A space odyssey in 16 pictures: Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023 shortlist announced

A stunning selection of shortlisted images from this year’s competition.

By James Cutmore

Published: Tuesday, 27 June 2023 at 12:00 am

The Royal Observatory Greenwich has announced its shortlisted images for Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023.

Shortlisted images from this year’s competition include star trails over the Vimy First World War trench memorial in northern France, the Milky Way over a 12th Century castle in North Wales, and Jupiter flanked by two of its moons, Io and Europa.

The winners of the competition’s nine categories, two special prizes and the overall winner will be announced on 14 September 2023. The winning images will be displayed, along with a selection of exceptional shortlisted images, in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum London from Saturday 16 September 2023.

The competition is run by Royal Observatory Greenwich, supported by Liberty Specialty Markets and in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

Planets, comets and asteroids

Dance of the Moons: Jupiter is flanked by two of its many moons, Io and Europa. Europa is the icy white moon casting a shadow onto the ‘surface’ of Jupiter, and Io is the yellowy-orange lava-covered circle on the lower left.

The Great Red Spot is clearly seen with the shadow of Europa cutting across its southern edge. Photographed at Marley Vale, Barbados, United Kingdom. Photo by Damien Peach/APOTY15.

Stars and nebulae

RCW 58: Wolf Rayet Bubble: RCW58 is a Wolf Rayet bubble nebula. It is formed from the ejecta of the star WR 40, which shines from the centre of the bubble.

Photographed at El Sauce Observatory, Río Hurtado, Chile. Photo by Mark Hanson & Mike Selby/APOTY15

People and space

Dolbadarn Castle, Home of Welsh Princes: Dolbadarn Castle is a late 12th Century castle located above Llanberis in the heart of Eryri, North Wales, UK.

The core of the Milky Way can be seen rising behind the castle and the Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) range of mountains. Photo by Robert Price/APOTY15.

Skyscapes

Comet 2022 E3 Above Snowy Mount Etna: This image shows Comet 2022 E3 soaring over Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy, as volcanic vapours sweep over the crater.

The glowing turquoise green of the comet contrasts with the night sky and snowy landscape. Photo by Dario Giannobile/APOTY15

Our Moon

Ball of Rock: This is a composite of an image of the Moon when 78 per cent illuminated and an image of the full Moon.

Assembling close-up shots to create a mosaic of the whole Moon is complex as the perspective changes slightly during a lunar orbit. Photographed at Wallasey, Wirral, Merseyside, UK. Photo by Rich Addis/APOTY15.

Galaxies

Nebulae of the Small Magellanic Cloud: This image combines multiple objects. Dominating the image is the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a dwarf irregular galaxy around 200,000 light years from the Milky Way.

47 Tucanae, at the top of the image, and NGC 362, to the left of the Small Magellanic Cloud, are much closer to Earth and unrelated to the SMC. Extensive nebulosity is revealed by using narrowband filters.

Photographed at Heaven’s Mirror Observatory, Yass Valley, New South Wales, Australia. Photo by Jonathan Lodge/APOTY15.

Our Sun

Solar Flare X1 from AR2994 in ‘Motion’: Photograph of the Sun taken from a 27-minute timelapse of a solar flare on 30 April 2022.

Photographed in Évora district, Portugal. Photo by Miguel Claro/APOTY15.

Aurora

Aurora Over the Great Pollet Sea Arch: The Northern Lights over the Great Pollet Sea Arch, Ireland captured as the Moon set.

The photo was taken shortly after a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun on 24 February 2023. This allowed the aurorae to be seen in large parts of the UK. Photo by Brendan Alexander/APOTY15

Skyscapes

Celestial Equator Above First World War Trench Memorial: Star trails above the preserved First World War trenches in Canadian National Vimy Memorial Park, Northern France.

Taken over five hours, the camera captured the rotation of the sky revealing the colourful stars. Photo by Louis Leroux-Gere/APOTY15

More from Science Focus:

Stars and nebulae

Jellyfish Nebula: The Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443) is a supernova remnant in the constellation Gemini. Here, the stars have been removed from the image in order to focus on the delicate nebulous structures.

Photographed at Coppet, Vaud, Switzerland. Photo by Peter Larkin/APOTY15.

Aurorae

Emerald Roots: The Northern Lights above the famous Icelandic mountain, Vestrahorn. The aurora is reflected on the black sand beach and the rising moon makes the sand ripples appear golden.

Photo by Lorenzo Ranieri Tenti/APOTY15

Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year

The Milky Way: A photograph of the Milky Way taken in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Due to the lack of light pollution, the Milky Way could be viewed with the naked eye. Photo by Kush Chandaria/APOTY15.

Skyscapes

On Top of the Dream: The Milky Way was photographed from the top of Pain de Sucre, on the French-Italian border. The settled clouds and the pastel colours create a serene view of the mountain range. Photo by Jeff Graphy/APOTY15.

Planets, comets and asteroids

Colourful Saturn: A photograph of Saturn at opposition. The view captures the ring system and coloured bands and zones in its atmosphere.

The Cassini Division, an almost 5,000 km wide gap between the two main ring structures, can be clearly seen. Photographed at Marley Vale, Barbados, United Kingdom. Photo by Damian Peach/APOTY15.

Our Sun

China Space Station Transits Active Sun: The Sun photographed showing the transit of the China Space Station (CSS). The image of the CSS was produced by selecting the nine clearest photos from captured video frames. Photographed in Beijing, China. Photo by Letian Wang/APOTY15.

Our Moon

Mare Crisium From Light to Dark: Mare Crisium is a lunar sea located in the Moon’s Crisium basin, just northeast of Mare Tranquillitatis.

This mosaic photograph is made up of two high-resolution images showing a multitude of craters inside the basin. Photographed in Porto Mantovano, Mantua, Lombardy, Italy. Photo by Andrea Vanoni/APOTY15.