Astrophotos Archives

November 14, 2024November 14, 2024 by Nancy Atkinson

Our Breathtaking Cosmos: New Zealand Astrophotography Winners Announced

Overall "Trophy Winner," "Sky Fire" by Tom Rae. Credit and copyright: Tom Rae and the NZ Astrophotography Competition.

The New Zealand Astrophotography Competition showcases and recognizes some of the most stunning images of the southern hemisphere’s night sky. This year, photographers from across New Zealand have captured some incredibly breathtaking skyscapes such as amazing auroras, stunning images of our Solar System, and deep-sky marvels.

Universe Today was proud to be part of this year’s competition, as our own Fraser Cain was one of the judges.

The overall winner in the competition is a gorgeous view of the Aurora Australis, above, by photographer Tom Rae. Rae said he captured this image during the “once in a lifetime” geomagnetic storm in May of 2024, showing the Milky Way arching over the dramatic landscape of Aoraki Mount Cook National Park. This image also won the “Aurora” category.

September 12, 2024September 12, 2024 by Nancy Atkinson

And the Winner is…. Astronomy Photographers of the Year 2024 Announced

The 2024 Overall Winner of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is "Distorted Shadows of the Moon’s Surface Created by an Annular Eclipse" © Ryan Imperio (USA)

Every year, the “Astronomy Photographer of the Year” competition provides incredible images of our night sky — whether they are stunning views of distant galaxies or dramatic photos of aurorae or other views from our home planet. This year is no different, and the awards were just announced at a special presentation at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich (ROG), England for the incredible 16^th year of the competition. The event is sponsored by the ROG, supported by Liberty Specialty Markets and in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine. For the 2024 competition there were over 3,500 entries from 58 countries.

Above is the overall winner, Ryan Imperio from the USA for his photograph, Distorted Shadows of the Moon’s Surface Created by an Annular Eclipse. This unusual and stunning photo captures the progression of Baily’s beads during the 2023 annular eclipse.

May 13, 2024May 14, 2024 by Nancy Atkinson

What a Weekend! Spectacular Aurora Photos from Around the World

Spectacular aurora seen at the cliffs of Etretat in France. This is a a panorama composed of 25 images taken on May 11, 2024. Credit: Julien Looten. Used by permission.

“A dream come true.”
“I never expected this!”
“The most amazing light show I’ve ever seen in my life!”
“Once in a lifetime!”
“No doubt, this weekend will be remembered as ‘that weekend.’”

That’s how people described their views of the Aurora borealis this weekend, which put on a breathtaking celestial show around the world, and at lower latitudes than usual. This allowed hundreds of millions of people to see the northern lights for the first time in their lives. People as far south as Arizona and Florida in the US and France, Germany and Poland in Europe got the views of their life as a series of intense solar storms – the most powerful in more than 20 years – impacted Earth’s atmosphere starting Friday and through the weekend.

September 15, 2023September 15, 2023 by Nancy Atkinson

Stunning New Images from the 2023 ‘Astronomy Photographer of the Year’ Competition

Circle of Light © Andreas Ettl. A stunning photograph of a vivid aurora over Skagsanden beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway. The mountain in the background is Hustinden, which the aurora appears to encircle.

The winners of the 15th annual “Astronomy Photographer of the Year” competition have been announced at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich England. The annual competition features some of the best space photography taken by amateur astrophotographers from around the world.

For the 2023 competition there were over 4,000 entries from 64 countries. Our lead image features an eye-catching capture of an aurora by photographer Andreas Ettl over the Lofoten Islands of Norway.

“Pictures of the aurora such as this are so enchanting,” said one of the competition’s judges, Imad Ahmed. “The icy temperature of the landscape is almost palpable, with the snow-capped mountain framed by the cold emerald hues. … There are a lot of rich details in the picture too, including a canopy of stars subtly strewn across the sky, really adding to the majesty of the shot.”

See more beautiful images below, plus an image that captured a surprising discovery.

June 12, 2023June 12, 2023 by Nancy Atkinson

Thierry Legault’s Stunning Views of the Space Station (with spacewalking astronauts) Crossing in Front of Sunspots

The International Space Station transiting the Sun -- and two large sunspots --on June 9, 2023. Additionally, two astronauts, Steve Bowen and Woody Hoburg were outside the ISS on a spacewalk while this image was taken. Credit and copyright: Thierry Legault.

He’s done it again, outdoing even his own incredible work.

Over the years, we’ve written many articles to share the beautiful and mind-bending astrophotography of Thierry Legault. Each year he seems to come up with ideas to try to surpass even his own craziest attempts of astrophotography feats – such as capturing spy satellites in orbit, or snapping pictures of the International Space Station (ISS) transiting the Sun during a solar eclipse.

Now, he was able to take pictures of the ISS transiting the Sun while two astronauts were doing a spacewalk. As an added challenge, Legault made sure he was in the right place at the right time so he could capture the ISS (and astronauts) while they were passing by three enormous sunspots.

WHAT??

April 20, 2023April 20, 2023 by Nancy Atkinson

Aurora Hunter Todd Salat Captures a Bizarre Spiral Made by a SpaceX Fuel Dump

A mysterious spiral appeared in the sky over Donnelly Dome near Delta Junction, Alaska on April 15, 2023, caused by a fuel dump from a SpaceX rocket. Credit and copyright: Todd Salat/AuroraHunter.com

Astrophotographer Todd Salat was out in the early hours of April 15, 2023, hoping to capture an aurora display over Donnelly Dome near Delta Junction, Alaska. While the stunning aurora didn’t disappoint, Salat was in for a surprise: a weird spiral appeared in the sky over the summit.

“I had no idea of what I was seeing,” Salat said on his website, “but this phenomenon appears to be caused by engine exhaust from a SpaceX Transporter-7 mission that launched southward on the Falcon 9 about three hours earlier from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.”

January 25, 2023January 25, 2023 by Nancy Atkinson

Spectacular Images of the Rare ‘Green Comet’ Gracing Our Skies

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) seen from Payton, Arizona on January 21, 2023. Credit and copyright: Chris Schur.

A rare ‘green’ comet is passing through our Solar System and astrophotographers have been out capturing photos. While this comet, named C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is not yet visible yet to the naked eye, it could be when it makes its closest approach to Earth on February 1, but you’ll likely need to be in a very dark site. As of now, you’ll need a telescope or binoculars to see it for yourself. The images here are taken with several minutes of exposure time.

This comet has been dubbed the “Green Comet” because of its greenish hue. Professor Paul Wiegert from Western University in Canada said that comets contain carbon-bearing molecules, which break down under ultraviolet light from the Sun. This produces, among other things, dicarbon molecules which produce the eerie green glow associated with some comets.

Our lead photo comes from photographer Chris Schur from Arizona, and he points out that the comet has a rare sun-ward pointing anti-tail.

December 13, 2022December 13, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

In Case you Missed it, Here are Some Amazing Pictures of Mars Hiding Behind the Moon

This is the occultation of Mars by the Full Moon on December 7, 2022, in a composite showing the motion of Mars relative to the Moon. The motion here is from left to right. However, while this composite makes it look like Mars was doing the moving, it was really the Moon that was passing in front of Mars. Credit and copyright: Alan Dyer.

Last week gave us a celestial triple header, all in one night. The Moon was full and Mars was at opposition (at its closest point to Earth). But the pièce de résistance was when the Moon occulted or passed in front of Mars on the evening/morning of December 7th/8th. Our astrophotographer friends were out in full force to capture the event.

Our lead image comes from prolific amateur astronomer and photographer Alan Dyer, who observed the occultation from his home in Alberta, Canada, and created this composite view of the night’s activities. “While this composite makes it look like Mars was doing the moving,” Dyer explained on Flickr, “it was really the Moon that was passing in front of Mars. But for this sequence I set the telescope mount to track the Moon at its rate of motion against the background stars and Mars, to keep the Moon more or less stationary on the frame while Mars and the background sky passed behind it.”

Here are some more great views from around the world:

November 9, 2022November 9, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

One Total Lunar Eclipse Photo to Rule Them All

A composite image from the November 8, 2022 total lunar eclipse showing the moon in various stages throughout the night. Credit and copyright: Andrew McCarthy.

We’ve seen some great images from the total lunar eclipse this week. But this one might top them all. Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy created this incredible composite image, showing the Moon in various stages of the eclipse throughout the night.

“The size and shape of Earth’s shadow is clearly visible here,” McCarthy said on Twitter. “These events are absolutely magical to witness and quite surreal.”

November 8, 2022November 8, 2022 by Nancy Atkinson

Stunning Photos from the November 8, 2022 Total Lunar Eclipse

The colors of totality of the November 8, 2022 Lunar eclipse. Credit and copyright: Eliot Herman.

Did the skies above you cooperate this morning to see the total lunar eclipse? Mine did not, and Fraser reports he was clouded out as well. But thankfully, we can live vicariously through all of the wonderful friends and astrophotographers who have shared their jaw-dropping photos of the blood Moon, Beaver Moon total lunar eclipse. This is the last total lunar eclipse until March 14, 2025.

Our lead image, a composite from University of Arizona Professor Eliot Herman shows a series of views throughout the eclipse. “This Lunar eclipse had soft gradations of color that was quite beautiful,” Herman said on Flickr. “This series of photos begins just before totality and ends just after totality. All images are 15 images stacked captured with a Questar telescope, Baader UV/IR filter, and a Nikon Z7II.”