‘Geminid Symphony’ and ‘Galactic Gandalf’: See the breathtaking views of our home galaxy from the 2026 Milky Way Photographer of the Year contest

(Image credit: Uroš Fink/Capture the Atlas)

Photographer: Uroš Fink

Location: Roque de los Muchachos Observatory; La Palma​, Spain

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(Image credit: Evan McKay/Capture the Atlas)

Photographer: Evan McKay

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Location: Wairarapa Coast, New Zealand​

Leaning on New Zealand’s reputation for being where much of the “Lord of the Rings” series was filmed, photographer Evan McKay reveals a stunning night sky enjoyed by the wizard Gandalf, added in later.

(Image credit: Julien Looten/Capture the Atlas)

Photographer: Julien Looten

Location: Very Large Telescope; Paranal, Chile​

Chile’s Atacama Desert hosts many different telescopes, including the Very Large Telescope (VLT) on Mount Paranal. There, the high altitude and dry desert air make observing the night sky much easier than in areas with lots of city lights.

In this image, both the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds — dwarf galaxies that orbit close to the Milky Way — can be seen toward the left.

“Subtle airglow adds another layer to the scene, a natural emission produced by chemical reactions in the upper atmosphere at altitudes of 80 to 100 kilometers [50 to 62 miles],” Looten said in the statement. “In this image, it reveals a range of colors, with green tones on the left and warmer reddish hues toward the right.”

In the foreground, one of the VLT’s telescopes shoots four sodium laser beams into the sky, creating four guide stars that astronomers can use to calibrate the observation systems.

(Image credit: Baillie Farley/Capture the Atlas)

Photographer: Baillie Farley

Location: Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

(Image credit: Josh Dury/Capture the Atlas)

Photographer: Josh Dury

Location: Durdle Door; Dorset, England

(Image credit: Anastasia Gulova/Capture the Atlas)

Photographer: Anastasia Gulova

Location: Tenerife, Spain

It took over four hours for photographer Anastasia Gulova to find the perfect place to document the Milky Way’s beauty from inside a cave on Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands.

“Capturing the image proved just as challenging,” Gulova said. “Composing and shooting the panoramic foreground required careful positioning, while properly illuminating the upper section of the cave was particularly difficult. To manage this, I used focus stacking across different planes, including the upper edge, the horizon, and the lower foreground, all in near-total darkness, where the brief blue hour offered little assistance.”

Gulova’s persistence was worth it, as she snapped the brilliant colors of the Milky Way mixed with the night sky and beginning sunrise.

(Image credit: Alejandra Heis/Capture the Atlas)

Photographer: Alejandra Heis

Location: Salto del Agrio; Caviahue, Argentina​

The glowing Milky Way isn’t the only stunning part of this image; it frames a 148-foot (45 m) waterfall that feeds into a large canyon, created by the lava flows from the Copahue volcano.

“Despite the harsh conditions, I waited for the precise moment when the Milky Way aligned above the waterfall, forming an arch suspended over this ancient terrain,” Heis said in the statement. “Working with the tripod close to the ground and repeating exposures, I was finally able to capture the scene I had envisioned for so long.”