Gallery: Our glorious galaxy stars in Milky Way photo competition

June 01, 2024

Bluff Hut by Rachel Roberts, taken in New Zealand. Bad weather at an intended location led to a chance opportunity for a fantastic shot at Bluff Hut

Rachel Roberts

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Rainbow Valley, by Baillie Farley, shot in Australia. The Milky Way arches over a sandstone formation in the outback.

Baillie Farley

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Lightning Lake by Tom Rae, taken in New Zealand. The Milky Way looms large above a glacial lake atop New Zealand's highest mountain, Aoraki.

Daniel Zafra Portill

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Mungo Dreamtime by John Rutter, taken in Australia. The ancient shores of Lake Mungo carve a Martian-looking landscape

John Rutter

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The vanity of life by Mihail Minkov, taken in Jordan. The Milky Way peeks between the cliffs, drawing the eye to a tiny figure in the center, in a way that the photographer says underscores "our insignificance in the grand scheme of the universe"

Mihail Minkov

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The Lion's Den, by Lorenzo Ranieri Tenti, shot in Chile. The photographer recalls a nerve-wracking night spent near this mountain lion den, complete with animal bones and large footprints, but the shot was worth it

Lorenzo Ranieri Tenti

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Blue Lagoon Under the Stars by Yuri Beletsky, taken in Chile. This inviting lagoon in the Atacama Desert mirrors the Milky Way and the Zodiacal light (to the right), the sky glow coming from sunlight reflecting off dust throughout the solar system

Yuri Beletsky

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Desert Bloom by Marcin Zajac, shot in USA. Wildflowers bloom near the Three Sisters in Goblin Valley State Park, Utah.

Marcin Zajac

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Bluff Hut by Rachel Roberts, taken in New Zealand. Bad weather at an intended location led to a chance opportunity for a fantastic shot at Bluff Hut

Rachel Roberts

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Atmospheric fireworks by Julien Looten, taken in France. The Milky Way fights for attention in this 180-degree panorama, against a charming medieval castle and a phenomenon known as chemiluminescence, which creates an effect like shimmering multicolored clouds

Julien Looten

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Lupine Dreams by Brandt Ryder, shot in USA. A super-bloom of lupine flowers in the Eastern Sierra mountains of California blend in with the colors of the starry sky above

Brandt Ryder

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A Clear Welcome by Francesco Dall’Olmo, taken in Argentina. This dawn shot shows the landscape just beginning to be bathed in light, making for stunning highlights

Francesco Dall’Olmo

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Mother Juniper by Benjamin Barakat, taken in Oman. An ancient juniper tree aligns with the Milky Way

Benjamin Barakat

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Caradhras – Milky way arch above Vrsic pass by Matej Mlakar, shot in Slovenia. Eerie red glows in the galactic arch light up the night sky above the Julian Alps

Matej Mlakar

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The Tajinaste by Maximilian Höfling, taken in Spain. The clear, dark skies of the Canary Islands allowed the Milky Way to really shine

Maximilian Höfling

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Blooming Bottle Tree by Rositsa Dimitrova, taken in Yemen. A confluence of good timing made this photo possible, as the skies hit the darkest rating that night and the bottle trees were in their short blooming window

Rositsa Dimitrova

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The seventh annual Milky Way Photographer of the Year collection has been released, featuring ever more stunning shots of our home galaxy, contrasted against our home planet. This year’s gallery is sure to inspire awe and just a touch of existential dread.

Earth is located in the outskirts of the Milky Way, so looking back towards the center of the disc is a bit like looking towards the city. The bustling heart of our galaxy looks like a bright swathe of stars and dust across the night sky that’s inspired humans for millennia.

And that’s the motivation behind the Milky Way Photographer of the Year. Travel photography blog Capture the Atlas compiles this list each year of the best images showcasing this stunning subject, set against some of the best landscapes Earth has to offer. The gallery is released in May each year, to coincide with the peak season for snapping the Milky Way from both hemispheres.

This year’s list of 25 fantastic photos was whittled down from over 5,000 submissions, featuring backdrops in 15 countries: the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Egypt, Oman, Yemen and Jordan. The quality of the image is only one factor in the selection process – the judges also consider the story behind the shot, and the potential for the image to inspire other photographers to grab a camera and head out to try it for themselves.

Among this year’s images is The vanity of life by Mihail Minkov. The Milky Way is beautifully framed between two cliffs in the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan, guiding the eye down towards a tiny human figure on the ground. As the photographer explains, “the concept behind this shot is to highlight the stark contrast between the vastness of the cosmos and the minuscule nature of humanity… underscoring our insignificance in the grand scheme of the universe.”

The Milky Way gallery isn’t the only one Capture the Atlas puts together each year – the aurora is the star of the Northern Lights Photographer of the Year collection released each December. And given the show the Sun has put on for us lately, we can’t wait to see this year’s entries.

Browse some Milky Way highlights in our gallery, or for the full list visit Capture the Atlas. If you’re craving more astrophotography marvels, check out last year’s collection.

Source: Capture the Atlas

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