{"id":131588,"date":"2025-09-12T06:05:26","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T06:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/131588\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T06:05:26","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T06:05:26","slug":"see-the-2025-winners-of-the-biggest-astrophotography-competition-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/131588\/","title":{"rendered":"See the 2025 winners of the biggest astrophotography competition in the world"},"content":{"rendered":"

The winners of the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2025 awards have been announced by the Royal Observatory Greenwich.<\/p>\n

APY is the biggest astrophotography competition in the world, and this year photographers from all over the globe competed, with 1,141 individuals submitting a total of 5,882 entries.<\/p>\n

Learn how to take your own amazing images<\/p>\n

\"BestCredit: bjdlzx \/ Getty<\/p>\n

With eight subject categories as well as special prizes for newcomers \u2013 one that recognises the best photo processed using astronomical data, and the ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year \u2013 the competition was fierce.<\/p>\n

2025 winner revealed
\n\"TheThe Andromeda Core by Weitang Liang, Qi Yang, Chuhong Yu, is the overall winner of the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the year 2025 competition<\/p>\n

This year, the winning image is The Andromeda Core by Weitang Liang, Qi Yang and Chuhong Yu, which shows an incredible view of our nearest spiral galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The image came top in the Galaxies category, and was also the judges’ pick for best overall image submitted to the competition.<\/p>\n

ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2025 judge L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Francsics said: “Not to show it all \u2212 this is one of the greatest virtues of this photo.<\/p>\n

“The Andromeda Galaxy has been photographed in so many different ways, it\u2019s hard to imagine a photo would ever add to what we\u2019ve already seen.<\/p>\n

“But this does just that: an unusual, dynamic composition, with unprecedented detail that doesn\u2019t obscure the overall scene.”<\/p>\n

Best newcomer
\n\"EncounterEncounter Across Light Years, by Yurui Gong, Xizhen Ruan, won the Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer<\/p>\n

Each year, the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition selects the Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer, which in 2025 went to Encounter Across Light Years by Yurui Gong and Xizhen Ruan.<\/p>\n

It shows a fireball streaking across the sky in the foreground, with the Andromeda Galaxy visible in the deep, distant cosmos.<\/p>\n

“Happenstance created this alluring comparison,” says judge Ed Bloomer.<\/p>\n

“Our view of Andromeda is fixed, whereas rocky material burning up in our atmosphere flares up as a fireball for just a few seconds.<\/p>\n

“For just a moment, the annihilation of an object no bigger than a football steals the attention from the home of over a trillion stars.”<\/p>\n

Best young photographer
\n\"Orion,Orion, the Horsehead and the Flame in H-alpha, by Daniele Borsari, won this year’s Young Photographer prize<\/p>\n

The judges also had the tricky task of selecting this year’s ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year, which went to Daniele Borsari (aged 15) for his image Orion, the Horsehead and the Flame in H-Alpha.<\/p>\n

It shows one of the most famous regions of the winter sky: the region around the Orion Nebula<\/a>, which forms the sword hanging below the Hunter’s belt.<\/p>\n

“It never ceases to amaze me how the quality of images in the Young category can rival those in the overall competition \u2013 and few demonstrate that more clearly than this one,” says judge Greg Brown.<\/p>\n

“Choosing black and white over bright colours, and focusing purely on the shapes and contours of the nebulae, is a bold decision that has paid off.<\/p>\n

“The Orion, Horsehead<\/a> and Flame Nebulae have rarely looked so dynamic, and it\u2019s easy to imagine these vast gas clouds roiling and billowing through space.”<\/p>\n

2025 competition winners<\/p>\n

Images were submitted to Astronomy Photographer of the Year in eight categories and three special prizes:<\/p>\n

Aurorae
\nGalaxies
\nOur Moon
\nOur Sun
\nPeople and Space
\nPlanets, Comets and Asteroids
\nSkyscapes
\nStars and Nebulae
\nYoung competition
\nBest newcomer
\nAnnie Maunder Open Category<\/p>\n

See all the winners of the different categories in this year’s competition, including runners-up and highly commended, below.<\/p>\n

And catch the winning photos for yourself up-close at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London from 12 September 2025.<\/p>\n

For details, and for more information on entering next year, visit www.rmg.co.uk\/astrophoto<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Galaxies
\n\"TheThe Andromeda Core \u00a9 Weitang Liang, Qi Yang, Chuhong Yu (China). Winner, Galaxies and overall winner. Equipment: PlaneWave Instruments CDK20 telescope, Baader LRGB and Chroma H-alpha filters, PlaneWave Instruments L500 mount, Moravian Instruments C3-61000 Pro camera. Location: AstroCamp Observatory, Nerpio, Spain, 31 July, 2, 4\u20136, 14, 17, 20, 29, 31 August and 1 September 2024
\n\"CosmicCosmic Coincidences: Deer Lick and Stephan’s Quintet on a Ribbon of H-alpha \u00a9 Deep Sky Collective. Runner up, Galaxies. Location: Dark Sky New Mexico Observatory, Animas, New Mexico, USA, 8 October 2024
\n\"FireworksFireworks \u00a9 Bence T\u00f3th, P\u00e9ter Felt\u00f3ti, Bertalan Kecsk\u00e9s (Hungary). Highly commended, Galaxies. Equipment: Custom-built 250\/1000 Newtonian astrograph and Lacerta 300\/1200 Photo Newtonian telescope, Antlia V-Pro LRGB and 3 nm H-alpha, OIII and SII filters, Astronomik LRGB and 6 nm H-alpha, OIII and SII filters, Sky-Watcher EQ8-R Pro mount, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro and ASI294MM Pro cameras,1,000 and 1,200 mm f\/4. Location: Sz\u0151dliget, Pest and T\u00f6r\u00f6kkopp\u00e1ny, Somogy, Hungary, 2\u20134, 9, 23,30 November, 1, 27 and 28 December 2024<\/p>\n

Aurorae
\n\"CrownCrown of Light \u00a9 Kavan Chay (New Zealand). Winner: Aurorae. Equipment: Nikon Z 7 astro-modified camera, Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Pro 2i mount, Nikkor Z 14-24 mm f\/2.8S, 16 mm. Location: Tumbledown Bay, Little River, Banks Peninsula Community, New Zealand, 10 May 2024
\n\"CelestialCelestial Arch \u00a9 Luis Vilari\u00f1o (Spain). Runner-up, Aurorae. Equipment: Sony ILCE-7RM4 camera, 14 mm f\/1.8. Location: Stokksnes, Sveitarf\u00e9lagi\u00f0 Hornafj\u00f6r\u00f0ur, Iceland, 9 December 2024
\n\"AuroraAurora Over Mono Lake: A Rare Dance of Light \u00a9 Dan Zafra (Spain). Highly commended , Aurorae. Equipment: Sony ILCE-7III camera, 14 mm f\/1.8. Location: US Route 395, Mono Lake, Mono County, USA, 10 October 2024<\/p>\n

Our Moon
\n\"TheThe Trace of Refraction \u00a9 Marcella Giulia Pace (Italy). Winner, Our Moon. Equipment: Nikon D7100 camera, 600 mm f\/6.3. Equipment: Contrada Sant\u2019Ippolito, Modica, Sicily, Italy, 7 April 2024
\n\"SaturnriseSaturnrise \u00a9 Tom Williams (UK). Runner-up, Our Moon. Equipment: Sky-Watcher 400P GoTo Dobsonian telescope, Player One Astronomy Uranus-C (IMX585) camera, 6,300 mm f\/15.5. Location: Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, 21 August 2024
\n\"AristarchusAristarchus on the Moon \u00a9 Raul Cantemir (Germany). Highly commended, Our Moon. Equipment: DIY 12″ Newtonian Carbon telescope, Pierro-Astro ADC-MK3 atmospheric dispersion corrector, TeleVue 2.5x 1.25″ Powermate, Baader Red filter, Sky-Watcher EQ8-R mount, ZWO ASI178MM camera, 3,350 mm f\/11.25 with Barlow Lens, f\/5 without lens. Location: Eberstadt, Darmstadt, Germany, 29 August 2024<\/p>\n

Our Sun
\n\"ActiveActive Region of the Sun’s Chromosphere \u00a9 James Sinclair (USA). Winner, Our Sun. Equipment: Lunt 130 mm telescope with double-stacked Etalons, Lunt Block Filter 3400 (34 mm), Sky-Watcher EQ6 R Pro mount, Player One Astronomy Apollo-M Max camera, 910 mm f\/28. Location: Cedar City, Utah, USA, 30 September 2024
\n\"AA Sun Yawn \u00a9 Zhang Yanguang (China). Runner-up, Our Sun. Equipment: Pentax 75 EDHF telescope, Coronado SolarMax60 double-stacked, Takahashi 90S mount, Player One Neptune-M camera, 500 mm f\/8.3. Location: Xiamen, Fujian, China, 17 December 2024 and 4 January 2025
\n\"500,000500,000 km Solar Prominence Eruption \u00a9 PengFei Chou (China). Highly commended, Our Sun. Equipment: Lunt LS60T telescope, Lunt B1200 filter, Proxisky UMI17R mount, ToupTek ATR428M camera, 500 mm f\/7. Location: Eastern New District, Xinxing County, Guangdong province, China, 7 November 2024<\/p>\n

People and Space
\n\"ISSISS Lunar Flyby \u00a9 Tom Williams (UK). Winner, People and Space. Equipment: Sky-Watcher 400P GoTo Dobsonian telescope, Player Astronomy Uranus-C (IMX585) camera, 300 mm f\/15.5. Location: Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, 27 October 2024
\n\"RotationRotation \u00a9 Takanobu Kurosaki (Japan). Runner-up, People and Space. Equipment: Sony ILCE-7RM5 camera, Sony FE 20 mm f\/1.8 G lens, 20 mm f\/5.6. Location: Mirage Land, Uozu City, Toyama, Japan, 12 October 2024
\n\"InstantInstant and Eternal \u00a9 Zhang Yanguang (China). Highly commended, People and Space. Equipment: Takahashi Teegul 60 telescope, Coronado SolarMax60 double stacked, Takahashi 90S mount, Player One Astronomy Neptune-M camera, 500 mm f\/8.3. Location: Huli District, Xiamen, Fujian, China, 4 January 2025<\/p>\n

Planets, Comets and Asteroids
\n\"CometComet 12P\/Pons\u2212Brooks Taking a Final Bow \u00a9 Dan Bartlett (USA). Winner, Planets, Comets and Asteroids. Equipment: with a Celestron C14Edge HD SCT telescope with HyperStar V4 lens, 10Micron GM 2000 HPS mount, ZWO ASI2600MC Pro camera, 712 mm f\/2, 25 x 30-second exposures. Location: June Lake, California, USA, 31 March 2024
\n\"SatellitesSatellites and Storms \u00a9 Tom Williams (UK). Runner-up, Planets, Comets and Asteroids. Equipment: Custom 600 mm (24 inch) Dobsonian Reflector, Player One Uranus-C (IMX585) camera, 10,500 mm f\/17.5, several 10-millisecond exposures. Location: Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, 16 February 2025
\n\"TheThe War God Meets the Beehive \u00a9 Andre Vilhena (Portugal), Highly commended, Planets, Comets and Asteroids. Equipment: TS Optics Triplet APO 115\/800 telescope, Optolong RGB filters, Twinstar FG80 mount, QHYCCD QHY268M camera, 634 mm focal length, 115 mm aperture. Location: Centro Astron\u00f3mico de Trevinca, Vald\u00edn, Ourense, Spain, 16, 21 and 26 November and 1, 6, 11, 16, 21 and 26 December 2024<\/p>\n

Skyscapes
\n\"TheThe Ridge \u00a9 Tom Rae (New Zealand). Winner, Skycapes. Equipment: Nikon Z 6a and Z 7 cameras, iOptron SkyGuider Pro mount, Sky: Nikon Z 6a camera, 40 mm f\/1.8. Foreground: Nikon Z 7 camera, 24 mm f\/10, ISO 125. Location: Aoraki\/Mount Cook National Park, Mackenzie District, New Zealand, 8 April 2024
\n\"TrailsTrails at Rest \u00a9 Alex van Harmelen (Australia). Runner-up , Skyscapes. Equipment: Canon EOS R6 camera,14 mm f\/4.5, ISO 640, 1,200-second exposure. Location: Prince Frederick Harbour, Western Australia, Australia, 14 July 2024
\n\"MoonriseMoonrise Perfection Over the Dolomites \u00a9 Fabian Dalpiaz (Italy). Highly commended, Skyscapes. Equipment: Sony Alpha 7R V camera, 400 mm f\/9, ISO 320, 1\/200-second exposure. Location: Santuario di Pietralba, Deutschnofen, South Tyrol, Italy, 15 November 2024<\/p>\n

Galaxies
\n\"M13:M13: An Ultra-Deep Exposure of the Popular Cluster \u00a9 Distant Luminosity. Winner, Stars and Nebulae. Equipment: TS-Optics 200 mm\/8 ONTC f\/4 Newtonian telescope, iOptron CEM70G mount, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera, 800 mm f\/4. Location: Pena Trevinca, Veiga, Gij\u00f3n Municipality, Asturias, Spain, 25 September 2024<\/p>\n

Stars and Nebulae
\n\"M13:M13: An Ultra-Deep Exposure of the Popular Cluster \u00a9 Distant Luminosity. Winner, Stars and Nebulae. Equipment: TS-Optics 200 mm\/8 ONTC f\/4 Newtonian telescope, iOptron CEM70G mount, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera, 800 mm f\/4. Location: Pena Trevinca, Veiga, Gij\u00f3n Municipality, Asturias, Spain, 25 September 2024
\n\"VeilVeil of Stars \u00a9 Zixiong Jin (China). Runner-up, Stars and Nebulae. Equipment: TEC 140ED telescope, Chroma SHORGB filter, Astro-Physics Mach1 mount, ZWO 6200MM-Cool camera, 980 mm f\/7. Location: Marathon Sky Park, Brewster County, Texas, USA, 28 November 2024
\n\"ElectricElectric Threads of the Lightning Spaghetti Nebula \u00a9 Shaoyu Zhang (China). Highly commended, Stars and Nebulae. Equipment: Takahashi FSQ-106EDXIII telescope, Astrodon LRGBHSO filters and Chroma LRGBHSO filters, 10Micron GM 2000 HPS and Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 mounts, Canon EF 400 mm f\/2.8 II IS USM lens, Moravian Instruments G4-16803 and ZWO ASI6200 cameras, 382 mm and 391 mm, f\/3.6 and f\/2.8. Location: Deep Sky Chile Observatory, Camino del Observatorio, R\u00edo Hurtado, Chile and Xiangcheng, Garz\u00ea Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China, 21, 24 and 25 December 2024, 3\u20135, 15, 16, 19\u201331 January, 1\u20136, 10\u201319 February 2025<\/p>\n

Annie Maunder Open Category
\n\"FourthFourth Dimension \u00a9 Leonardo Di Maggio (UK). Annie Maunder Open Category. Original data from, JWST, NIRCam, Near-Infrared, NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI from 12 July 2022. Data credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI<\/p>\n

Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer
\n\"EncounterEncounter Across Light Years \u00a9 Yurui Gong, Xizhen Ruan (all China). Sr Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer. Equipment: Nikon Z 30 camera, 56 mm f\/1.7, ISO 800, multiple 30-second exposures. Location: Zhucheng City, Shandong, China, 12 August 2024<\/p>\n

ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year
\n\"Orion,Orion, the Horsehead and the Flame in H-alpha \u00a9 Daniele Borsari (Italy). Winner, ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Equipment: Player One Astronomy Ares-M Pro camera, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount, Samyang 135 mm f\/2.0 lens, 135 mm f\/2.8. Equipment: Leffe, Bergamo, Italy, 11, 14, 15 January, 6 February 2025
\n\"C\/2023C\/2023 Tsuchinshan\u2212ATLAS: The Great Comet of 2024 \u00a9 Holden Aimar (USA). Runner-up, ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Equipment: Sky-Watcher 130PDS telescope, Optolong UV\/IR Cut filter, Celestron CG-4 mount, Player One Astronomy Uranus-C camera, 650 mm f\/5. Location: Woodhaven, Michigan, USA, 17 October 2024
\n\"TotalTotal Solar Eclipse \u00a9 Louis Egan (Canada). Highly, commended, ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Equipment: Canon EOS 60D camera, SWSA 2I mount, Sigma 70-300 DG lens, Baader solar filter, 300 mm f\/6.3. Location: Coaticook, Quebec, Canada, 8 April 2024
\n\"TheThe Shark and the Rotten Fish Nebulae in an Ocean of Dust \u00a9 Daniele Borsari (Italy). Highly commended, ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Equipment: Player One Astronomy Ares-M Pro and ZWO ASI533MC Pro cameras, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount Samyang 135mm F2.0 lens, 135 mm f\/2.8. Location: Leffe, Bergamo, Italy, 28 and 29 August, 1, 2, 9 September, 10, 29\u201331 October, 1\u20133 November 2024
\n\"TheThe Moon With Saturn \u00a9 Shamiqh Gajdhar (India). Highly commended, ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Equipment: Celestron C8 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, ZWO AM5n mount, ZWO ASI294MC PRO Cool camera, 2,032 mm. Location: Jeddah, Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, 14 October 2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The winners of the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2025 awards have been announced by the Royal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131589,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[90,416,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-131588","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-space","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}