Bask in the Ethereal Beauty of These Artistic Astronomy Photographs

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Cherry trees lining a river, the Moon glowing above. — In “Riverside of Funakawa,” we see cherry trees below the luminous Moon.

Humans have long mapped the stars, and ancient civilizations built entire mythologies (and even their own architecture!) based on astronomy. But the advent of advanced photographic techniques have allowed us to capture the sky and beyond in sharper relief than our predecessors could have ever imagined. Some fine examples make up the shortlist for the Royal Observatory Greenwich’s 14th annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. They showcase the majesty of the cosmos and the diversity of objects that constitute it.

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“Spectrum”

The Northern Lights shimmer above the Icelandic mountain Vestrahorn. The image is actually panorama of three photos.

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“Solar Wind Power”

The aurora seen over a wind turbine in Finland.

A wind turbine in North Ostrobothnia, Finland whirls below the aurora, creating the illusion that the two are somehow connected.

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“An Icelandic Saga”

A shipwreck sits in the foreground, with the Northern Lights above it.

The aurora borealis dances above the wreck of a ship named Gardur, in the Westfjords of Iceland.

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“Electric Wizardry”

More aurorae! Here, in Alberta, Canada, the Northern Lights are an ectoplasmic blur above the sharp horizon line of trees. A lake on the bottom half the photograph mirrors the eerie light.

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“Messier 78"

Messier 78 is a reflection nebula, meaning its dust is being illuminated by a nearby star. The wispy gray-blue cloud is surrounded by stars in this view from Blanco, Texas.

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“Radio Telescope”

The silhouette of the Mingantu Astronomical Observatory is visible here in front of the starry sky. The observatory is mostly used to look at the Sun.

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“Arp 271: Cosmic Collision”

A pair of galaxies spinning towards one another. — Two galaxies spin together.

Two spiral galaxies are smooshing into each other in this image taken by the El Sauce Observatory in Chile. The galaxies will likely continue this interaction for tens of millions of years.

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“Hydra’s Pinwheel”

The vivid blue and pink pinwheel of a galaxy.

Here, the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy is seen on the 270th anniversary of its discovery. The image (taken in Australia) combines photographic exposures with color data to emphasize the galaxy’s remarkable pinks and blues.

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“Busy Star”

Data from the Solar Ultraviolet Imager here reveals the amount of activity on the solar surface. A coronal mass ejection in the upper left hand corner of the image shows one such energetic outburst by our local star.

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“Earth Cyanotype”

This is a cyanotype print of the Earth made from a number of photographs of our planet taken by the Suomi NPP satellite. The color photographic montage was converted to black and white by the photographer and made into a digital negative, and then developed outside by sunlight on cyanotype paper.

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“Inverted Minerals”

The Moon, digitally enhanced to show areas of different mineral composition.

This image shows a multicolored Moon, thanks to digital enhancements of a photograph of the ordinary lunar surface. The enhancements show the different minerals on its surface.

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“Above the Lunar South Pole”

A panorama of the Moon's south pole. — A panorama of the Moon’s south pole.

Here, a composite image shows the Moon’s south pole in great detail, despite the difficulty of imaging this side of our local satellite from the Earth. The images were taken in San Diego, California.

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“Fly over the South Pole”

A wide view of the Moon's southern surface. — A wide view of the Moon’s southern surface.

A remarkable shot captures the lunar surface in all its pockmarked glory. Taken in Lombardy Italy, the photo makes the Moon feel close enough to touch.

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“Solar Inferno”

The abstract swirls of the Sun's superheated surface. — The abstract swirls of the Sun’s superheated surface.

Here, a very specific swath of the Sun was imaged by filtering out all light wavelengths but a specific red band. The Sun almost looks shaggy—but for your own good, don’t touch it.

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“Clouds of Hydrogen Gas”

Wisps of whitish gas above the Sun's surface. — Wisps of gas above the Sun’s surface.

On the Sun’s surface, wispy arcs of hydrogen gas are bent and swirled by the magnetic fields on the Sun’s surface. Those fields are also responsible for the cutely named ‘campfires’ in the Sun’s corona.

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“Partial Eclipse of the Sun in H-alpha”

The Moon's silhouette (top left) partially eclipsing the Sun. — The Moon’s silhouette (top left) partially eclipsing the Sun.

On June 10, 2021, a partial eclipse of the Sun was visible from Veneta, Italy. If you squint, you can almost make out the rugged surface of the Moon where it passes over our star.

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“The Jovian Family”

Jupiter (center) with two moons to its left and one to its right.

In this family photo, the gas giant Jupiter is flanked by three of its largest moons. Ganymede (far left) is the largest moon in the Solar System—though it still pales in comparison to Jupiter.

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“Comet C2021 A1 (Leonard)”

The bright blue comet Leonard leaving the Solar System. — The comet Leonard leaving the Solar System.

This is probably the best image we’ll ever get of Leonard, a very graceful comet. Leonard made its closest pass of Earth on December 12, 2021, and is imaged here on December 27 from Namibia. Its icy trail is a sight to behold.

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“Saturn and Its Moons”

The ringed planet Saturn and four of its moons. — Saturn and four of its moons.

You’d be excused for thinking those splotches next to Saturn are smudges on your screen. They’re actually some of the planet’s moons seen from Brazil. Some of Saturn’s moons rank among the smallest in the Solar System.

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“Moonrise Over Los Angeles”

Los Angeles, with the mountains and Moon behind it.

This image shows a huge piece of cheese—sorry, the Moon—over the Sierra Nevada mountains behind Los Angeles, California. The colors of the city skyline and the mountains behind it are stunning.

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“The Starry Sky Over the World’s Highest National Highway”

The Milky Way over the mountains and a highway.

A very specific superlative, but a cool sight nonetheless. The light coming from the bending National Highway 219 in Tibet contrasts nicely with the jaggedness of the mountain Kula Kangri in the background, as well as the familiar sprawl of the Milky Way.

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“Stacks and Stones”

The Milky Way is also clearly seen here, with stacked stones on the Isle of Scilly in the UK in the foreground. Stacked stones have long been used as navigational tools; of course, if that doesn’t work for you, you can always use the stars.

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“Equinox Moon and Glastonbury Tor”

The bright orange harvest moon behind Glastonbury Tor (and onlookers).

The silhouettes of people appreciating the massive harvest moon could easily be missed in favor of the towering Glastonbury Tor. The photo might be the eeriest of the lot.

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“Circles and Curves”

A swirl of stars outside a stone structure in the California desert.

For the geometricians among us, this artful shot captures stars circling around Polaris from within a quadruple arch structure in California. The Sierra Nevada mountains can be seen in the background.

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“Crossing the Madison”

A bridge in Montana, the Milky Way behind it.

So many arches! The Three Dollar Bridge in Montana makes up the foreground of this shot, with the much more massive arc of the Milky Way above it.

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“Oregon Coast”

The photographer caught a rare break from the fog of the southern coast of Oregon to catch the Milky Way above the Pacific Ocean. The galaxy nicely contrasts with the blue of the water.

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“Ladder to the Stars”

A wooden step structure in Bulgaria, the Milky Way looming above.

15 single exposures make up this shot taken on a Bulgarian lake. The cosmos vividly reflects off the lake water—the whole vibe makes me want to go camping.

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“Chidiya Tapu”

The cosmos above a nature park in the Andaman Islands.

This spellbinding image shows a nature reserve off of India, in the Andaman Islands. The long exposure makes the water appear completely still and soft, while the Milky Way glows with bluish light sources.

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“Diagonal”

A pier in Japan in the foreground, the Milky Way behind it.

A research pier of the Marine Research Institute in Japan stretches off into the distance, in this gloomy shot taken across the water. The Milky Way appears to intersect with the pier at an acute angle.

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“Suburbs of Carina Nebula”

One can’t come closer to space cotton candy than this image of the outer reaches of the Carina Nebula some 8,500 light-years from Earth. You’re looking at light that started heading toward Earth during the last Ice Age—and it doesn’t look a day over 4,000!

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“NGC6888 the Crescent Nebula”

The Crescent Nebula, in its blue-and-orange glory.

If you squint, the Crescent Nebula looks a lot like a brain. It’s actually 25 light-years across, and ejects the equivalent of the Sun’s mass every 10,000 years, according to NASA.

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“The Rolling Waves of Vela”

The wispy reds in this image were captured from Forbes, Australia. It shows the edge of the constellation Vela, with more distant stars shining through the remnant of a supernova.

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“A Little Devil Riding on the Head of a Dragon”

The nebula IC 1848 looks a bit like beautiful, massive algae growing across a pool of water. It’s actually the Soul Nebula, partner to the nearby Heart Nebula.

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“Pickering’s Triangle in Light Polluted City”

Pickering's Triangle, as seen in China. — Pickering’s Triangle, as seen in China.

Though this looks like the hellish teaser for the fifth season of Stranger Things, it’s actually Pickering’s Triangle, a supernova remnant captured in a six-hour exposure taken from Shaoxing, China. The exposure had to be long to see the sky despite local light pollution.

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“Interacting Galaxies in Eridanus”

**Two galaxies encroach on one another.**

These two galaxies are so close to each other that the larger galaxy’s spiral arm is being distorted towards the smaller structure. They are in the constellation of Eridanus.

Bask in the Ethereal Beauty of These Artistic Astronomy Photographs

These gorgeous images of the sky are shortlisted in Royal Observatory Greenwich’s annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition.

“Spectrum”

“Spectrum”

“Solar Wind Power”

“Solar Wind Power”

“An Icelandic Saga”

“An Icelandic Saga”

“Electric Wizardry”

“Electric Wizardry”

“Messier 78"

“Messier 78"

“Radio Telescope”

“Radio Telescope”

“Arp 271: Cosmic Collision”

“Arp 271: Cosmic Collision”

“Hydra’s Pinwheel”

“Hydra’s Pinwheel”

“Busy Star”

“Busy Star”

“Earth Cyanotype”

“Earth Cyanotype”

“Inverted Minerals”

“Inverted Minerals”

“Above the Lunar South Pole”

“Above the Lunar South Pole”

“Fly over the South Pole”

“Fly over the South Pole”

“Solar Inferno”

“Solar Inferno”

“Clouds of Hydrogen Gas”

“Clouds of Hydrogen Gas”

“Partial Eclipse of the Sun in H-alpha”

“Partial Eclipse of the Sun in H-alpha”

“The Jovian Family”

“The Jovian Family”

“Comet C2021 A1 (Leonard)”

“Comet C2021 A1 (Leonard)”

“Saturn and Its Moons”

“Saturn and Its Moons”

“Moonrise Over Los Angeles”

“Moonrise Over Los Angeles”

“The Starry Sky Over the World’s Highest National Highway”

“The Starry Sky Over the World’s Highest National Highway”

“Stacks and Stones”

“Stacks and Stones”

“Equinox Moon and Glastonbury Tor”

“Equinox Moon and Glastonbury Tor”

“Circles and Curves”

“Circles and Curves”

“Crossing the Madison”

“Crossing the Madison”

“Oregon Coast”

“Oregon Coast”

“Ladder to the Stars”

“Ladder to the Stars”

“Chidiya Tapu”

“Chidiya Tapu”

“Diagonal”

“Diagonal”

“Suburbs of Carina Nebula”

“Suburbs of Carina Nebula”

“NGC6888 the Crescent Nebula”

“NGC6888 the Crescent Nebula”

“The Rolling Waves of Vela”

“The Rolling Waves of Vela”

“A Little Devil Riding on the Head of a Dragon”

“A Little Devil Riding on the Head of a Dragon”

“Pickering’s Triangle in Light Polluted City”

“Pickering’s Triangle in Light Polluted City”

“Interacting Galaxies in Eridanus”

“Interacting Galaxies in Eridanus”