schaberger Pupo, category “Our Moon” Location: Rafaela, Argentina



"A composite image from three exposures of sunset on August 1, 2022 in Rafael, Argentina. The moon is 16% illuminated and the clouds appear deep red."

"Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) in the skies over Israel", Alex Savenok Location: Negev Desert, Israel



"C/2021 A1 (Comet Leonard) captured above the Negev Desert, Israel. The comet made its closest approach to Earth in 2021-2022 and was visible to the naked eye."

"The Jellyfish Nebula", Peter Larkin, category "Stars and Nebulae" Location: Vaud, Switzerland



"The Medusa Nebula (IC 443) is a supernova remnant in the constellation Gemini. Stars have been erased from the image to focus on nebulous structures."