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The 2024 Astronomy Photographer of the Year shortlist

By Bronwyn Thompson
July 04, 2024
The 2024 Astronomy Photographer of the Year shortlist
Arctic Dragon by Carina Letelier Baeza: "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. 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."
Arctic Dragon by Carina Letelier Baeza: "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. 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."
View 11 Images
Arctic Dragon by Carina Letelier Baeza: "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. 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."
1/11
Arctic Dragon by Carina Letelier Baeza: "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. 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."
Saturn with Six Moons by Andy Casely: "Saturn’s decreasing ring tilt is helping the big orange moon Titan get closer to Saturn from our viewpoint than it has in over a decade," said Casely of his photo taken in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia. "The usually distant Titan joined the moon family portrait this September. At the centre of the image Tethys is just about to disappear behind Saturn, while Rhea, Enceladus and Mimas are on the left and Dione is to the lower right. The planet’s shadow on the rings is prominent, as are the Cassini and Encke divisions."
2/11
Saturn with Six Moons by Andy Casely: "Saturn’s decreasing ring tilt is helping the big orange moon Titan get closer to Saturn from our viewpoint than it has in over a decade," said Casely of his photo taken in the Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia. "The usually distant Titan joined the moon family portrait this September. At the centre of the image Tethys is just about to disappear behind Saturn, while Rhea, Enceladus and Mimas are on the left and Dione is to the lower right. The planet’s shadow on the rings is prominent, as are the Cassini and Encke divisions."
A Whale Sailing the Sun by Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau: "When using my telescope on this day, surprise and wonder took hold of me as I beheld an extraordinary filament, its shape reminiscent of an immense plasma whale traversing the solar surface, above the disc," said Poupeau of his snap from Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina. "It was truly astonishing to witness the singularity of this imposing figure. This plasma structure not only reveals solar dynamics but also underscores the fascinating ability of our minds to perceive recognizable shapes in abstract patterns, a phenomenon known as pareidolia."
3/11
A Whale Sailing the Sun by Eduardo Schaberger Poupeau: "When using my telescope on this day, surprise and wonder took hold of me as I beheld an extraordinary filament, its shape reminiscent of an immense plasma whale traversing the solar surface, above the disc," said Poupeau of his snap from Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina. "It was truly astonishing to witness the singularity of this imposing figure. This plasma structure not only reveals solar dynamics but also underscores the fascinating ability of our minds to perceive recognizable shapes in abstract patterns, a phenomenon known as pareidolia."
Abandoned House by Stefan Liebermann: "In the middle of the Namib Desert you can find an abandoned house and, right above it, the Milky Way rises," said Liebermann of his photo taken in Garub, Namibia. "I put some lights in the house, set up my star tracker and seized the opportunity. Through a veil of clouds, halos around the stars created a dream-like effect. The sky was captured with a star tracker to lower the ISO."
4/11
Abandoned House by Stefan Liebermann: "In the middle of the Namib Desert you can find an abandoned house and, right above it, the Milky Way rises," said Liebermann of his photo taken in Garub, Namibia. "I put some lights in the house, set up my star tracker and seized the opportunity. Through a veil of clouds, halos around the stars created a dream-like effect. The sky was captured with a star tracker to lower the ISO."

Observations at Night by Jakob Sahner: "What you can see here is the Isaac Newton Telescope at the edge of the telescope facility on La Palma," said Sahner of his image captured at the Canary Islands. "It’s gigantic and sometimes makes scary noises at night. This composition has been a dream of mine for a very long time. Many astrophotographers focus only on the centre of the Milky Way, which of course looks beautiful, but it overshadows some other interesting areas of the galaxy."
5/11
Observations at Night by Jakob Sahner: "What you can see here is the Isaac Newton Telescope at the edge of the telescope facility on La Palma," said Sahner of his image captured at the Canary Islands. "It’s gigantic and sometimes makes scary noises at night. This composition has been a dream of mine for a very long time. Many astrophotographers focus only on the centre of the Milky Way, which of course looks beautiful, but it overshadows some other interesting areas of the galaxy."

Serpentine by Paul Haworth
6/11
Serpentine by Paul Haworth

Misty Mountains by Bence Toth: "This image shows a close look at IC 5070, the Pelican Nebula," said Toth of his photo taken in Szödliget, Pest, Hungary. "I have used narrowband filters for image acquisition and created a colour image with the Hubble Palette method. The fine dust and gas structures really reminded me of mist on mountains hit by the rising Sun, hence the title."
7/11
Misty Mountains by Bence Toth: "This image shows a close look at IC 5070, the Pelican Nebula," said Toth of his photo taken in Szödliget, Pest, Hungary. "I have used narrowband filters for image acquisition and created a colour image with the Hubble Palette method. The fine dust and gas structures really reminded me of mist on mountains hit by the rising Sun, hence the title."
Run to Carina by Vikas Chander
8/11
Run to Carina by Vikas Chander
Total Solar Eclipse by Gwenaël Blanck
9/11
Total Solar Eclipse by Gwenaël Blanck
Gigantic Solar Prominence in Motion by Miguel Claro
10/11
Gigantic Solar Prominence in Motion by Miguel Claro
A Night with the Valkyries by Jose Miguel Picon Chimelis: "This capture is a panoramic view of the Eystrahorn Mountain," the photographer says of his shot taken in Hvalnesviti, Iceland. "That night, I think, was one of the most amazing that I have experienced in my nighttime photography outings. There was a prediction of a KP7 storm (a strong geomagnetic storm that can cause aurorae and upset electrical power systems) and I was excited as to what I might see. What I couldn't have imagined was seeing these colours in the sky; it was a spectacle that was difficult to describe."
11/11
A Night with the Valkyries by Jose Miguel Picon Chimelis: "This capture is a panoramic view of the Eystrahorn Mountain," the photographer says of his shot taken in Hvalnesviti, Iceland. "That night, I think, was one of the most amazing that I have experienced in my nighttime photography outings. There was a prediction of a KP7 storm (a strong geomagnetic storm that can cause aurorae and upset electrical power systems) and I was excited as to what I might see. What I couldn't have imagined was seeing these colours in the sky; it was a spectacle that was difficult to describe."
View gallery - 11 images

From a dragon-shaped aurora to the Milky Way framing the Isaac Newton Telescope in Spain, the 16th Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition has released its stunning shortlisted finalists ahead of winners being announced on September 12.

In 2024, some 3,500 photographs were submitted by budding snappers with cameras pointed skywards in 58 countries. Now, from this shortlist, the winners of nine categories, plus two special prizes and an overall winner will be chosen.

We've gathered a snapshot of shortlisted images that we think stand a good chance of picking up the top prize, so here's your chance to judge early and see if you agree with us.

As always, you'll find more amazing images in our gallery. And if you now feel inspired to enter the 2025 awards, head to Royal Museums Greenwich to find out more.

Run to Carina by Vikas Chander

Run to Carina by Vikas Chander
Run to Carina by Vikas Chander

"Deep in northwest Namibia, in a scorched desert where you can drive hundreds of kilometers without coming across another human, an artist is hard at work," said photographer Vikas Chander. "Dotted all over the desert are numerous sculptures made of stone which blend seamlessly into the surroundings. Known as the ‘Lone Men of Kaokoland’ [as the region was formerly known], it is not clear who has put them there and where exactly they are located, but my quest to photograph all of them continues.

"I took a long exposure of the stone running man before light-painting and blending in Photoshop," he added. "The tripod was then moved for a clear view of the horizon for ease of blending. The Carina arm of the Milky Way was tracked and a stack of eight images was then blended with the foreground image with the clouds, haze and glow at the horizon to make a smooth transition between ground and sky."

Gigantic Solar Prominence in Motion by Miguel Claro

Gigantic Solar Prominence in Motion by Miguel Claro
Gigantic Solar Prominence in Motion by Miguel Claro

"This is a still image from a time-lapse sequence that features the chromosphere activity, revealing a gigantic prominence in motion where it’s possible to see a lot of interesting changes in its shape," said Miguel Claro of this stunning Sun image he took at the Dark Sky Alqueva obervatory in Évora, Portugal. "This giant stretches around the Sun’s limb for thousands of kilometres and is several times larger than Earth. As comparison, its width is larger than the width of the rings of Saturn.

"We can also see a lot of fine spicules surrounding the solar disc and a fast-erupting prominence coming from a sunspot, while the chromosphere itself was showing a slower motion," he added. "Conditions were good, so I managed to make a time-lapse of about 248 images. The final result was a 4K high-resolution solar movie comprising around one hour and 20 minutes of photos. The one I selected to present here was taken at UTC 13:15."

Total Solar Eclipse by Gwenaël Blanck

Total Solar Eclipse by Gwenaël Blanck
Total Solar Eclipse by Gwenaël Blanck

"A total solar eclipse is one of the most beautiful spectacles nature can offer," said Gwenaël Blanck, who snapped this artistic image in Exmouth, Western Australia. "Everyone should experience it at least once in their lifetime. In April 2023, I went to Australia, for 62 seconds of totality. It seems short, but it was worth every penny and effort to get there. Pictures don’t do justice to this wonder.

"With this collage I wanted to show the beauty of the corona (which looks like a flower this close to the solar maximum), but also the pink chromosphere, the prominences and Baily’s beads [chinks of sunlight that shine through due to the Moon’s rugged landscape]," the photographer added. "The image is processed with Photoshop. I superimposed seven pictures for the background and six others for the chromosphere and prominences."

Serpentine by Paul Haworth

Serpentine by Paul Haworth
Serpentine by Paul Haworth

"At the New Moon in April 2023, I headed up to Snettisham Beach, famous for its vast tidal mudflats that attract migrating birds in staggering numbers," said Paul Haworth, of the image he captured at Norfolk in the UK. "My foreground subject for the evening was the large, dilapidated jetty, which was built in the Second World War to allow gravel extracted from the nearby pits, destined to help build the concrete runways needed to support the American bombers stationed in the UK, to be moved by boat.

"I was accompanied all night by the incredible sound of the birds out on the flats – they never ceased and it was a fantastic soundtrack to the crystal-clear night," he said. "I named this image ‘Serpentine’ as I love the curved channel in the mudflat, mirroring the trailing stars, and the wonderful scaly texture of the mud cracks."

You can see more in our gallery here.

Source: Astronomy Photographer of the Year

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2 comments
Bronwyn Thompson
Bronwyn Thompson
Bronwyn has always loved words and animals, and she has the journalism and zoology degrees to prove it. After more than 20 years as a writer and editor, the former music journalist went back to university to build on her passion for wildlife and conservation with a Bachelor of Zoology, which unlocked two new loves: sharing animal facts at any opportunity and getting others excited about science. Particularly interested in neuroscience, genetics, animal behavior and evolutionary biology, Bronwyn has found a happy home at New Atlas, coming on board in February 2023.

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spyinthesky
Seen this exhibition and the standard is incredible, esp the shots of the Auroras.
Nobody
Too many of these were photo shopped to the point of not being anything real. Much like my indoor skydiving photos superimposed on clouds with mountains in the background. All the photos were real but not really.