Starry skies and scenery steal the show in Milky Way photo competition

May 31, 2023

Cafayate Star Factory by Gonzalo Santile, shot in Argentina. The arch of the Milky Way appears to be steaming out of a rocky chimney in the Cafayate Desert

Gonzalo Santile

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Cafayate Star Factory by Gonzalo Santile, shot in Argentina. The arch of the Milky Way appears to be steaming out of a rocky chimney in the Cafayate Desert

Gonzalo Santile

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The Cathedral Light Show by Roksolyana Hilevych, taken in Tenerife, Spain. A chance encounter with a bright meteor makes this image really pop, contrasted against a cathedral-shaped mountain and the blooming tajinastes in the foreground

Roksolyana Hilevych

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The La Palma Astroexperience by Jakob Sahner, taken in Spain. The high altitude of the mountains keeps the sky above clear, perfect for capturing the Milky Way, while the clouds form an ocean-like blanket below

Jakob Sahner

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Lut Glow by Isabella Tabacchi, captured in Iran. A stunning rock formation juts up into the Milky Way in the sky above the Lut Desert, accentuated by a green airglow

Isabella Tabacchi

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Milky Way Rising over Stony River & Mt Taranaki by Brendan Larsen, taken in New Zealand. The photographer waited until 2:30 in the morning for the Milky Way to line up with Mount Taranaki, capturing some astonishing colors in the process

Brendan Larsen

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South of Home by Lorenzo Ranieri Tenti, snapped in Namibia, Africa. This formation of smooth granite boulders in the Gross Spitzkoppe Nature Reserve perfectly accentuates the arch of the Milky Way, tinged with a golden glow

Lorenzo Ranieri Tenti

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The Scenery I Wanted to See by Mitsuhiro Okabe, shot in Yamagashi Prefecture, Japan. The Milky Way hovers over Mount Fuji, a temple and the cherry blossoms in full bloom

Mitsuhiro Okabe

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The Bottle Tree Portal by Benjamin Barakat, shot in Socotra, Yemen. The gnarled trees give the impression of an alien planet, with their pink flowers complementing the pink tones in the night sky

Benjamin Barakat

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Milky Way over Cuenca’s Hoodoos by Luis Cajete, shot in Cuenca, Spain. The Serrania de Cuenca region not only features incredibly dark skies, perfect for capturing the Milky Way, but the rugged terrain makes for an amazing foreground

Luis Cajete

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Interstellar by Jose Luis Cantabrana Garcia, taken in the Pinnacles Desert, Western Australia. Showing that Capture the Atlas's photo competition meets its goal, the photographer was inspired to visit this incredible location by a previous entrant

Jose Luis Cantabrana Garcia

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The Cactus Valley by Pablo Ruiz García, taken in Atacama, Chile. The Milky Way shares the sky with the Gum Nebula and the Magellanic Clouds

Pablo Ruiz García

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The Eyes of the Universe by Mihail Minkov, taken in Bulgaria. This incredible image showcases what it might look like if the Milky Way we see in summer and the version visible in winter were both present in the sky at the same time. This involved taking photos from the same spot at different times of the year and blending them together into one 360-degree panorama.

Mihail Minkov

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Night under the Baobab Trees by Steffi Lieberman, snapped in Baobab Avenue, Madagascar. The entire Milky Way arc stretches across the strange treetops

Steffi Lieberman

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The Night Train by Alexander Forst, taken in Graubünden, Switzerland. The night sky, the train, the train's lights, and the background of the Wiesener Viaduct were all taken in separate photos at different times and overlaid into one image to ensure it all looked its best

Alexander Forst

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Gigi Hiu Shining In The Dark by Gary Bhaztara, shot in Sumatra, Indonesia. The location is known as Shark Teeth Beach thanks to its jagged rock formations that provide a stark contrast to the majesty of the Milky Way overhead

Gary Bhaztara

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Our gorgeous galaxy is once again the focus of an astrophotography collection. Travel photography blog Capture the Atlas has published its Milky Way Photographer of the Year gallery for 2023, including some astonishing shots of the starriest of night skies.

Now in its sixth year, Capture the Atlas releases its annual Milky Way photo competition in late May, to coincide with the peak visibility of the galactic center in both hemispheres.

Entries are judged not just on the quality of the image itself, but on the story behind the shot and how well it might inspire others to get out there and snap their own photos.

This year’s shortlist was narrowed down from over 3,000 entries to 25 images, that were snapped in 16 countries around the world – the US, Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, Chile, Argentina, Namibia, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Spain, Slovenia, Japan, Iran, Peru, Yemen and Indonesia.

Among the highlights is The Eyes of the Universe by Mihail Minkov, taken in Bulgaria. This incredible image showcases what it might look like if the Milky Way we see in summer and the version visible in winter were both present in the sky at the same time. This involved taking photos from the same spot at different times of the year and blending them together into one 360-degree panorama.

Browse through more of our picks in the gallery, and don't forget to feast your eyes on the other stunning images over on Capture the Atlas. If you’re still reeling for more, check out last year’s gallery or the blog’s other annual competition which highlights aurorae.

Source: Capture the Atlas

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