{"id":6836,"date":"2025-07-13T14:16:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T14:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/6836\/"},"modified":"2025-07-13T14:16:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T14:16:05","slug":"feast-your-eyes-on-the-shortlisted-pics-for-the-2025-zwo-astronomy-photographer-of-the-year-awards-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/6836\/","title":{"rendered":"Feast your eyes on the shortlisted pics for the 2025 ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year Awards (photos)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Behold! The 2025 ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year Awards shortlist has been released, showcasing a spectacular array of astrophotography images ranging from solar prominences and auroras to distant galaxies and beguiling nebulas.<\/p>\n

For the past 17 years, the Royal Observatory Greenwich<\/a> \u2014 supported by astronomy camera maker ZWO<\/a> \u2014 has called on the global photography community to compete in an open competition celebrating the majesty and variety of our night sky.<\/p>\n

The 2025 competition saw photographers from 69 countries submit over 5,500 entries to compete in a plethora of diverse categories to gain recognition and, naturally, prize money. The overall winner of the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the year will bag a \u00a310,000 (about $13,560 U.S.) grand prize, while the photographers who come out on top in each individual category receive \u00a31,500 (about $2,030 U.S.) for their valiant efforts.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

“At ZWO, we believe that astrophotography<\/a> is not only a way to record the cosmos, but also a way to inspire curiosity, foster education and build communities that transcend borders,” said ZWO founder Sam Wen in a press release revealing the shortlisted images. “Everyone deserves a chance to connect with the universe \u2014 and through our support, we hope to bring that experience to more people.”<\/p>\n

The winners of each category will be announced in an awards ceremony in September later this year, with the victorious entries \u2014 and select runners-up \u2014 later being exhibited at the National Maritime Museum in London.<\/p>\n

Read on to see the spectacular images shortlisted for the 2025 ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the year awards!<\/p>\n

Auroras<\/p>\n

This image of a swirling green aurora<\/a> was captured from a remote location on the Senja Peninsula in northern Norway by Filip Brebenda on Sept 12, 2024. Silvery birch trees dominate the foreground, while a rocky outcrop frames the aurora dancing through the sky above, which is reflected in a placid pool of water between the trunks.<\/p>\n

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!<\/p>\n

\"Northern<\/p>\n

A photo of the northern lights in Norway (Image credit: Kongen \u00a9 Filip Hrebenda)<\/p>\n

Photographer Daniel Zafra was able to capture a rare occurrence of a magenta and green aurora reflecting off the waters of California’s Mono Lake in October 2024, alongside protruding rocky formations.<\/p>\n

\"Vibrant<\/p>\n

Aurora Over Mono Lake: A Rare Dance of Light (Image credit: Aurora Over Mono Lake: A Rare Dance of Light \u00a9 Daniel Zafra)<\/p>\n

Vincent Beudez imaged a breathtaking auroral display reminiscent of an arctic flower unfolding in the skies over Troms\u00f8 in northern Norway on April 4, 2024, framed by the snowy peaks of nearby mountains. He used a Sony Alpha 7S III camera to get the shot.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Arctic Flower (Image credit: The Arctic Flower \u00a9 Vincent Beudez)Galaxies<\/p>\n

An image of the Triangulum Galaxy<\/a> (M33), as captured by astrophotographers Bence T\u00f3th, P\u00e9ter Felt\u00f3ti, Bertalan Kecsk\u00e9s from Hungary over the course of several sessions over November-December 2024. The galaxy can be seen undergoing a burst of star formation thanks to the tidal influence of a galactic neighbor, with the glowing red form of an emission nebula visible throughout, giving the impression of a cosmic firework display.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The M33 galaxy in space (Image credit: Fireworks \u00a9 Bence T\u00f3th, P\u00e9ter Felt\u00f3ti, Bertalan Kecsk\u00e9s)<\/p>\n

The Andromeda Galaxy<\/a> (M31) can be seen shining with the light of countless stars<\/a> and nebulas in this image taken from the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan, China in late 2024. It took around 216 hours to capture the ancient light used in the creation of the image, which shows the bright central bulge and spiral arms of the Milky Way<\/a>‘s closest galactic neighbor in phenomenal detail.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

Eight-Panel Mosaic of M31: Stars, Nebulas and Central Bulge. (Image credit: Eight-Panel Mosaic of M31: Stars, Nebulae and Central Bulge \u00a9 Chuhong Yu, Jingyao Hong, Xi Zhu, Yaguang Wan)<\/p>\n

The barred spiral galaxy<\/a> NGC 2997 \u2014 also known as the Antlia Cabbage Galaxy \u2014 is pictured surrounded by glowing red cosmic clouds in this shot by Xinran Li taken from R\u00edo Hurtado, Chile in January and February earlier this year. The galaxy exists at a distance of 35 million light-years<\/a> from Earth<\/a> in the constellation Antlia and took around 10 hours of observing time to capture using a range of filters.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

NGC 2997: The Antlia Cabbage Galaxy (Image credit: NGC 2997: The Antlia Cabbage Galaxy \u00a9 Xinran Li)Our Moon<\/p>\n

A distorted moon can be seen rising over the French ch\u00e2teau of Villebois-Lavalette in this shot by Flavien Beauvais. The shot was taken during the full moon<\/a> phase in November 2024 using a Canon EOD R7 camera in conjunction with a Sigma 150-600 mm lens.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Moonrise Over Villebois-Lavalette (Image credit: Moonrise Over Villebois-Lavalette \u00a9 Flavien Beauvais)<\/p>\n

This composite image captured by Chayaphon Phanitloet from the Nakhon Ratchasima region of Thailand depicts a period in October 2024 when the moon slid in front of Saturn<\/a> \u2014 visible to the left of the image \u2014 blocking its light.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Lunar Occultation of Saturn (Image credit: Lunar Occultation of Saturn \u00a9 Chayaphon Phanitloet)<\/p>\n

Photographer Karthik Easvur created this portrait of a supermoon<\/a> looming large in the sky over Delhi, India, in November 2024, by stitching together 24 separate images into a seamless mosaic. The so-called “Beaver Moon” was captured using a 6-inch aperture telescope in conjunction with a ZWO camera along with several more helpful peripherals and filters.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Last Mineral Supermoon of 2024 (Image credit: The Last Mineral Supermoon of 2024 \u00a9 Karthik Easvur)Our Sun<\/p>\n

Zhang Yanguang was able to capture this perfectly timed composite shot of the International Space Station<\/a> (ISS) sweeping across the face of the sun<\/a> from the Fujian region of China on Jan. 24 ofthis year. The photographer deftly maintained the crisp profile of the space station when combining the images during post-processing, while revealing phenomenal detail on the surface of our parent star.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Encounter Within One Second (Image credit: Encounter Within One Second \u00a9 Zhang Yanguang)<\/p>\n

This image of a 311,000-mile-long (500,000 kilometers) solar prominence erupting from the sun was captured on Nov. 7, 2024 from Guangdong province in China by astrophotographer PengFei Chou. The image is constructed from 20 stacked data sets captured over the course of the hour-long eruption.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

500,000-km Solar Prominence Eruption (Image credit: 500,000-km Solar Prominence Eruption \u00a9 PengFei Chou)<\/p>\n

An artistic view of the sun captured by photographer Damien Cannane, depicting the different phases of a solar eclipse. The arcs in between the eclipsed suns represent a phenomenon known as “Baily’s Beads,” which arise as sunlight shines through valleys on the lunar surface in the moments before and after totality.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Progression of Baily’s Beads on the Sun (Image credit: Progression of Baily’s Beads \u00a9 Damien Cannane)People & Space<\/p>\n

Tianyao Yang took this picture of the July 2024 full moon behind skyscrapers in the Lujiazui district of Shanghai. The shot was the culmination of five years of planning and was taken from a distance of 16.5 miles (26.5 km) using a long lens, allowing the photographer to give the moon an outsized appearance compared to the foreground buildings.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Blood Moon Rising Behind the City Skyscrapers (Image credit: Blood Moon Rising Behind the City Skyscrapers \u00a9 Tianyao Yang)<\/p>\n

This picture, taken from Songyang County, China by photographer Yujie Zhang in August 2024, shows the bright ribbon of the Milky Way tumbling toward a collection of geometric buildings reflected in a foreground body of water.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Gateway to the Galaxy (Image credit: Gateway to the Galaxy \u00a9 Yujie Zhang)<\/p>\n

This placid scene taken with a Canon R6 Mark II camera by photographer Paul Joels captures the Milky Way in the sky over a boathouse in Lulworth Cove in the U.K. A multitude of stars can be seen shining down on the seaside vista, twinkling above a lone boat resting on the roadside.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Galactic Catch: Salt and Vinegar With Your Cosmos? (Image credit: Galactic Catch: Salt and Vinegar With Your Cosmos? \u00a9 Paul Joels)<\/p>\n

Comet C\/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is seen streaking through the sky above Honolulu, Hawaii, as captured from the Pu’u O Kaimuk\u012b Park by photographer Ran Shen on Oct. 12, 2024.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Comet Over Waikiki (Image credit: Comet Over Waikiki \u00a9 Ran Shen)<\/p>\n

Chester Hall-Fernandez captured this view of the Milky Way setting parallel to the horizon over the Mount John Observatory in New Zealand on July 21, 2024. The MOA-II telescope \u2014 the largest telescope on New Zealand’s South Island \u2014 can be seen to the right of the image, observing the countless stars populating the southern hemisphere night sky.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Looking Beyond (Image credit: Looking Beyond \u00a9 Chester Hall-Fernandez)Planets, Comets & Asteroids<\/p>\n

An image of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS captured from Namibia in southern Africa by photographers Gerald Rhemann and Michael J\u00e4ger in September last year, featuring dust (grey) and ion (blue) tails. The “kinks” in the more tenuous ion trail are created as the solar wind<\/a> pouring from our parent star impacts the particle trail shed by the wandering comet.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Close-up of a Comet (Image credit: Close-up of a Comet \u00a9 Gerald Rhemann and Michael J\u00e4ger)<\/p>\n

This family portrait of solar system<\/a> planets \u2014 excluding Earth for obvious reasons \u2014 was captured with the aid of a 20-inch Dobsonian telescope<\/a> in Bavaria, Germany, between September 2023 and December 2024 by astrophotographer Sophie Paulin. The planets \u2014 Mercury<\/a>, Venus<\/a>, Mars<\/a>, Jupiter<\/a>, Saturn, Uranus<\/a> and Neptune<\/a> \u2014 can be seen parading in a line from left to right in the composite piece.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Solar System Portrait (Image credit: Solar System Portrait \u00a9 Sophie Paulin)Skyscapes<\/p>\n

Benjamin Barakat captured this image of a lone tree standing in front of star trails from the Hidaybu district of Yemen on March 13, 2024 using a Sony Alpha 7 IV camera.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Dragon Tree Trails (Image credit: Dragon Tree Trails \u00a9 Benjamin Baraka)<\/p>\n

A full moon is pictured rising over the Dolomite mountains in Italy by photographer Fabian Dalpiaz in November 2024, as the last of the sunlight catches the upper slopes on a cloudless evening.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Moonrise Perfection Over the Dolomites (Image credit: Moonrise Perfection Over the Dolomites \u00a9 Fabian Dalpiaz)<\/p>\n

This composite shot of the Milky Way<\/a> was captured by Yoshiki Abe from the mouth of a remote cave in the coastal region of Yamaguchi, Japan on Oct. 12, 2024. The foreground image was snapped during a brief window known to photographers as the “blue hour<\/a>,” which occurs around the time that the sun sets, infusing the environment with a blueish hue. Abe captured his image of the Milky Way later that same night.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Cave of Stars \u00a9 Yoshiki Abe)<\/p>\n

A 23,000 pixel-wide panorama of the Utah Desert, imaged at night by astrophotographer Jim Hildreth with the Milky Way arcing high overhead amongst a sea of stars.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Into the Past (Image credit: Into the Past \u00a9 Jim Hildreth)<\/p>\n

Photographer Andreas Karaolis captured this panorama of the Milky Way’s Cygnus region streaking over a verdant hillside in Cyprus in October 2024. Karaolis also made use of the blue hour to capture the foreground image, snapping a series of 30- and 120-second exposures to capture it and the cosmic scene above, before combining them in the post-processing step.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Celestial Symphony (Image credit: Celestial Symphony \u00a9 Andreas Karaolis)Stars & Nebulas<\/p>\n

This composite view of the Christmas Tree Nebula and Rosetta Nebula was captured from the Deep Sky Chile Observatory in November and December last year. The colorful view is the result of 150 hours of observation, during which the ancient light of the nebulas was collected using a wide range of filters.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

A Rainbow Mosaic of the Rosette and the Christmas Tree Nebulas. (Image credit: A Rainbow Mosaic of the Rosette and the Christmas Tree Nebulae \u00a9 Shaoyu Zhang)<\/p>\n

A portrait of the “Running Chicken Nebula” (IC 2944) \u2014 an enormous stellar nursery located in the constellation Centaurus \u2014 captured by astrophotographer Rod Prazeres from Queensland, Australia over the course of several nights in March and April 2024.<\/p>\n

\"Clouds<\/p>\n

Radiant Canopy: The Lustrous Realms of the Running Chicken Nebula (Image credit: Radiant Canopy: The Lustrous Realms of the Running Chicken Nebula \u00a9 Rod Prazeres)<\/p>\n

Shaoyu Zhang took this electric view of the “Spaghetti Nebula” (Simeis 147) from Chile and Sichuan, China between December 2024 and February 2025. Over 148 hours of exposure time were used to obtain a “full-spectrum” image of the vast supernova remnant to reveal structures ordinarily hidden behind a veil of cosmic dust.<\/p>\n

\"red-and-blue-and-purple<\/p>\n

Electric Threads of the Lightning Spaghetti Nebula. (Image credit: Electric Threads of the Lightning Spaghetti Nebula \u00a9 Shaoyu Zhang)The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer<\/p>\n

An image of the Abel 85 supernova<\/a> remnant captured in the skies above China by Deqian Li. Li used 23.4 hours of light data to create the image, which was captured over the course of a six-day camping trip in Hongyuan county, China with a Takahashi Epsilon-160ED telescope paired with a ZWO astronomy camera.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Abell 85: Pomegranate in the Universe (Image credit: Abell 85: Pomegranate in the Universe \u00a9 Deqian Li) ZWO Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year<\/p>\n

A 22-megapixel panorama showing the different stages of a total solar eclipse<\/a> captured during the April 8, 2024 event by photographer Louis Egan from Quebec, Canada. The final piece was created using around 200 individual images.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Total Solar Eclipse (Image credit: Total Solar Eclipse \u00a9 Louis Egan)Annie Maunder Open Category<\/p>\n

Peter Ward’s “neon sun” effect was created using ultraviolet data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which was remapped to colors visible to the naked eye, and turned “inside out” to surround the sun.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Neon Sun (Image credit: Neon Sun \u00a9 Peter Ward)<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com’s readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Behold! The 2025 ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year Awards shortlist has been released, showcasing a spectacular array…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6837,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,229,88],"class_list":["post-6836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}