Astronomy Photographer of the Year winners revealed

Winners in the 13th annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition were announced recently with 23-year-old Chinese photographer Shuchang Dong taking out top honours and being named Overall Winner with his image, The Golden Ring. The youngest winner of the competition’s top prize, his photograph captured an annular solar eclipse and was taken in the Ali region of Tibet.

The image went on to beat over 4,500 entries from 75 countries, netting Dong the £10,000 first prize. His work, along with the other winners will be on display in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum, UK. The judges praised the image for combining the science, art and technological ingenuity of astronomy photography.

"This place has year-round sunny weather, but in front of the annular eclipse, I saw dark clouds all over the sky," Dong says. "We were waiting with anxious minds, but we were lucky. Within a minute of the annular eclipse, the sunshine penetrated through the clouds and afterwards the Sun was sucked into the thick clouds. We were so lucky here!"

Other wining images reveal Aurora borealis taken from the bridge of a ship by Dmitrii Rybalka (Russia), Venus rising over the rocky horizon of the Moon by Nicolas Lefaudeux (France), a star trail taken during lockdown by Deepal Ratnayaka (UK), and the Space X Falcon 9 rocket passing the Moon by Paul Eckhardt (USA).

The international astrophotography compeition is organised by the Royal Observatory Greenwich in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

© 'The Golden Ring' by Shuchang Dong - Overall winner and Our Sun category winner - Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021
© Shuchang Dong. The Golden Ring. Overall winner and Our Sun category winner.

Commenting on the winning photograph, judge László Francsics said: “Perfection and simplicity, that can lead to a winner image. The square crop has a tension with the mystic ring, and the misty bluish sky is the complementary of the yellow ring. A true masterpiece”.

Australian photographers recognised

Australian photographers Ed Hurst and Steven Mohr were shortlisted entrants in the People and Space and the Stars and Nebulae categories, respectively.

© 'Luna Park' by Ed Hurst - Shortlisted in People & Space Category- Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021
© Ed Hurst. Luna Park. Shortlisted in People & Space category.
© 'Dark molecular cloud in corona australis' by Steven Mohr - Shortlisted in the Stars & Nebulae category - Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021
© Steven Mohr. Dark molecular cloud in corona australis. Shortlisted in the Stars & Nebulae category.

Category winners

Stars and Nebulae: Terry Hancock

© 'California Dreamin' by Terry Hancock - winner of the Stars and Nebulae category - Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021
© Terry Hancock. California Dreamin'. Winner, Stars and Nebulae category

Aurorae category: Dmitrii Rybalka

© 'Polar Lights Dance' by Dmitrii Rybalka - Winner of the Aurorae Category - Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021
© Dmitrii Rybalka. Polar Lights Dance. Winner, Aurorae category.

Skyscapes: Jeffrey Lovelace

© 'Luna Dunes' by Jeffrey Lovelace - winner of the Skyscapes category - Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021
© Jeffrey Lovelace. Luna Dunes. Winner, Skyscapes category.

People and Space: Deepal Ratnayaka

© 'Lockdown' by Deepal Ratnayaka - Winner of the People and Space Category - Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021
©  Deepal Ratnayaka. Lockdown. Winner, People and Space category.

Our Moon - Nicolas Lefaudeux

© ' Beyond the Limb' by Nicolas Le Faudeux - Winner of the Our Moon Category- Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021
© Nicolas Lefaudeux. Beyond the Limb. Winner, Our Moon category. 

Our Sun: Shuchang Dong

© 'The Golden Ring' by Shuchang Dong - Overall winner and Our Sun category winner - Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021
© Shuchang Dong. The Golden Ring. Overall winner and Our Sun category winner.

Planets, Comets, and Asteroids: Frank Kuszaj

© 'A colourful quadrantid meteor' by Frank Kuszaj - winner of the Planets, Comets & Asteroids category - Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021
© Frank Kuszaj. A colourful quadrantid meteor. Winner, Planets, Comets, Asteroids category.

Galaxies: Zhong Wu

© 'The Milky Ring' by Zhong Wu - Winner of the Galaxies Category - Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021
© Zhong Wu. The Milky Ring.  Winner, Galaxies category.

Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year:  Zhipu Wang

© 'Family photo of the solar system' by 至璞 王 - 2021 Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year winner - Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2021
© Zhipu Wang. Family photo of the solar system. 2021 Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year winner.

Head to the competition’s website to view the entire gallery of shortlisted images.

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