“Arctic Dragon” © Carina Letelier Baeza (Chile). Location: Raufarhöfn, Iceland
“This impressive aurora, which seemingly takes the form of a dragon, was the result of a geomagnetic storm (level G2) generated by a coronal mass ejection. The photo was captured at the Arctic Henge, which was one of the only places in Iceland with clear skies that night.”
Dazzling auroras, distant galaxies, and impressive celestial bodies have all found a home on the 2024 Astronomy Photographer of the Year shortlist. Organized by Royal Observatory Greenwich, the competition is a delight for anyone who loves gazing at the stars.
The respected competition always attracts top amateur and professional astrophotographers, and this year is no different. Over 3,500 images were submitted to this year’s photo contest by photographers hailing from 58 countries. These images compete in nine categories, including one that honors young photographers.
One particularly impressive image shows a clear green aurora in Iceland. It appears like a dragon in the sky, spreading its wings over the Arctic Henge in the remote northern end of the island.
“This aurora panorama, which looks like a big dragon over the rock pyramids, was the result of a geomagnetic storm (level G2) generated by a coronal mass ejection earlier that day,” explains Chilean photographer Carina Letelier Baeza. “The result was intense red-greenish aurorae throughout the whole night. The location of the photo is the Arctic Henge, which has a rich cultural meaning for Icelanders, and was the only place in Iceland with clear skies that night.”
This taste of what’s in store has only got us more excited about the winners of the competition, which will be revealed on September 12, 2024. For now, scroll down to see our favorite images from the shortlist and enjoy this glimpse of the stars—and beyond.
Here are our favorite photos from the 2024 Astronomy Photographer of the Year shortlist.
“A Whale Sailing the Sun” © Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau (Argentina). Location: Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina
“This image shows the details of the Sun’s surface. The photographer views the shape of the filament to the left of the disc as an immense plasma whale traversing the solar surface. Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau captured this photo by recording two videos (one for the disc and another for the prominences), each consisting of 850 frames.”
“Abandoned House” © Stefan Liebermann (Germany). Location: Garub, Namibia
“This image shows an abandoned house in the middle of the Namib Desert with the Milky Way rising above it. The sky was captured with a star tracker to lower the ISO. The veil of clouds and halos around the stars create a dreamlike effect.”
“A Night with the Valkyries” © Jose Miguel Picon Chimelis (Spain). Location: Hvalnesviti, Iceland
“A view of the Eystrahorn Mountain on the night of a KP7 storm (a strong geomagnetic storm that can cause aurorae and upset electrical power systems). The intensity of the storm resulted in the impressive range of colors in the sky.”
“Total Solar Eclipse” © Gwenaël Blanck (France). Location: Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia
“Gwenaël Blanck travelled to Australia in April 2023 to see the 62-second long total solar eclipse. In this collage he shows the corona and the pink chromosphere, the prominences and Baily’s beads, chinks of sunlight that shine through due to the Moon’s rugged landscape. The image is made of seven superimposed pictures, one overexposed for the background and six others for the chromosphere and prominences.”
“Serpentine” © Paul Haworth (UK). Location: Snettisham Beach, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, UK
“This image was taken at Snettisham Beach, famous for its vast tidal mudflats that attract migrating birds in staggering numbers. The foreground subject is a dilapidated jetty, which was built in the Second World War to allow gravel extracted from the nearby pits to be moved by boat. The curved channel in the mudflat mirrors the trailing stars.”
“The Galaxy Devourer” © ShaRa. Location: El Sauce Observatory, Río Hurtado, Chile
“CG4 (Cometary Globule 4) is a complex of nebulosity and dust with a very peculiar shape, located in the southern constellation of Puppis. The ‘head’ of the galactic worm has dimensions of about 1.5 light years. This image is the result of the work of a team of astrophotographers: they joined forces to rent the powerful Newtonian 500-mm telescope from Chilescope service, processing the raw files and then voted for the best images.”
“The Fire-Spitting Dragon” © Moritz Telser (Jersey). Location: Uttakleiv Beach, Lofoten, Norway
“The photographer was able to capture the aurora in motion when it turned into something resembling a dragon’s head on a clear night. Telser chose to use black and white to emphasise the contrast of the aurora against the dark sky.”
“M81, a Grand Design Spiral Galaxy” © Holden Aimar (USA), aged 14. Location: Brownstown, Michigan, USA
“M81, also known as Bode’s Galaxy, is about 11.75 million light years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It is one of the brighter galaxies in the night sky. In the image’s background, some Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN) can be seen. IFN is dust outside the Milky Way’s galactic plane that is illuminated only by the stars in the Milky Way.”
The winners of the astrophotography competition will be announced on September 12.
“Hunter’s Moon and the ISS” © Tom Glenn (USA). Location: San Diego, California, USA
“This image captures the International Space Station (ISS) in transit across October’s Full Moon, the Hunter’s Moon, approximately 12 hours after a partial lunar eclipse. The striking beauty of the Full Moon is on display, with its mix of rugged highlands, bright crater rays and darker maria.”
“The International Space Station Daytime Moon Transit” © Kelvin Hennessy (Australia). Location: Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
“This image shows the International Space Station (ISS) transiting the 51 percent illuminated Moon. The photographer initially struggled to find a suitable shooting location with clear skies along the very narrow transit corridor.”
“The Palette of the Himalayas” © Geshuang Chen (China). Location: Shigatse City, Xizang Province, China
“During the Spring Festival, the Sun and altostratus clouds acted together to create this huge corona, soaring above the Himalayas. The result is an enormous color palette above the snowy peaks.”
“A Milky Way Mimic” © Kevin Morefield (USA). Location: El Sauce Observatory, Río Hurtado, Chile
“NGC 6744 is thought to resemble our own Milky Way as it would be seen from 30 million light years away. The colours of this galaxy are those of the classic spirals: magentas of the emission nebulae, blues of the large young stars, yellows of the older stars and yellow-browns from the dust spiralling into the core. From Earth, NGC 6744 appears about two-thirds the size of the Full Moon.”
“Earth and Milky Way Galaxy Show” © Yoshiki Abe (Japan). Location: Aso City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
“Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture is the collective name for the five peaks often called the ‘Five Mountains of Aso’. One of the peaks, Nakadake, has a volcanic crater that is still active. Abe wanted this image to show how the Milky Way has watched over activity on Earth since prehistoric times. This is a composite photograph with the foreground and sky photographed separately but without moving the tripod.”
“The Scream of a Dying Star” © Yann Sainty (France). Location: Oukaïmeden, Atlas Mountains, Morocco
“The Cygnus supernova afterglow is a popular object with astrophotographers, but the idea here was to take advantage of the high quality of the sky and the long exposure time to highlight details that are rarely seen, such as the outer envelope of the supernova remnant. The image’s name is a nod to The Scream, the famous painting by Edvard Munch, symbolizing the scream that continues to echo through space after the star’s death.”
“Observations at Night” © Jakob Sahner (Germany). Location: Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain
“This image captures the Isaac Newton Telescope at the edge of the telescope facility on La Palma, in the Canary Islands. Moving the focus away from the centre of the Milky Way, Sahner explores other interesting areas of the galaxy such as the Cygnus region, seen in the top right of the image with its bright and vibrant star-forming regions. This photograph is a panorama created with a 135-mm lens which brings extreme depth to the shot.”