The Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year , organized by the Royal Greenwich Observatory (United Kingdom), is considered the most important international competition in astrophotography . It is not surprising that, year after year, the images are more and more spectacular, with the desire to be recognized and awarded as the best snapshots of the cosmos.
In 2016 the contest received in its eighth edition more than 4,500 photographs from 80 countries.
In 2017 , 3,800 photographers, professionals and amateurs, came from 91 different countries. For the first time in the history of the contest, among the photos taken by astrophotographers from all over the planet, there are even snapshots of Uranus or some asteroids.
The 9 main categories in which the contest is divided:
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Sky views : either at night or at twilight, showing the Milky Way, meteor showers, comets, constellation output, halos …
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Auroras: Photographs showing auroras
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People and Space: Photographs of the night sky with people or human interest items.
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Our Sun : images of the Sun, including solar eclipses and astronomical transits.
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Our Moon: images of the Moon, including lunar eclipses and planet occultations.
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Planets, comets and asteroids: the rest of the objects present in our solar system.
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Stars and Nebulae: star clusters, supernova remnants, nebulae …
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Galaxies – Images of galaxies, galaxy clusters, and stellar associations.
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Young Astrophotographer of the Year : Photographs taken by beginning astronomers who are under the age of 16.
In addition to these main categories, the contest features two other awards: the Sir Patrick Moore Award for Best Newcomer, for the best photograph taken by an amateur astrophotographer who has not previously participated with any image; and the Robotic Scope award, a recognition of the best photo captured by a computer-controlled telescope, one of those that allow public access through the Internet.
Thus, the Royal Greenwich Observatory has presented the finalist photographs, which we consider below and which can be seen in a sample at the observatory’s Astronomy Center.
As always, there is no shortage of images of the Milky Way, the Northern Lights or the Moon, frequent objectives of astrophotographers.
Let’s see the most spectacular views of the cosmos.
