\n Four miles from the Eiffel Tower, a photographer captured the full moon\u2019s path over a pink Paris skyline. In China, another photographer snapped a night sky of falling stars.\n <\/p>\n
\n These are just two of the submissions short-listed in the 18th annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. Organized by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the competition drew nearly 4,000 submissions from 769 photographers in 66 countries. Entries include photographs of auroras, galaxies and landscapes of Earth\u2019s moon.\n <\/p>\n
\n Some images are impressive from a technical standpoint, said Greg Brown, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory and a judge for the competition.\n <\/p>\n
\n Finalist Tom Williams, he noted, highlights several views of Mars within a year, all in a single composite image titled \u201cMars in 2025<\/a>.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Finalist Rafael Schmall photographed \u201cThe Savannah Tree\u201d from Hungary, capturing a solar prominence<\/a> \u2014 or a dense plasma cloud \u2014 erupting in the shape of an acacia<\/a> tree from the surface of the sun.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s a very stunning, very striking image,\u201d Brown said, adding that it gives the viewer a \u201cfeeling of motion and movement of the active nature of the sun.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Brown described the competition as a \u201cweird mix\u201d of innovative, technical imagery and science.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s an art competition just as much as it is anything else,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThe beauty of the images, the wonderful array of colors and compositions, can be appreciated regardless of your understanding of what it is exactly that you\u2019re looking at.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Judges will choose winners in nine categories as well as award two special prizes and select one overall winner.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t usually take a whole lot of debate for the judges to come to a decision about what image it is,\u201d Brown said. \u201cThere\u2019ll always be something about it that makes it stand out.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The Astronomy Photographer of the Year will receive 10,000 pounds (about $13,300), while each category winner will be awarded 1,500 pounds (about $2,000). Runners-up and highly commended entrants will receive smaller monetary prizes.\n <\/p>\n \n The winning images will be announced September 17. They will be displayed in an exhibition at London\u2019s National Maritime Museum, alongside a selection of other short-listed images.\n <\/p>\n