{"id":14921,"date":"2022-07-05T01:01:20","date_gmt":"2022-07-04T23:01:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=122971"},"modified":"2022-07-05T01:21:15","modified_gmt":"2022-07-04T23:21:15","slug":"cosmic-fireworks-a-stunning-comet-and-a-rare-image-of-the-moon-the-shortlist-for-astronomy-photographer-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/cosmic-fireworks-a-stunning-comet-and-a-rare-image-of-the-moon-the-shortlist-for-astronomy-photographer-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Cosmic fireworks, a stunning comet and a rare image of the Moon: The shortlist for Astronomy Photographer of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By James Cutmore\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 05 July 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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An impressive batch of accomplished images are in the running for this year\u2019s Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022. The competition is run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich<\/a>,\u00a0in association with\u00a0BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/i><\/a>. This year the competition has received over 3,000 entries from passionate amateur and dedicated professional photographers, submitted from\u00a067<\/span>\u00a0countries across the globe. These have been whittled down by a team of expert judges, and we can now share our favourite images with you.<\/p>\n

Shortlisted images from this year\u2019s competition include the Harvest Moon<\/a> rising behind Glastonbury Tor in the United Kingdom, the lights of the Milky Way<\/a> mirrored by the highest national highway in the world in Tibet, one of the most detailed amateur-produced maps of the lunar south pole, and a partial solar eclipse over Italy.<\/p>\n

One of the astronomical highlights of 2021 was the discovery of Comet Leonard, a long period comet identified by GJ Leonard on 3 January 2021. It made its closest pass by Earth on 12 December 2021 and was the brightest comet<\/a> of the year. Almost a quarter of submissions to the planets, comets and asteroids category focused on this single comet, including a spectacular image captured in Namibia by Lionel\u00a0Majzik<\/span>. \u201cPhotography was hampered by overcast weather conditions, but I was delighted to capture the incredibly spectacular Comet Leonard with its tail,\u201d Majzik said.<\/p>\n

Now in its fourteenth year,\u00a0Astronomy Photographer of the Year\u00a0has an expert panel of judges from the worlds of art and astronomy.\u00a0The winners of the competition\u2019s nine categories, two special prizes and the overall winner will be announced at a special online award ceremony on Thursday 15 September. The winning images will be displayed in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum from Saturday 17 September, alongside a selection of exceptional shortlisted images.<\/p>\n

We won\u2019t know who will walk away with the top prize for a while yet, but you can try to make your own predictions looking through the high quality of this year\u2019s entries.<\/p>\n

Clouds of hydrogen gas<\/h2>\n
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Clouds of hydrogen gas give way as the magnetic field lines of the Sun snap and clash together. These features around the edge of the Sun are known as prominences.\u00a0Photo by Simon Tang\/Astronomy Photographer of the Year<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Moonrise over Los Angeles<\/h2>\n
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An alignment of the Moon, mountains and iconic skyline of Los Angeles, USA, following a winter storm on 18 December 2021. Photo by Sean Goebel\/Astronomy Photographer of the Year<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Comet C\/2021 A1 (Leonard)<\/h2>\n
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Comet Leonard was discovered by G.J. Leonard on 3 January 2021 and made its closest pass to Earth on 12 December 2021. The photographer secured some time with the robotic telescope at the Skygems Remote Observatories in Namibia on 27 December to capture this rare glimpse of a comet that will leave the Solar System and not be seen again. Photo by Lionel Majzik\/Astronomy Photographer of the Year<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Above the Lunar South Pole<\/h2>\n
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A composite of images of the lunar south pole created on two different dates (thus giving different views of the region). It one of the most detailed amateur-produced maps of this part of the Moon, which is very difficult to observe from Earth. Photo by Tom Glenn\/Astronomy Photographer of the Year<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The Crescent Nebula<\/h2>\n
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A false-colour deep view of the Crescent Nebula in Cygnus, the result of shockwaves originating from the Wolf\u2013Rayet star WR 134. Photo by Bray Falls\/Astronomy Photographer of the Year<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Radio telescope<\/h2>\n
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The Mingantu Astronomical Observatory is in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China and is mainly used observe the Sun. Here, it is silhouetted against a starry night sky. Photo by Liu Xuemei\/Astronomy Photographer of the Year<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Solar inferno<\/h2>\n
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The Sun looks different every time astrophotographers capture an image as new sunspots form, grow and eventually fade away. In this image, all wavelengths of light have been filtered out, except a narrow red band (known as the H-alphaline) to reveal an active region of change of the Sun. Photo by Stuart Green\/Astronomy Photographer of the Year<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Circles and curves<\/h2>\n
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Viewed from under a quadruple arch, the stars circle around Polaris, in this stack of 33 four-minute exposures. California\u2019s Sierra Nevada mountain range fills the horizon and Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the continental United States, is on the far left. Photo by Sean Goebel\/Astronomy Photographer of the Year<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Busy star<\/h2>\n
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This image depicts the busy surface and coronal activity of the Sun at 10:08 Universal Time on 15 February 2022. A powerful Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), shown in deep red in the upper left corner, erupted on the far side. Intriguing formations of plumes (in blue), coronal holes (in dark teal) and filaments (brown) are also represented. To capture all this activity in one image, it was necessary to combine observations in multiple wavelengths in the extreme ultraviolet. Photo by Sergio D\u00edaz Ruiz\/Astronomy Photographer of the Year<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Solar wind power<\/h2>\n
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A vivid auroral corona behind this wind turbine gives the illusion of an interaction between the two, as if the turbine was driven by the solar wind or dispersing the aurora. This was taken during a strong auroral storm in northern Finland. Photo by Esa Pekka Isomursu\/Astronomy Photographer of the Year<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Saturn and its moons<\/h2>\n
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Saturn\u2019s moons are distributed almost symmetrically around the planet in this image, balancing the composition of the photograph. Photo by Fl\u00e1vio Fortunato\/Astronomy Photographer of the Year<\/strong><\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

More images from Science Focus<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n