August 2, 2018
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Stunning images shortlisted for the Royal Observatory Greenwich's prestigious 'Astronomy Photographer of the Year' award
Images of the sun ejecting vast plumes of plasma into space, stunning aurora captured on film, and exceptional close-ups of the moon are all vying to win the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. The mesmerising shots shortlisted by judges at the Royal Observatory Greenwich showcase the beauty of the universe.
The winner of the prestigious contest will receive a £10,000 ($13,000) cash price and winners of all other categories, including the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year, will receive a £1,500 ($1,900) windfall. There are also £500 ($650) prizes for runners-up and £250 ($320) rewards for highly commended entries. The competition, now in its tenth year, will announce its chosen winner on 23 October.
Among this year's entries is an image of a twisted tree in the Rocky mountains beautifully framing the star Polaris as a time-lapse captures star trails swirling around it.
Others show the Milky Way shining over the rocky Dolomites in Tre Cime and above the ancient bristlecone pine forest - which houses some of the oldest trees on Earth.
There are also plenty of photos of the aurora, the Orion Nebula, the moon, the planets of the solar system and even the International Space Station.
The winners from the competition's last nine years are to be shown in a new gallery at the National Maritime Museum, which opens on 24 October.
A wide-ranging panel of experts will debate and pick out the winners. This year, artist Sarah Pickering is joining the judging panel, where she will be joined by renowned comedian and keen amateur astronomer Jon Culshaw, editor of BBC Sky at Night Magazine Chris Bramley, the Royal Observatory's Public Astronomer Dr Marek Kukula, and a host of other experts from the world of art and astronomy.
The competition will provide an overall winner, as well as individual winners in a variety of different categories, including Aurorae, Galaxies, Our Moon, Our Sun, People and Space, Planets, Comets and Asteroids, Skyscapes, Stars and Nebulae, Young Competition and Special Prizes.
The judges will also award two special prizes: The Sir Patrick Moore prize for Best Newcomer and the Robotic Scope Image of the Year.
Last year's overall winner, Artem Mironow of Russia, also won the Stars and Nebulae category with an image he took from Hakos Farm in Namibia over three nights. The image captured a commonly-observed portion of sky called the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex. Known as 'Rho Oph' for short or the Ophiuchus Molecular Cloud, it gets its name from a particular star in the region. The nebula is about 14 light years across and is located roughly 460 light years away from Earth in the constellation of Ophiuchus (the 'Serpent- Bearer'). It is one of the closest star-forming regions to the Solar System.
Pete Lawrence, who judged the competition in 2017, said: 'This is a superb photograph and a deserved winner of its category and the competition. The photographer has produced a beautiful balance between the blue reflection nebula in the lower left and the red emission nebula in the upper right. A dark-looking dust cloud forces itself in front of them, dividing the scene in two. The image is superbly processed, with the stars sharp from edge to edge. The result is an image that has an elegant complexity to it – simply exquisite.'
Mr Mironov said part of the attraction of photographing space is the nearness to infinity he feels: 'The desire to see further and share what's seen is my inspiration to capture deep space objects. Time is also a factor, here on Earth I take pictures of what is happening in the moment but in the photographs I'm capturing the cosmos as it was millions of years ago.'
The panel will announce this year's winners on October 23 2018.
Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk
