London\u2019s Royal Observatory Greenwich has announced the shortlisted images for the annual ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest, showcasing some of the world\u2019s most striking views of the night sky, aurorae, solar eclipses, moonrises and deep-sky sights.<\/p>\n
Now in its eighteenth year, the international competition celebrates the skill and imagination of amateur and professional astrophotographers from across the world. The 2026 contest attracted almost 4,000 entries from 66 countries.<\/p>\n
The overall winner will receive $13,200, with category winners awarded $2,000. Runners-up, highly commended entrants and special prize winners will also receive cash prizes.<\/p>\n
Astronomy Photographer of the Year: Highlights<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s shortlist includes dramatic images of nebulae, wide-field views of the Milky Way, meteor showers, lunar scenes, aurorae and solar eclipses from across the world. As such, it also highlights the rise of astrotourism, with photographers traveling to coastlines, waterfalls, cities and dark-sky locations in search of precise alignments and fleeting celestial events.<\/p>\n
One of the standout astronomical moments featured in the shortlist is the partial solar eclipse of March 29, 2025, which was visible from the U.K., Europe and parts of the U.S. and Canada. British photographer James McBeath\u2019s \u201cMoody Partial Solar Eclipse\u201d captures the sun behind fast-moving clouds in Leeds, West Yorkshire, after he spent several hours in a local park tracking the event and sharing views of it with passers-by. <\/p>\n
Yifan Cao witnessed a major aurora outburst in Iceland, during which the whole sky shone green, red and purple. Go\u00f0afoss Waterfall is a famous scenic spot that is strongly linked to Norse mythology.<\/p>\n
Yifan CaoAstrotourism Takes Photographers Around The World<\/p>\n
Other shortlisted works underline how closely astrophotography is tied to place, timing and travel. In Iceland, Yifan Cao\u2019s \u201cColorful Aurora and Waterfall\u201d captures a major aurora outburst above Go\u00f0afoss Waterfall in \u00deingeyjarsveit, where the sky glowed green, red and purple above a landmark strongly associated with Norse mythology.<\/p>\n
In France, Martin Giraud\u2019s \u201cSupermoon Path Over Paris at Sunset\u201d shows the first full moon of 2026 rising over the Paris skyline, with the Eiffel Tower and Sacr\u00e9-C\u0153ur Basilica aligned in the frame from a viewpoint in Meudon, \u00cele-de-France. The long distance to the landmarks helps explain why the moon appears so large against the city.<\/p>\n
This composite image shows five separate captures of the setting Full Moon, taken as the sky changed from a deep blue, in which the pinkish glow known as the Belt of Venus was visible, to full golden-hour illumination. Fredric Walder attempted to show the evolution of both the colour and luminosity of the sky by keeping the lunar disc approximately the same brightness in each section.<\/p>\n
Fredric WalderMoonrises Frame Famous Landmarks<\/p>\n
In San Francisco, Fredric Walder\u2019s \u201cFifteen Minutes of Moonset and Sunrise Over the Golden Gate\u201d combines five separate captures of the setting full moon as the sky changed from deep blue to golden-hour light. The composite shows the moon setting over one of the world\u2019s most recognizable travel landmarks.<\/p>\n
In Aotearoa New Zealand, Evan McKay photographed \u201cTe Hoho Rock Moonrise\u201d at Cathedral Cove in Waikato, North Island. With only a small window before moonrise, McKay used the moonlight to illuminate the foreground while blending in a separate sky panorama to bring out the nebulae above the coastal landscape.<\/p>\n
Japan also features prominently in the shortlist. Yoshiki Abe\u2019s \u201cThe Celestial Gate\u201d frames a solitary torii gate at Nata Beach in Kitsuki, \u014cita Prefecture, with the M8 and M20 nebulae shimmering in the background. The image turns a sacred coastal site into what appears to be a portal to the heavens.<\/p>\n
On this particular night, Evan McKay had only a small window to capture the sky before the Moon started to rise. McKay polar-aligned his mount during twilight and then began shooting the sky panorama from this location. The moonlight provided the best of both worlds and did a fantastic job of lighting up the foreground. To enhance the sky, McKay captured a separate panorama using a dual narrowband filter and blended it in to bring out the nebulae.<\/p>\n
Evan McKayAstronomy Photographer Of The Year: Categories<\/p>\n
The categories include Skyscapes, Aurorae, People and Space, Our Sun, Our Moon, Planets, Comets and Asteroids, Stars and Nebulae, Galaxies, and ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. The judges will also award the Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer and the Annie Maunder Open Category prize.<\/p>\n
The winners of the competition\u2019s nine categories, two special prizes and the overall prize will be announced on Sept. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
The winning photographs will then go on display at the National Maritime Museum in London from Sept. 18, 2026, alongside a selection of the best shortlisted images.<\/p>\n
At Nata Beach, a solitary torii gate stands amid the waves. It marks a sacred site where one of the Japanese deities is said to have first descended to Earth. With the M8 and M20 nebulae shimmering in the background, the gate appears as a true portal to the heavens.<\/p>\n
Yoshiki AbeAstronomy Photographer Of The Year: Exhibition<\/p>\n
The exhibition will open at the National Maritime Museum in London on Sept. 18, giving visitors the chance to see the winning images and selected shortlisted photographs.<\/p>\n
The competition is run by Royal Observatory Greenwich, supported by ZWO and in association with BBC Sky at Night magazine.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt ZWO, we believe astrophotography is not only a means of recording the cosmos, but also a way to inspire curiosity, nurture learning and bring people together through a shared sense of wonder,\u201d said Sam Wen, founder and CEO of ZWO.<\/p>\n
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"London\u2019s Royal Observatory Greenwich has announced the shortlisted images for the annual ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":772337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[274053,81201,274052,274051,49,48,242850,274054,274050,66,274055,141348,274049],"class_list":["post-772336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-2026-astronomy-shortlist","tag-astronomy-photographer-of-the-year","tag-astronomy-photography","tag-astrophotography-competition","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-milky-way-photography","tag-national-maritime-museum-exhibition","tag-royal-observatory-greenwich","tag-science","tag-solar-eclipse-photo","tag-space-photography","tag-zwo-astronomy-photographer-of-the-year"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=772336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/772336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/772337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=772336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=772336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=772336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}