Feast Your Eyes on the 12 Winning Astronomy Photographer of the Year Images

Youth Competition

A “family photo” of our solar system. Image: Zhipu Wang

Zhipu Wang was the winner of this year’s youth competition, with a family portrait of the solar system (excluding Earth). From left to right, the planets are: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus. Obviously Pluto is not present because it is a dwarf planet. The seven planets are framed by the Sun at left and the Moon (blown up to match the Sun) at right. The photos were all taken in Yongtai, China, between August 2020 and January 2021.

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The artistic rendering shows the center of the galaxy Markarian 501, from which two powerful jets emanate. The supermassive black hole at the centre, whose existence was already known, partially bends the light from the jet behind it into a so-called Einstein ring.

Unprecedented Observation Reveals 2 Supermassive Black Holes Locked in a Tight Death Spiral

New research describes an unexpected double jet in a distant galaxy, revealing a pair of supermassive black holes on the verge of colliding.

Space & Spaceflight Passant Rabie Apr 7

An illustration of a red giant star near the Milky Way.

Astronomers Found the Closest Thing Yet to the Universe’s First Stars

The pristine star formed outside the Milky Way and later drifted into our galaxy.

Space & Spaceflight Passant Rabie Apr 7

Asteroid Ryugu Contains All 5 DNA and RNA Building Blocks, Study Shows

A new study adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests asteroid impacts played a critical role in the emergence of life on our planet.

Space & Spaceflight Ellyn Lapointe Mar 16

An illustration of a group of stars in the Milky Way galaxy

Our Sun Was Born in a Hellish Part of the Milky Way. New Research Explains How It Escaped

Without the mass stellar migration, life may not have been able to form on Earth.

Space & Spaceflight Passant Rabie Mar 13

$A bright, greenish coma and a tail are shown in this three-minute exposure taken using a 6″ Takahashi refractor located in New Mexico. At the time of this image, comet Lovejoy was 40 million miles from Earth and 88 million miles from the sun.$

Newly Discovered Comet Could Appear During the Day—If It’s Not Destroyed First

Comet MAPS (C/2026 A1) is set for a dangerous brush with our star.

Space & Spaceflight Passant Rabie Mar 12

An illustration of a row of mirror satellites in Earth orbit.

California Startup Wants to Send Thousands of Mirrors to Orbit For the Dumbest Reason Ever

The planned orbital illumination system seeks to deliver sunlight after dark.

Space & Spaceflight Passant Rabie Mar 11