The Reach for the Stars Astrophotography Competition return for another year to invite people across Ireland to pause, look up, and capture the moments that remind us to reflect on the extraordinary nature of our night sky.

Organised this year by the school of cosmic physics at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), the competition aims to find the best astrophotographs taken in Ireland between June 3rd, 2025 and May 5th, 2026.

Photographs can be entered in three categories:

1. Night Sky in Your Hand – Images taken with a smartphone only, without telescopes, capturing an astronomical scene.

2. Out of this World – Images of astronomical objects, including the sun, moon, planets, and deep-sky objects such as nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies.

3. Back on Earth – Images that depict astronomical features alongside landscapes, landmarks, nature, buildings, or heritage sites.

In addition, one overall public choice winner will be selected by public vote from across the shortlisted entries in all categories.

Entrants may submit up to two images per category to the competition. The deadline for entries is 5pm, May 6th. Shortlisted entrants will be announced in late June.

Entries will be judged by Dan Dennison, visual editor, The Irish Times; Donnacha O’Driscoll, president of the Irish Astronomical Society; Prof Peter Gallagher, senior professor and head of astronomy and astrophysics at DIAS, and Dr Niamh Shaw, scientist, engineer, and one of Ireland’s leading science communicators.

Winners 2025Symmetry, by Anthony Lynch, winner of the Public Choice awardSymmetry, by Anthony Lynch, winner of the Public Choice award In All Its Glory, a picture of the Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS by Brian O'Halloran, won the Out of this World Planetary categoryIn All Its Glory, a picture of the Comet Tsuchinshan ATLAS by Brian O’Halloran, won the Out of this World Planetary category Martin McCormack took home the Out of this World Deep Sky prize for his shot, Winter Nebula in BloomMartin McCormack took home the Out of this World Deep Sky prize for his shot, Winter Nebula in Bloom The Voyager, by Liam Reddall, was the winner of the Back on Earth Landmark prizeThe Voyager, by Liam Reddall, was the winner of the Back on Earth Landmark prize Raluca Lica's Aurora above the Golden Fields was the winner in the Back on Earth Landscape categoryRaluca Lica’s Aurora above the Golden Fields was the winner in the Back on Earth Landscape category Anthony Lynch took home a second win, this time in the Night Sky in Your Hand category with his shot, Comet CatcherAnthony Lynch took home a second win, this time in the Night Sky in Your Hand category with his shot, Comet Catcher Runners-up 2025

And now, while the following shots did not win, they did provide added inspiration.

Skellig Michael Under the Harvest Full Moon, by Goran Loncar, from the Out of this World Planetary categorySkellig Michael Under the Harvest Full Moon, by Goran Loncar, from the Out of this World Planetary category Felix Sproll's Inver Fishing Hut Milkyway competed for the Back on Earth Landmark prizeFelix Sproll’s Inver Fishing Hut Milkyway competed for the Back on Earth Landmark prize Horsehead and Flame Nebula, by Joe O'Sullivan, from the Out of this World Deep Sky categoryHorsehead and Flame Nebula, by Joe O’Sullivan, from the Out of this World Deep Sky category Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over the Bluestack Mountains, from the Back on Earth Landscape category, by Brendan AlexanderComet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS over the Bluestack Mountains, from the Back on Earth Landscape category, by Brendan Alexander Felix Sproll's Another World was part of the Out of the World Planetary caegoryFelix Sproll’s Another World was part of the Out of the World Planetary caegory