Andromeda Galaxy image wins 2023 Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards

See all the winning images from this year’s astrophotography competition.

By Iain Todd

Published: Thursday, 14 September 2023 at 18:38 PM

The winning images of the 2023 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition have been revealed by the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

This year’s winning image is Andromeda, Unexpected, which is not only a dramatic deep-sky astrophoto showing the closest spiral galaxy to our own, but also subject of scientific study.

Marcel Drechsler, Xavier Strottner and Yann Sainty captured the image, which shows a huge plasma arc next to the Andromeda Galaxy.

The Andromeda Galaxy is the closest major galaxy to our own Milky Way, and astronomers are currently investigating the plasma arc seen in the image.

It could be the largest such structure nearest our Galaxy in the Universe.

Andromeda, Unexpected © Marcel Drechsler, Xavier Strottner, Yann Sainty, Location: Near Nancy, France. Winner, Galaxies category and overall winner. Equipment: Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4 telescope, Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro mount, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera, 382 mm f/3.6, multiple exposures between 1 and 600 seconds, 111 hours total exposure

The winning images of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, now in its 15th year, were announced on 14 September 2023 in an online ceremony.

This year’s competition saw judges wowed by over 4,000 entries from 64 countries.

“It’s an enormous honour for our team to receive this important award and we are grateful for all the support, friendship and encouragement we have received along our journey” say the winning astrophotographers.

“It encourages us to continue to pursue our passion for astrophotography and, of course, research with dedication.”

Meanwhile the Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year award in 2023 went to Runwei Xu and Binyu Wang, a pair of 14-year-old photographers from China who captured the Running Chicken Nebula.

The Running Chicken Nebula © Runwei Xu and Binyu Wang. Location: El Sauce Observatory, Río Hurtado, Chile. Winner, Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Taken with an ASA N20 f/3.8 Newtonian telescope, ASA DDM85 mount, FLI Proline 16803 camera, 1,900 mm f/3.8, 5.5 hours total exposure
The Running Chicken Nebula © Runwei Xu and Binyu Wang. Location: El Sauce Observatory, Río Hurtado, Chile. Winner, Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Taken with an ASA N20 f/3.8 Newtonian telescope, ASA DDM85 mount, FLI Proline 16803 camera, 1,900 mm f/3.8, 5.5 hours total exposure

Other winning images in Astrophotography Photographer of the Year 15 include Brushtroke, which is a view of the aurora captured from Lapland, Finland, and Mars-Set, which shows the 8 December 2022 lunar occultation of Mars, captured by Ethan Chappel from Texas, USA.

Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau won the ‘Our Sun’ category for A Sun Question, which shows a filament on the Sun in the shape of a question mark.

In the People & Space category, Vikas Chander topped the list with a view of the ship Zeila stranded off the Skeleton Coast off Namibia.

A wonderful view of Venus captured by Tom Williams took the Planets, Comets & Asteroids category, while ethereal ‘cosmic fireworks’ are the subject of the Skyscapes category winner, captured by Angel An.

Suspended in a Sunbeam © Tom Williams. Location: Trowbridge, Wiltshire, UK . Winner, Planets, Comets & Asteroids category. Taken with a Sky-Watcher 400P (16”) GoTo Dobsonian Reflector telescope, Baader Bessel (U)BVRI and ZWO IR850 filters, ZWO ASI462MM (Early-Bird) camera, 8,750 mm f/21.5, 5,000 x 5.9-millisecond IR exposures (29.5-second total exposure), 7,500 x 13.9-millisecond UV exposures, (104.25-second total exposure): 133.75-second total exposure
Suspended in a Sunbeam © Tom Williams. Location: Trowbridge, Wiltshire, UK. Winner, Planets, Comets & Asteroids category. Taken with a Sky-Watcher 400P (16”) GoTo Dobsonian Reflector telescope, Baader Bessel (U)BVRI and ZWO IR850 filters, ZWO ASI462MM (Early-Bird) camera, 8,750 mm f/21.5, 5,000 x 5.9-millisecond IR exposures (29.5-second total exposure), 7,500 x 13.9-millisecond UV exposures, (104.25-second total exposure): 133.75-second total exposure

Dr Ed Bloomer, astronomer at Royal Observatory Greenwich says: “Once again, entrants to the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition have conspired to make things difficult for the judges, with a flood of high-quality images covering an amazing range of targets.

“The highlight of this year is perhaps a number of genuine discoveries being imaged, but we’ve had wonderful efforts in every category and I’m particularly pleased to see the continued strength of our young entrants and those eligible for The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer.  It has led to some intense debate amongst the judges as we try to choose the very best of the best, but we don’t mind!”

You can see all the winning images in our gallery below, and can view all of the top entries from this year’s competition in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in London, opening 16 September 2023.

The Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is run by Royal Observatory Greenwich, supported by Liberty Specialty Markets in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

To keep up to date with this year’s competition on social media, follow @RMGreenwich on Twitter, @royalmuseumsgreenwich on Instagram and /royalmuseumsgreenwich on Facebook.

You can also follow the hashtag #APY15.

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023 winning images

Andromeda, Unexpected © Marcel Drechsler, Xavier Strottner, Yann Sainty, Location: Near Nancy, France. Winner, Galaxies category and overall winner. Equipment: Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4 telescope, Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro mount, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera, 382 mm f/3.6, multiple exposures between 1 and 600 seconds, 111 hours total exposure
Andromeda, Unexpected © Marcel Drechsler, Xavier Strottner, Yann Sainty, Location: Near Nancy, France. Winner, Galaxies category and overall winner. Equipment: Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4 telescope, Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro mount, ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera, 382 mm f/3.6, multiple exposures between 1 and 600 seconds, 111 hours total exposure
Brushstroke © Monika Deviat. Location: Utsjoki, Lapland, Finland. Winner, Aurorae category. Taken with a Nikon D850 camera, 14 mm f/2.8, ISO 3200, 4-second exposure
Brushstroke © Monika Deviat. Location: Utsjoki, Lapland, Finland. Winner, Aurorae category. Taken with a Nikon D850 camera, 14 mm f/2.8, ISO 3200, 4-second exposure
Mars-Set © Ethan Chappel. Location: Cibolo, Texas, USA. Winner, Our Moon category. Taken with a Celestron EdgeHD 14 telescope, iOptron CEM70 mount, Astro-Physics BARADV lens, ZWO ASI462MC camera, 7,120 mm f/20, multiple 15-millisecond exposures
Mars-Set © Ethan Chappel. Location: Cibolo, Texas, USA. Winner, Our Moon category. Taken with a Celestron EdgeHD 14 telescope, iOptron CEM70 mount, Astro-Physics BARADV lens, ZWO ASI462MC camera, 7,120 mm f/20, multiple 15-millisecond exposures
A Sun Question © Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau. Location: Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina. Winner, Our Sun category. Taken with a Sky-Watcher Evostar 150ED DX Doublet APO refractor telescope, Daystar Quark Chromosphere filter, Baader ERF frontal filter, iOptron CEM70G mount, Player One Apollo-M Max camera, Gain 100, 840 mm focal length 120 mm aperture, 2 panels of 115 x 3.47-millisecond exposures
A Sun Question © Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau. Location: Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina. Winner, Our Sun category. Taken with a Sky-Watcher Evostar 150ED DX Doublet APO refractor telescope, Daystar Quark Chromosphere filter, Baader ERF frontal filter, iOptron CEM70G mount, Player One Apollo-M Max camera, Gain 100, 840 mm focal length 120 mm aperture, 2 panels of 115 x 3.47-millisecond exposures
Zeila © Vikas Chander. Location: Heintesbaai (Henties Bay), Erongo Region, Namibia. Winner, People & Space category. Taken with a Nikon D850 camera, 135 mm f/2.8, ISO 200, 30-minute exposure.
Zeila © Vikas Chander. Location: Heintesbaai (Henties Bay), Erongo Region, Namibia. Winner, People & Space category. Taken with a Nikon D850 camera, 135 mm f/2.8, ISO 200, 30-minute exposure.
Suspended in a Sunbeam © Tom Williams. Location: Trowbridge, Wiltshire, UK . Winner, Planets, Comets & Asteroids category. Taken with a Sky-Watcher 400P (16”) GoTo Dobsonian Reflector telescope, Baader Bessel (U)BVRI and ZWO IR850 filters, ZWO ASI462MM (Early-Bird) camera, 8,750 mm f/21.5, 5,000 x 5.9-millisecond IR exposures (29.5-second total exposure), 7,500 x 13.9-millisecond UV exposures, (104.25-second total exposure): 133.75-second total exposure
Suspended in a Sunbeam © Tom Williams. Location: Trowbridge, Wiltshire, UK. Winner, Planets, Comets & Asteroids category. Taken with a Sky-Watcher 400P (16”) GoTo Dobsonian Reflector telescope, Baader Bessel (U)BVRI and ZWO IR850 filters, ZWO ASI462MM (Early-Bird) camera, 8,750 mm f/21.5, 5,000 x 5.9-millisecond IR exposures (29.5-second total exposure), 7,500 x 13.9-millisecond UV exposures, (104.25-second total exposure): 133.75-second total exposure
Grand Cosmic Fireworks © Angel An. Location: Lake Puma Yumco, Tibet, China. Winner, Skyscapes category. Taken with a Sony ILCE-7S3 camera, 135 mm f/1.8, ISO 12800, 4-second exposure
Grand Cosmic Fireworks © Angel An. Location: Lake Puma Yumco, Tibet, China. Winner, Skyscapes category. Taken with a Sony ILCE-7S3 camera, 135 mm f/1.8, ISO 12800, 4-second exposure
New Class of Galactic Nebulae Around the Star YY Hya © Marcel Drechsler. Location: Ovalle, Chile. Winner, Stars & Nebulae category. Taken with an ASA Newtonian 500 mm telescope, ASA DDM85 mount, FLI ProLine 16803 camera, 1,900 mm f/3.8, 890 x 1,200-second exposures, 672 x 300-second exposures and 15 x 1,800-second exposures
New Class of Galactic Nebulae Around the Star YY Hya © Marcel Drechsler. Location: Ovalle, Chile. Winner, Stars & Nebulae category. Taken with an ASA Newtonian 500 mm telescope, ASA DDM85 mount, FLI ProLine 16803 camera, 1,900 mm f/3.8, 890 x 1,200-second exposures, 672 x 300-second exposures and 15 x 1,800-second exposures
The Running Chicken Nebula © Runwei Xu and Binyu Wang. Location: El Sauce Observatory, Río Hurtado, Chile. Winner, Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Taken with an ASA N20 f/3.8 Newtonian telescope, ASA DDM85 mount, FLI Proline 16803 camera, 1,900 mm f/3.8, 5.5 hours total exposure
The Running Chicken Nebula © Runwei Xu and Binyu Wang. Location: El Sauce Observatory, Río Hurtado, Chile. Winner, Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year. Taken with an ASA N20 f/3.8 Newtonian telescope, ASA DDM85 mount, FLI Proline 16803 camera, 1,900 mm f/3.8, 5.5 hours total exposure
Sh2-132: Blinded by the Light © Aaron Wilhelm. Location: Santa Monica, California, USA. Winner, The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer. Taken with a William Optics Fluorostar132 mm telescope, Chroma 3 nm/50 mm SII/H-alpha/OIII filters, Astro-Physics Mach2GTO mount, ZWO ASI6200MM Pro camera, 910 mm f/6.9, SII: 87 x 900-second exposures; H-alpha: 92 x 900-second exposures; OIII: 87 x 900-second exposures, 66 hours and 30 minutes total exposure
Sh2-132: Blinded by the Light © Aaron Wilhelm. Location: Santa Monica, California, USA. Winner, The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer. Taken with a William Optics Fluorostar132 mm telescope, Chroma 3 nm/50 mm SII/H-alpha/OIII filters, Astro-Physics Mach2GTO mount, ZWO ASI6200MM Pro camera, 910 mm f/6.9, SII: 87 x 900-second exposures; H-alpha: 92 x 900-second exposures; OIII: 87 x 900-second exposures, 66 hours and 30 minutes total exposure
Black Echo © John White. Winner, Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation . Original data from the NASA Chandra X-Ray Observatory, May 2022.
Black Echo © John White. Winner, Annie Maunder Prize for Image Innovation . Original data from the NASA Chandra X-Ray Observatory, May 2022.