13 stunning shots from the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Awards

All these amazing and otherworldly photos were shortlisted for the annual awards

by Tom Powell

The swirly red iron sculpture Seven Magic Points in Brattebergan, Norway, mirrors the rippling aurora above

Rune Engebø

No, it's not an alien happening, it's the mesmerising star trails over Mount Cook National Park

Lee Cook

To capture this shot of swirling snow and stars, the photographer had to head out into complete seclusion of the Anzac peaks, New Zealand

Lee Cook

Apparently this spot at the Halley 6 Research Station in Antarctica is the closest thing you can get to living in space without leaving Earth

Richard Inman

The sun rising over Hawaii's highest peak projects a vast shadow over Hualalai volcano while the moon still soars

Sean Goebel

This shot feature a whopping 65 meteors cascading down over Mount Shasta in California

Brad Goldpaint

A huge challenge for astrological photographers is the battle with light pollution. Despite the glow coming from that fishing village, this photographer's winning

Yuyun Wang

That line's the International Space Station, who're currently playing the biggest game of darts in the world. Sadly, they just missed the bullseye

Scott Carnie Bronca

The moon glows softly over Paraty Bay, Brazil, and shimmers in its waters

Rafael Defavari

Cows jump over the moon, Royal Spoonbills (that's this weird looking fellow from NZ) bask in its yellow glory

Andrew Caldwell

The beautiful symmetrical glow of the Northern Lights reflected in the lagoon at Jokulsarlon, Iceland

Giles Rocholl

The Milky Way stretched out between two rocks at Pfeiffer State Beach, California

Rick Whitacre

The glow of the Milky Way over the hills of Oregon makes our planet feel almost otherworldly

Nicholas Roemmelt

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Published: Thursday 8th September 2016

Inspiration

Meteors rain down over the Californian mountains, the International Space Station streaks like a dart across the Australian night sky and, um – a weird looking bird from New Zealand called the Royal Spoonbill tries to steal the moon's limelight (and almost succeeds).

These are some of the most incredible shots shortlisted for this year's Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards, and to be honest, they're out of this world (sorry about that one).

Now coming into its fifth year at Greenwich's Royal Observatory, the competition showcases and celebrates the best shots of stunning stars and astonishing auroras from some of the world's most revered astrophotographers.

The winners of the annual competition will be announced in a ceremony on September 15th, and you can check out all the winners – as well as all the shortlisted images here – in an exhibition at Royal Observatory Greenwich from September 17th.

The competition's official book, published by Collins, will be available from November 3rd for £25. rmg.co.uk

Inspiration

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